First Edition of Early Harvard Casebook

6. Ames, James Barr [1846-1910]. A Selection of Cases on Pleading at Common Law, With References and Citations. Prepared for Use as a Text-Book in Harvard Law School. Cambridge: The Harvard Law Review Publishing Association, 1875. viii, 299 pp. Octavo (6" x 9"). Original dark green textured cloth, moderate edgewear, small tear near foot of spine. Split between title page and table of contents, notes in pencil to several leaves. $250.
* First Edition. Christopher Columbus Langdell [1826-1906] instituted the revolutionary case method system during his tenure as Dean of Harvard Law School. Rather than teaching principles through the use of expository textbooks, Langdell assigned lists of leading cases. Students prepared for Langdell’s classes by going to the library, copying the reports and studying them. Unfortunately, the process was injurious to the library collection and inconvenient for students. Moreover, no library had, or could afford, enough duplicate volumes of court reports. Langdell’s solution was the casebook, which initiated a sea-change in legal education. The establishment and popularization of the casebook was accomplished largely through the efforts of his former student and devoted disciple James Barr Ames, who succeeded him as Dean. Ames’s efforts as an educator and author of nine casebooks initiated the proliferation of casebooks that continues today. Walker, Oxford Companion to Law 190. Catalogue of the Library of the Harvard Law School (1909) I:44. Harno, Legal Education in the U.S. 60-62.

1812 Connecticut JP Manual

7. Backus, Joseph [fl.1812]. The Complete Constable: Containing his Office, Duties and Authority; With the Manner and Forms of Executing the Same, According to the Common and Statute Laws, Now in Use in the State of Connecticut. Hartford: Printed for the Author, 1812. [iv], [9]-134, [8] pp. Octavo (5" x 8"). Contemporary calf, maroon spine label. Scuffing to rear board, corners bumped, internally clean. A very appealing copy. $200.
* First edition. Backus was a lawyer and justice of the peace who practiced in Stratford, Connecticut. A prefatory note by James Gould, a judge of the Connecticut Superior Court and distinguished member of the Litchfield Law School faculty, states: “This work...a compilation of rules, selected from the Statute Laws of Connecticut, books of Reports, and Treatises of approved authority, embodies...a collection of valuable rules of practices, which I have not found digested in any other work” ([iii]). Catalogue of the Library of the Harvard Law School (1909) I:101. Cohen, Book of Early American Law 8328. Shaw and Shoemaker, American Bibliography 24666.

Second Edition of Black’s Dictionary

8. Black, Henry Campbell [1860-1927]. A Law Dictionary. Containing Definitions of the Terms and Phrases of American and English Jurisprudence, Ancient and Modern. And Including the Principal Terms of International, Constitutional, Ecclesiastical and Commercial Law, and Medical Jurisprudence, with a Collection of Legal Maxims, Numerous Select Titles from the Roman, Modern Civil, Scotch, French, Spanish, and Mexican Law, and Other Foreign Systems, and a Table of Abbreviations. St. Paul: West Publishing Company, 1910. 1314 pp. Moderately worn and soiled buckram, internally clean. $350.
* The thoroughly revised second edition of Black’s classic dictionary incorporates many new definitions and additional citations to decided cases. Also included are many Latin and French terms overlooked in the first edition. Medical jurisprudence in particular is enriched, with new definitions for insanity and pathological and criminal insanity. The second edition is an essential complement to the first edition (1891) because it offers important insights into the rapid development of law at the turn of the century. The second edition is also notable for its revamped system of arrangement, with all compound and descriptive terms subsumed under their related main entries.

