The Justice of the Peace, And Parish Officer. London, 1755. 2 vols.
Handsome First Edition of Most Popular English Work About Justices of the Peace Burn, Richard [1709-1785]. The Justice of the Peace, And Parish Officer. [London]: Printed by Henry Lintot, 1755. Two volumes. xxvii, [1], 541, [3]; [iii], 573, [11] pp. Three-page publisher advertisement at end of Volume I, another one-page advertisement facing title page of Volume II. Octavo (8-1/4" x 5"). Contemporary calf, rebacked, blind rules to boards, blind fillets along joints, raised bands, and lettering pieces to spines. Light rubbing and a few shallow scuffs to boards, moderate rubbing to extremities, corners bumped and somewhat worn, hinges cracked, early armorial bookplates (of George Rice) to front pastedowns, recent bookplates (of Denis Gray) to front free endpapers. Moderate toning to text, faint dampspotting in places, offsetting and light edgewear to endleaves. $1,500. * First edition. A remarkably durable work, Burn's Justice went through 30 editions by 1869 and was excerpted often in early American justice manuals, such as Parker's Conductor Generalis (1764) and An Abridgment of Burn's Justice of the Peace and Parish Officer (1773). It covers such topics as Accessory, Alehouses, Aliens, Assault and Battery, Bail (By Writ of Habeas Corpus), Bankrupt, Banks for Savings (Rules and Regulations), Bastards, Buggery, Clergy, Dogs, Evidence, Excise and Customs, Forfeiture, Forgery, Game, Homicide, Indictment, Jurors, Libel, Oaths, Insolvent Debtors, Plague, Polygamy, Poor Law, Promissory Notes, Rape, Riot, Robbery, Taxes, Vagrants and much more. Holdsworth notes that "a perusal of these headings tells us something of the development of the system of local government" during the time of the book's publication. Holdsworth, A History of English Law X:162. English Short-Title Catalogue T68627.
Price: $1,500.00
Book number 71652