Report of the Trial of the Action, Bogle Versus Lawson, For a Libel...
One of the Most Detailed Accounts of a Major Nineteenth-Century Financial Swindle [Trial]. Hughes, W. Hughes, Editor. "The Times" Testimonal: Report of the Trial of the Action, Bogle Versus Lawson, For a Libel Published in "The Times" London-Newspaper, Tried at the Summer Assizes for the Country of Surrey, Held at Croydon, Monday, August 16, 1841, Before the Right Honourable Sir Nicholas Conyngham Tindal, Knt. Lord Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas, And a Special Jury; Together with the Proceedings of a Public Meeting of Merchants, Bankers and Others, Held at the Mansion House, London, Friday, October 1, 1841, On the Subject of Such Action, And of the Committee then Appointed; And Also a List of Subscribers to "The Times" Testimonial. Published by the Committee. London: John Hatchard and Son, Henry Butterworth and Pelham Richardson, 1841. 179, [1] pp. Half-title lacking. Octavo (8-1/4" x 5"). Recent quarter cloth over marbled boards, printed paper title label to spine. Some toning to text, light soiling to title page. A nice copy of a rare title. $950. * First edition. A sensational case of a million-pound plot to defraud Continental bankers by forged letters of credit, or lettres circulaires, purporting to have been issued by the bankers Glyn, Hallifax, Mills, & Co. The plot was exposed by a Times of London correspondent, in a letter published on 26th May 1840. This case was important because it exposed the largely unregulated banking practices associated with letters of credit, which were easy to forge and difficult to police. The naming of Allan George Bogle-who was almost certainly involved-triggered this libel action against John Joseph Lawson, the printer and publisher of the Times, and resulted in the award of one farthing damages for Bogle, but enormous expense and the considerable gratitude of bankers and investors for the Times. The present report is probably the most detailed account of a major financial swindle of this period, particularly one involving letters of credit. A second edition was published the same year as the first, the third and final edition in 1842. All three are rare. OCLC locates 6 copies worldwide of the first edition, 2 in North America (Newberry Library, Temple University). LibraryHub adds a copy at the Society of Antiquaries. This edition n.
Price: $950.00
Book number 65223