Guide to the First Federal Income Tax Laws

9. Boutwell, George S. [1818-1905]. A Manual of the Direct and Excise Tax System of the United States; Including the Forms and Regulations Established by the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, the Decisions and Rulings of the Commissioner, Together With Extracts From the Correspondence of the Office. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1864. x, 333 pp. Octavo (6" x 9-1/2"). Original brown cloth with decorative blind-stamping, fraying to head and foot of spine, front joint starting near foot, front hinge cracked but secure. Owner label to foot of spine, small owner stamps to front pastedown and free endpaper, early annotation in pencil to rear pastedown, internally clean. A good copy. $350.
* Fourth edition. With side-notes and index.The Civil War caused the greatest financial crisis ever faced by the United States government. In order to finance its enormous costs the government created the Office of Internal Revenue, the precursor to the IRS, in July 1862. As one would suspect, the new agency introduced a variety of new taxes and tax regulations. Its most radical innovation, however, was the institution of an income tax. (It was a graduated tax that reached a maximum rate of 10%.) This manual was written for tax-payers, revenue officers, attorneys and businessmen by the founding director of the new agency. It outlines the tax system, lists tax rates and offers the texts of relevant statutes. Extracts from the office’s correspondence are used to highlight specific issues and problems.

Early Internal Revenue Laws

10. Boutwell, George S. The Tax-Payer’s Manual; Containing the Entire Internal Revenue Laws, With the Tables of Taxation, Exemption, Stamp-Duties, &c., and a Complete Alphabetical Index. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1866. [iv], 180 pp. Octavo (6" x 9-1/2"). Original brown cloth with decorative blind-stamping, fraying to head and foot of spine, minor stains to boards, owner stamps to front pastedown and free endpaper. Faint dampstaining to heads of a few leaves, interior otherwise clean. $350.
* Second edition. With side-notes and index. HLC I:213.

Last Edition by Cooley

11. Cooley, Thomas M[cIntyre] [1824-1898]. A Treatise on the Constitutional Limitations Which Rest upon the Legislative Power of the States of the American Union. Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1883. lxxxi, 886 pp. Octavo (6" x 9"). Well-preserved contemporary law calf, red and black lettering pieces. Moderate edgewear, a few small scuffs, minor chipping to head and foot of spine, internally clean. A very nice copy. $500.
* Fifth edition. Cooley was one of the finest American legal scholars of the nineteenth century and arguably the best commentator on the Constitution since Story. In Great American Lawyers, Lewis considers Constitutional Limitations to be “the most influential work ever published on American constitutional law” (cited in Marke). Rogers seconds this claim in American Bar Leaders and adds that “like Blackstone, Pomeroy and many other legal works, the influence of Constitutional Limitations rests partly upon literary qualities, upon clarity and grace of unaffected statement” (cited in Marke). Marke396. HLC I:459.

Cowell’s Dictionary In an Attractive Clamshell Box

12. Cowell, John [1554-1611]. The Interpreter: Or Booke Containing the Signification of Words: Wherein is Set Foorth the True Meaning of All, or the Most Part of Such Words and Termes, as are Mentioned in the Lawe Writers, or Statutes of This Victorious and Renowned Kingdome, Requiring Any Exposition or Interpretation. A Worke Not Onely Profitable, but Necessary for Such as Desire Throughly to be Instructed in the Knowledge of Our Lawes, Statutes, and Other Antiquities. London: Printed by John Sheares, 1637. Unpaged. Quarto (5-1/2" x 7-1/2"). Contemporary polished calf, raised bands. Wear to edges and tips, scuffing to bands, front joint starting, wear to head of backstrip with about 2" of loss, small chip to foot. Text is secure.Endleaves lacking from front and rear, later annotations to front endleaf, early signature in fine hand to head of title page, faint dampstaining to margins of first few leaves, text otherwise clean. Item housed in attractive quarter-calf clamshell box with period-style spine. An appealing copy. $2,000.
* Second edition. The Interpreter is considered to be the best law dictionary before Jacob’s, and was, and still is, used by scholars of early English legal texts. Indeed, Walker describes Cowell as “reputed the most learned civilian of his time.” But its publication was not without controversy. At a time when Parliament and crown were vying for power, the Commons disapproved of Cowell’s monarchical orientation, which was evident in such definitions as “King,” “Parliament,” “Prerogative,” “Recoveries” and “Subsidies.” When a joint committee of Lords and Councillors reviewed the work, the ensuing controversy nearly halted the affairs of government. James I intervened in fear that his own fiscal interests would not be approved by Parliament, and ordered a proclamation that imprisoned Cowell, suppressed the book and ordered all copies burned by a public hangman on March 10, 1610. Moreover, it contained a quotation that criticized Littleton’s scholarship, which alienated and enraged Sir Edward Coke. It comes as no surprise that he was instrumental in the book’s suppression and in Cowell’s persecution. and ‘Subsidies.’ Despite its stormy reception, The Interpreter remains a useful gloss to Coke’s Littleton and other early legal texts. Walker311. HLC I:477. Marke, Vignettes of Legal History 309-312. Cowley, A Bibliography of Abridgments, Digest, Dictionaries and Indexes to the Year 1800 129. Sweet & Maxwell I:7 (18). Pollard and Redgrave, A Short-Title Catalogue of Books Printed in England, Scotland, and Ireland 5901.

