A Full Account of the Case of John Sayer, Esq; From the Time of His...
"The Consequences of Town Gallantry Are Always Fatal" [Trial]. Noble, Richard, Defendant [1684-1713]. A Full Account of the Case of John Sayer, Esq; From the Time of His Unhappy Marriage with his Wife, To His Death. Including the Whole Intrigue Between Mrs. Sayer and Mr. Noble; With Several Diverting Incidents, And the Prosecution at Large Against Noble, As Appear'd at the Coroner's Inquest, And at Kingston-Assizes. London: Printed, And Sold by A. Baldwin, 1713. 20 pp. Folio (12-3/4" x 8"). Stab-stitched pamphlet with later side stitching. Light toning, negligible horizontal fold line, light soiling in a few places, light offsetting to title page and first few leaves, slight chipping to top-edge of title page without loss to text, small hole to text block of leaf B1 (pp. 3-4) with no loss to legibility. $750. * First edition, one of three from the same year. As the title indicates, the Sayers did not have a happy marriage, with Mrs. Sayer refusing marital relations and Mr. Sayer turning elsewhere for satisfaction in an act of what the work calls "Town Gallantry." Mrs. Sayer turned to Noble for help in obtaining a legal separation, and the two ran away together in 1712. Mr. Sayer retaliated by bringing an action for criminal conversation against Noble and obtaining a warrant for his wife's arrest. When he found the two living together with his wife's mother, Noble murdered him on the spot, in front of the two constables Sayer had brought with him. Noble was arrested along with Mrs. Sayer and her mother, who were charged as accomplices and later acquitted. Despite the lavish amount of money spent by the two women in his defense, he was condemned to death and executed. OCLC locates 6 copies of this edition, 3 in North America (University of Illinois, Middlebury, New York State Library). English Short-Title Catalogue T108029.
Price: $750.00
Book number 72898