The Tryal of Charles Lord Mohun, Before the House of Peers...
The Controversial Acquittal of a Notorious Duelist and Rake [Trial]. Mohun, Charles, 4th Baron [c.1675-1712], Defendant. The Tryal of Charles Lord Mohun, Before the House of Peers in Parliament, For the Murder of William Mountford; Which Began the 31 of January 1692. And Continued by Several Adjournments till the Fourth of February Following; The Most Honourable the Lord Marquiss of Carmathen, Lord President of Their Majesties Council, Being Lord High Steward Pro Hac Vice. Together with the Questions in Points of Law, Put by their Lordships to the Judges; With the Arguments of My Lord Mohun's Counsel, And the Opinions of the Judges upon the Said Questions. Published by Command of the House of Peers. [London]: Printed by Edward Jones and published by him and Randal Taylor, 1693. 28, 33-64 pp. Complete. With an initial imprimatur leaf and added portrait frontispiece of Mohun. Folio (13" x 8"). Stab-stitched pamphlet bound in later three-quarter calf over marbled boards, blind rules to calf edges, gilt title to spine. Light rubbing, a few small scuffs and later small paper shelf labels to boards, moderate rubbing to extremities, light wear to spine ends, joints just starting at head, corners lightly bumped and worn, front hinge cracked. Moderate toning to interior, very light browning to text and faint dampstaining in a few places, no loss to legibility, a few folded or creased corners. $350. * First and only edition. An English politician and man of many passions, Mohun was notorious for his participation in duels. In December of 1692, he and his friend Richard Hill conspired to abduct the actress Anne Bracegirdle, with whom Hill was madly (and unrequitedly) in love. Her colleague William Mountfort attempted to stop the two and was stabbed in the ensuing fight. When he died the next day, Hill fled the country, leaving Mohun to be tried for murder before the House of Lords. The sensational trial resulted in a deeply controversial acquittal. Mohun would go on to be tried and acquitted of a different murder in 1697; he ultimately died in a duel along with his opponent, the Duke of Hamilton, in 1712. English Short-Title Catalogue R30170.
Price: $350.00
Book number 73975