1806 Maryland Formbook

13. [Formbook]. [Maryland]. The New American Clerk’s Magazine, and Complete Practical Conveyancer Containing the Most Useful and Necessary Precedents in Conveyancing, as Settled and Approved by the Most Eminent Conveyancers; With Observations and References to the Laws, &c. With a Variety of Other Useful Instruments of Writing: The Whole of Which Are Adapted to the Use of the Citizens of the United States, and More Particularly to Those of the State of Maryland; With Necessary Instructions and Forms of Precedents; For the Use of Justices of the Peace, Sheriffs, Coroners and Constables, and of Matters Which Relate to the Duties of Executors and Administrators in the Settlement of the Estates of Deceased Persons; Also of Guardians, &c. The Whole Selected From the Laws, and Draughts of Actual Practice. Hagers-town: Jacob D. Dietrick, 1806. iv, [5]-527, [67] pp. 12mo. (4" x 6-1/2"). Full polished calf, lettering piece. Moderate wear to extremities and backstrip, some chipping to head and foot of spine, early signatures and annotations to endleaves, sporadic light foxing, faint dampstaining to a few leaves, minor worming to final few leaves with no loss to text. An appealing copy with character. $300.
* Second edition. With index and extensive subscriber list arranged by state, county and city. HLC II:182. Cohen, Bibliography of Early American Law 8051. Shaw, American Bibliography 10952.

Important Edition of the Saxon Chronicle

14. Gibson, Edmund [1669-1748]. Chronicon Saxonicum; Seu Annales Rerum in Anglia Praecipue Gestarum, a Christo Nato ad Annum Usque MCLIV. Deducti, ac Jam Demum Latinitate Donati. Cum Indice Rerum Chronologico; Accedunt Regulae ad Investigandas Nominum Locorum Origines; Et Nominum Locorum ac Vivorum in Chronico Memoratorum Explicatio. Oxford: E Theatro Sheldoniano, 1692. [x], 244, [36], 64 pp. Quarto (7-1/2" x 9-1/2"). Text printed in parallel columns in Saxon and Latin. An imperfect copy lacking half-title and folding map. Later (probably eighteenth century) full polished calf over original calf, raised bands, maroon lettering piece. Wear to tips and head and foot of backstrip, front endpaper renewed. Chipping to fore-edges of title page and following three leaves, wear to fore-edges and lower corners of last five leaves. No loss to text. Annotation to front free endpaper, faint dampstaining to margins of endleaves and text block, occasional spotting, interior otherwise clean and bright. $450.
* First edition. Latin and Saxon texts in parallel columns. Gibson was an English jurist and divine who became the Bishop of Lincoln at 23. He ended his career as Bishop of London. He was also the author of the important Codex Juris Ecclesiastici Anglicani (1713). The Chronicum Saxonicum was the first modern edition of the Saxon Chronicle, a collection of early source records for English history during the period between the Roman presence and the Norman invasion. Compiled over several years by monks at several houses, the Chronicle is one of the few known sources for this period. Unlike earlier editors, Gibson collated all known sources to produce a unified critical text. He also added a Latin tranlation, notes, a preface and a chronological index. Gibson’s effort brought the Chronicle into view as an important basic source and it remained the standard edition until the nineteenth century. Wing, Short-Title Catalogue A3185. British Museum Catalogue (Compact Edition) 10:536. Dictionary of National Biography VII:1153-1155. Encyclopedia Britannica (Eleventh Edition) 11:942-943.

