Book #73128
Item #73128 Commentaries on the Laws of England. Volume I, 1771. Subscriber copy. William Blackstone, Thomas Leaming.
Commentaries on the Laws of England. Volume I, 1771. Subscriber copy
Commentaries on the Laws of England. Volume I, 1771. Subscriber copy

Commentaries on the Laws of England. Volume I, 1771. Subscriber copy

Copy of Volume I of the First American Edition of Blackstone Owned by Thomas Leaming, A Subscriber Blackstone, Sir William [1723-1780]. [Leaming, Thomas (1748-1797)]. Commentaries on the Laws of England. In Four Books. Re-Printed From the British Copy, Page for Page with the Last Edition. [Philadelphia]: Robert Bell, 1771. Volume I [ONLY]. [iv], [iv], ii, [ii], [iv], 485 pp. Title page preceded by 4-page publisher advertisement. Octavo (8-3/4" x 5-1/2"). Contemporary sheep, blind fillets to boards, raised bands and blind-stamped volume number to spine, lettering piece lacking, blind tooling to board edges, front hinge mended. Light rubbing to boards, light gatoring along fore-edges, moderate rubbing to extremities with wear to spine ends and corners, partial crack to spine near foot, rear board beginning to separate but secure. Light browning and occasional light foxing to text, occasional marks in pencil to margins, owner signature of Thomas Leaming dated March 7, 1772 to head of title page, presentation inscription to Thomas Leaming (a descendant) from Samuel W. Pennypacker dated June 29, 1901 to front free endpaper. $1,850. * First American edition, a reprint of the fourth Oxford edition (1770). This was a significant contribution to early American law and a landmark in the history of American publishing. The subscribers to this edition included John Adams, John Jay, John Dickinson, several colonial governors and many other leaders of colonial America. Sixteen of these were signers of the Declaration of Independence who went on to serve as members of the Continental Congress. Leaming was a lawyer in Cape May, New Jersey, when he subscribed to this edition. He was a member of the fifth session of the Provincial Congress of New Jersey (June-August 1776), which ordered the arrest of royal governor William Franklin, approved the Declaration of Independence and produced New Jersey's first state constitution (1776). He played important roles in the Revolution by raising a battalion of militia, serving as an officer and contributing funds to build and outfit privateers. Samuel W. Pennypacker [1843-1916] was a Pennsylvania politician, judge and historian. Governor of Pennsylvania from 1903 to 1907 and a long-serving judge of the court of common pleas, he published several books and articles on various aspects o.

Price: $1,850.00

Book number 73128

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