The Excise Laws Abridged, and Digested Under Their Proper Heads, in...
Scarce 1775 English Abridgment of Excise Laws Symons, J[ellinger]. The Excise Laws Abridged, and Digested Under Their Proper Heads, in Alphabetical Order. London: Printed for J. Nourse, 1775. xiv, [2], 264 pp. Octavo (8" x 5"). Contemporary calf, blind rules to boards, raised bands and later lettering piece to spine. Moderate rubbing to extremities, chipping to head of spine, boards beginning to separate (but quite secure). Light toning to text, somewhat heavier in places, annotated throughout in an early hand. Ex-library. Stamps to boards, edges and endleaves, bookplate to front pastedown, small perforated stamp to title page. A solid copy of a scarce title. $350. * Second and final edition, "greatly enlarged and improved." Symons's guide for solicitors and excise officers was first published in 1773. The statutes are arranged alphabetically by topic. "The statutes were becoming too numerous, and their connections too intricate to be understood by men of such slender abilities as a great part of those whom the Commissioners of Excise, through the smallness of the salary, were obliged to admit into their employ; and the leisure time which their employment allowed them was too little for those of greater abilities to make any proficiency in the study of them. With a view therefore to assist them I abstracted, collected together, and digested all the laws relating to the excise, under such heads, and in such order, as seemed most likely to answer that end" (Preface, vii-viii). The annotations in this copy appear to be case citations. Both editions are scarce. OCLC locates 2 copies in North American law library (University of Victoria, British Columbia, which has the second edition). Sweet & Maxwell, A Legal Bibliography of the British Commonwealth 1:333 (112). Higgs, Bibliography of Economics 6405. English Short-Title Catalogue T87833.
Price: $350.00
Book number 63210