Professional Guidelines by Jacob

15. Jacob, Giles [1686-1744]. A Law Grammar; or Rudiments of the Law; Compiled From The Grounds, Principles, Maxims, Terms, Words of Art, Rules, and Moot Points of Our Law, In a New, Easy, and Very Concise Method. For the Particular Instruction of Students, and Other Persons, Whereby They May Acquire Much Useful and Elementary Learning in the Law. The Sixth Edition, Carefully Revised, with Additions. London: W. Clarke and Sons, 1817. Octavo (4-1/2" x 7-7/8"). [iii], iv, [4], 260, [4] pp. Includes one-page publisher list. Octavo (4-1/2" x 8"). Later quarter calf over cloth retaining original maroon lettering piece, untrimmed edges, endpapers renewed. Annotations in early hand to foot of title page. Very good. $500.
* A terse but wide-ranging compendium for “all youth at our Universities, or Inns of Court, and young gentlemen in their private education” (Preface, ii-iii). Sweet & Maxwell, Legal Bibliography of the British Commonwealth of Nations I:34(45). Uncommon. OCLC locates 11 copies.

William Plumer’s Copy

16. Jacob, Giles. A New Law-Dictionary: Containing, The Interpretation and Definition of Words and Terms Used in the Law... [London]: Printed by E. and R. Nutt, and R. Gosling for J. and J. Knapton, D. Midwinter [et al.], 1732. Unpaginated. Text printed in double columns. Folio (8" x 12-1/2"). Later three-quarter calf over cloth, raised bands, additional ownership label “Ossian Ray” on spine. Minor rubbing, joints just starting, minor chipping to spine. Owner signatures and annotations to front free endpaper and title page (recto and verso), front hinge starting. Clean tear to one leaf expertly repaired, tear to top of preliminary dedication leaf with minimal loss to text, innocuous hole to inner margin of a leaf. Light dampstaining to feet of several leaves, sporadic light foxing, occasional notes to margins in fine early hand. $1,350.
* Second edition. With “A Table of References to All the Arguments and Resolutions of the Lord Chief Justice Holt; In the Several Books of Reports, Under Proper General Heads.” First published in 1729, The New Law-Dictionary, which is also an abridgment, was Jacob’s masterpiece, one that constituted "an entirely new departure in legal literature" (Cowley). Sheppard had attempted something of the sort in 1656 with his epitome, but his work was still an abridgment rather than a dictionary. Jacob based upon the definition of each term a statement of the whole law on the subject...[Jacob’s dictionary] was an undoubted improvement on everything that had gone before it, and it provided a model for many later dictionaries” (Cowley). Retaining only such of the words from older dictionaries as had other than antiquarian interest, Jacob’s compilation became an extremely useful legal encyclopedia, more concise than any other abridgment of the period. Cowley, A Bibliography of Abridgements, Digest, Dictionaries and Indexes to the Year 1800 xc-xci, 223. See HLC I:1036. Sweet & Maxwell, A Legal Bibliography of the British Commonwealth of Nations I:9 (33).
   This was William Plumer’s copy. Plumer was a member of the constitutional convention from 1791-1792, U.S. Senator from New Hampshire from 1802-1807 and governor of that state from 1816-1819. During that time he was involved in the epochal Dartmouth College Case. See Dictionary of American Biography VIII:12-13 and Marke, Vignettes of Legal History, Second Series. 91, 94-95.

An Entirely New Departure in Legal Literature”

17. Jacob, Giles. A New Law-Dictionary: Containing, The Interpretation and Definition of Words and Terms Used in the Law: As Also The Law and Practice Under the Proper Heads and Titles. Together With Such Learning as Explains the History and Antiquity of the Law; Our Manners, Customs, and Original Government. Collected and Abridged from All Dictionaries, Abridgments, Institutes, Commentaries, Reports, Year-Books, Charters, Registers, Chronicles, and Histories Published to This Time. The Ninth Edition. With Great Additions and Improvements, From the Latest Reports and Statutes to This Time. Also Many New Titles, Not in Any Other Work of the Kind...Corrected and Greatly Enlarged by Owen Ruffhead and J. Morgan. London: Printed by W. Strahan and M. Woodfall, for J. Beecroft; W. Strahan; J. and F. Rivington [et al.], 1772. Unpaginated. Folio (9" x 14"). Full calf, rebacked retaining original boards with attractive ornamental rules. Front hinge starting, interior remarkably clean and bright. Ex-library. Shelf label in gilt to foot of spine, small institution stamp to title page and a few leaves. A very nice copy. $850.
* Ninth edition. Cowley, A Bibliography of Abridgements, Digests, Dictionaries and Indexes to the Year 1800 xc-xci, 223. HLC I:1036. Sweet & Maxwell, A Legal Bibliography of the British Commonwealth of Nations I:9 (33).

First Tomlins Edition

18. Jacob, Giles. The Law-Dictionary: Explaining the Rise,Progress, and Present State of the English Law; Defining and Interpreting the Terms or Words of Art; and Comprising Copious Information on the Subjects of Law, Trade, and Government. Corrected and Greatly Enlarged by T[homas] E[dlyne] Tomlins. London: Printed by Andrew Straham for T.Longman, B. Law, C. Dilly..., 1797. Two volumes. Unpaginated. Quarto (8-1/2" x 11"). Handsome modern full speckled calf with blind-stamped rules and ornaments, contrasting calf panel, dentelles. Raised bands, black and red spine labels. Signatures in fine hand to title pages, light foxing and soiling to a few leaves. Ex-library. Institution stamp to Volume I title page and Volume II endleaf. A desirable set. $1,000.
* First edition edited by Tomlins. Tomlins' [1762-1841] edition, first published in 1797, is a substantial enlargement and revision. According to Marvin, this edition is the best one. Sweet and Maxwell observe that “A reference to Jacob’s Law-Dictionary is a useful first step in any enquiry into eighteenth century law.” Cowley, A Bibliography of Indexes, Digests, Dictionaries and Indexes of English Law to the Year 1800 xc. Marke 1202. HLC I:1036. Marvin, Legal Bibliography 418. Sweet & Maxwell I:9(33).

1825 Maine JP Manual

19. [Justice of the Peace Manual]. Perley, Jeremiah [1734-1834]. The Maine Civil Officer, or the Powers and Duties of Sheriffs, Coroners, Constables, and Collectors of Taxes; With an Appendix, Containing the Necessary Forms and an Abridgment of the Law Relative to the Duties of Civil Officers. Hallowell: Printed and Published by Glazier & Co., 1825. [iv], 235 pp. Octavo (4" x 6-3/4"). An imperfect copy lacking two folding forms. Contemporary law calf, maroon lettering piece. Light rubbing to extremities, sporadic light foxing, early owner signature to front pastedown. An appealing copy. $125.
* First edition. With index. Cohen, Bibliography of Early American Law 8361.

1844 Canadian Legal Guide

20. Keele, W[illiam] C[onway] [1798-1872]. A Brief View of the Laws of Upper Canada Up to the Present Time: Including a Treatise on the Law of Executors and Wills, and the Law Relative to Landlord and Tenant, Distress for Rent, Constables, Assessors and Collectors, and Township Meetings, Inn-Keepers, Surveyors, &c., &c., With Some Useful and Approved Conveyancing Forms. Toronto: Printed by W.J. Coats, 1844. 213, 31, 2, pp. Octavo (5-1/2" x 8-1/2"). Three-quarter calf over marbled boards. Moderate edgewear, joints starting, light rubbing to calf and boards, small tear to a leaf with no loss. Faint discoloration to margins and a few marks in pencil, interior otherwise clean and bright. $250.
* First edition. Statutes of the superseded Province of Upper Canada are starred. A guide for the layman that outlines “what acts are lawful, and what are unlawful or criminal, and what remedy the law has provided in such cases” (Preface, 3). HLC I:1081.

Charming Legal Anecdotes

21. Larwood, Jacob [1827-1918]. Forensic Anecdotes or Humour and Curiosities of the Law and of the Men of the Law. London: Chatto and Windus, 1882. vi, 304 pp. Octavo (4-1/2" x 6-1/2"). Three-quarter calf over marbled boards, gilt spine, marbling to edges and endpapers. Attractive device to title page, decorated initials. Wear to edges and tips, joints starting, some rubbing to spine, internally clean. $500.
* A collection of over 200 charming anecdotes, such as “Court of Sessions and the Butchers,” “No Spiders in Westminster Hall,” “Our Old Draconian Laws,” “A Learned Judge” and “Curran’s Sarcasm.”

1844 Maine Local Government Manual

22. Lord, John P. [1786-1877]. The Maine Townsman, or Laws for the Regulation of Towns; With Forms and Judicial Decisions, Adapted to the Revised Statutes of Maine. Boston: White, Lewis & Potter, 1844. viii, 300 pp. Octavo (4-1/2" x 7"). Contemporary law calf, black spine label. Worn and scuffed, chip to head of spine, boards partially detached, early signature to front pastedown. A good candidate for rebacking. $125.
* First edition. Subsequent editions were published in 1845, 1846, 1847, 1852 and 1855. Later editions were compiled by Benjamin Kingsbury. Cohen, Bibliography of Early American Law 8270.

1802 Commercial Law Dictionary

23. Maxwell, John Irving. A Pocket Dictionary of the Law of Bills of Exchange, Promissory Notes, Bank Notes, Checks, &c. With an Appendix, Containing Abstracts of Acts and Select Cases Relative to Negotiable Securities, Analysis of a Count in Assumpsit, Tables of Notarial Fees, Stamps, Postage, &c. London: Printed by D.N. Shury, 1802. xvi, 251 pp. Octavo (4" x 6-1/2"). Later lightly worn brown morocco, gilt spine, endpapers renewed, split between pp. vi and vii. Small owner stamp to title page, interior otherwise clean. A nice copy. $500.
*First edition. An unusual alphabetical compendium dealing strictly with matters of commerce, such as bills of exchange and promissory notes. Maxwell was also the author of The Spirit of Maritime Laws and the delightfully titled Hints for Protecting the Public Against the Extortion and Insolence of Hackney-Coachmen. Marvin, Legal Bibliography (1847) 507. Soule, Lawyer’s Reference Manual (1883) 249. Not in Goldsmiths’ or Kress. Scarce. OCLC locates eighteen copies, one of this edition.

Notable Early English Law Dictionary

24. [Rastell, John (d.1536)]. Les Termes de la Ley: Or, Certain Difficult and Obscure Words and Terms of the Common Laws and Statutes of this Realm Now in Use Expounded and Explained. Newly Corrected and Enlarged, with the Addition of Above One Hundred Words. London: Printed by John Streater, James Fletcher, and Henry Twyford, 1671. [xiv], 1-144; 161-613, [1] pp. Woodcut frontispiece of the British Royal Arms. A defective copy lacking Signature L (pp. 145-160). Octavo (4-1/2" x 6-1/2"). Handsome later calf with gilt-edged raised bands and black lettering pieces, endpapers renewed. Annotation in early hand to recto of front endleaf, interior notably clean and bright. Attractive. $150.
* Eighth edition. “The first general English dictionary published was preceded in point of time by the first law dictionary. Elyot’s Dictionarie appeared in 1538, while Rastell’s Expositiones Terminorum Legum Anglorum came from the press eleven years earlier. in 1527. Being in alphabetical order of words, it set the model for Elyot. Moreover, it had a longer life ‘in print’ than Elyot. Of the latter, six editions were published, while the former, under its old and its new title, Termes de la Ley, Adopten in 1624, ran to at least twenty-nine editions, the last appearing in 1819. [It is a work] which...[clearly] reflects the common law at the close of the year-book period” (Marke). HLC II: 424. Sweet & MaxwellI:11.

Leading American Cases on Wills

25. Redfield, Isaac F. [1805-1876]. Leading American Cases and Notes Upon the Law of Wills: Embracing Testamentary Capacity, Undue Influence, the Admission of Oral Testimony in Aid of the Construction of Wills, the Execution of Wills, &c. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1874. lxiv, 778 pp. Octavo (6" x 9"). Law calf, maroon lettering piece, moderate edgewear, minor stains to boards and backstrip, front joint starting, interior otherwise clean. A nice copy. $100.
* First edition. Redfield conceived this work as a supplement to his well-known treatise The Law of Wills (1866). HLC II: 435. Marke 508.

Ancient Scottish Legal Terms

26. Skene, John [?1543-1617]. De Verborum Significatione: The Exposition of the Termes and Difficill Wordes, Conteined in the Foure Buiks of Regiam Maiestatem, and Uthers, in the Acts of Parliament, Infeftments, and Used in Practicque of this Realme, and With Divers Rules, and Common Places, or Principals of the Lawes. London: Printed by E.G., 1641. [iv], 172 pp. Quarto (5-1/2" x 7-1/2"). Contemporary calf, recently rebacked in period style. Some wear to tips, endpapers renewed. Light soiling to title page, attractive woodcut head-pieces and decorated initials. Early annotations to recto of rear endleaf, interior otherwise clean. An appealing copy indeed. $1,500.
* Third edition. With side-notes. Skene, a Scottish jurist and legal historian, is best known for his magisterial compilation The Lawes and Actes of Parliament Maid be King James the First and His Successors, Kings of Scotland (1597). The present volume, which was first published in 1597 as an appendix to the Lawes and Acts, is a dictionary of ancient Scottish legal terms. Wing, Short-Title Catalogue C7681. Sweet & Maxwell, A Legal Bibliography of the British Commonwealth of Nations 11 (49). British Museum Catalogue (Compact Edition) 23:669. Walker 1146. See rear cover illustration this catalogue.

Story on Partnership

27. Story, Joseph [1779-1845]. Commentaries on the Law of Partnership, as a Branch of Commercial and Maritime Jurisprudence, with Occasional Illustrations from the Civil and Foreign Law. Fourth Edition. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1855. 8, xxx, 751 pp. Includes preliminary eight-page publisher catalogue. Octavo (5-1/2" x 9-1/2"). Recent quarter calf over cloth with gilt spine bands and maroon lettering piece, endpapers renewed, internally clean. A handsome, solid copy. $400.
* Fourth edition of the first comprehensive treatment of partnership in America. One of the greatest figures in American law, Story was the author of several important treatises, Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court and the first Dane Professor of Law at Harvard College. HLC II:672.

“Noted For the Soundness of Its Doctrines”

28. Sugden, Sir Edward Burtenshaw [1781-1875]. A Practical Treatise of the Law of Vendors and Purchasers of Estates. Second American, From the Fifth London Edition: With Notes and References to American Decisions By Edward D. Ingraham. Philadelphia: Published by J. Webster, 1820. lxx, 558, 83 pp. Octavo (5-1/2" x 9"). Contemporary calf, maroon lettering piece, blind-stamped fillet to boards. Small chip to head of spine, light wear to joints, hinges starting, blank leaf after front free endpaper lacking. Owner name in faint letters near head of spine, early annotations to endleaves and verso of p. 81, sporadic light foxing, interior otherwise clean. An attractive copy.  $200.
* Second American from Fifth London edition. With forms and an appendix containing summaries of important cases. Sugden was a barrister of Lincoln’s Inn and Solicitor General. And as a member of Parliament, he was instrumental in the passage of several acts dealing with estates, wills and trusts. “The number of editions through which Vendors and Purchasers has passed evinces the estimation with which it is regarded by the profession. It was first published in one vol. 8vo. in 1805, and each successive edition has been enlarged, in order to keep pace with the growth of the law. It is a most useful and thoroughly written work, and is noted for its accuracy, and the soundness of its doctrines.” Marvin, Legal Bibliography (1847) 678. Cohen, Bibliography of Early American Law 2713. Shaw and Shoemaker, American Bibliography 3362.

1810 Edition of Jacob’s Law Dictionary for the Layman

29. Tomlins, Sir Thomas Edlyne [1762-1841]; [Jacob, Giles (1686-1744)]. The Law Dictionary, Defining and Interpreting the Terms or Words of Art, and Explaining the Rise, Progress, and Present State of the English Law. Abstracted from the Last Quarto Edition. London: Printed by C. and R. Baldwin for R. Baldwin, R. Faulder [etc.], 1810. Two volumes. Octavo (5-1/2" x 9"). Recent period-style quarter calf over cloth, endpapers renewed. Light foxing to title page and a few leaves of Volume I, early signature to title page and faint dampstain to final leaf of Volume II, both otherwise clean and fresh. A very attractive set. $850.
* Jacob’s venerable dictionary was first published in 1729 and is considered by many to be his masterpiece, one that “constituted an entirely new departure in legal literature” (Cowley). Tomlin’s edition, first published in 1797, is a substantial enlargement and revision. According to Marvin, this edition is the best one. It is also the source of the present edition, which was “abstracted” for the “use of such persons as may be desirous of information on the subject of the English Law and Government without entering into the controversies and details, which are chiefly interesting and necessary to the professional Student and Practitioner” (Advertisement, Volume I, [iii]). Not in Sweet & Maxwell or the British Museum Catalogue. Cowley, A Bibliography of Indexes, Digests, Dictionaries and Indexes of English Law to the Year 1800 xc. Marvin, Legal Bibliography (1847) 418. HLC II:755.

The Trial of the (Eighteenth) Century

30. [Trial]. [Hastings, Warren (1732-1818]. The History of the Trial of Warren Hastings, Esq. Late Governor-General of Bengal, Before the High Court of Parliament in Westminster-Hall, on an Impeachment by the Commons of Great-Britain, for High Crimes and Misdemeanours. Containing the Whole of the Proceedings and Debates in Both Houses of Parliament, Relating to That Celebrated Prosecution, From Feb. 7, 1786, [sic] Until His Acquittal, April 23, 1795. To which is Added an Account of the Proceedings of Various General Courts of the Honourable United East-India Company, Held in Consequence of His Acquittal. London: Printed for J. Debrett, 1796. Irregular pagination: [viii], xvi, 104, 81, 76, 104, 156, liii, 157-330. Portrait frontispiece in copper, fold- out diagram illustrating the seating arrangements at the trial. Octavo (5" x 8"). Later three-quarter calf over marbled boards, moderate wear to extremities, some rubbing to boards, small chip to head of spine. Early armorial bookplate to front free pastedown, interior clean and bright. A very nice copy. $450.
* “In 1788, there took place in Westminster Hall, a trial which attracted the attention of the civilized world, the trial of Warren Hastings who was impeached by the House of Commons. He was accused of ‘high crimes and misdemeanors’ in connection with his administration as the first Governor-General of British India. Never was the Hall more magnificently arrayed than when Hastings was arraigned at the bar of the court, and never was a more distinguished audience in the galleries. Hastings was defended by three of the ablest counsellors of that time, Law, known later as Chief Justice Law of the King’s Bench, Dallas, who became Chief Justice of Common Pleas, and Ploomer, who was afterward Master of the Rolls. For the House of Commons appeared that marvelous trio of English orators, Burke, Sheridan, and Fox. The trial, with many long intervals, due to adjournments of Parliament, was not finished until 1795, seven years after its opening day. Hastings was acquitted...” Burdick, The Bench and Bar of Other Lands 30-31 cited in Marke 1015.

Phrases and Proverbs in English and Latin

31.Willis, Thomas [1582-1666]; Walker, William [1623-1684]. Phraseologia Anglo-Latina or, Phrases of the English and Latin Tongue; Together With Paroemiologia Anglo-Latina or, A Collection of English and Latin Proverbs. London: Printed for R. Royston, 1672. [xxiv], 351, [3] pp. With three-page printer’s catalogue. Two volumes in one, each with title page, both volumes preceded by general title page with handsome allegorical vignette in copper. Octavo (4-1/2" x 6-1/2"). Later three-quarter calf over marbled boards, endpapers renewed. Wear to extremities, chipping to head of spine, joints starting. Splits between text block and endleaves, title page partially detached, woodcut head and tail-pieces interior clean and tight. A nice copy overall. $750.
* A bilingual collection of Latin and English proverbs (with translations), along with remarks about syntax and idioms. The title page to the first volume (iii) attributes both volumes to Walker. This is not correct. Walker wrote the Paroemiologia; the Phraseologia is a reprint of a work by Willis that was published originally in 1655. Wing, Short-Title Catalogue W432. British Museum Catalogue (Compact Edition) 26:576. Seefront cover illustration this catalogue.

Revised: