Laws of Maryland at Large, With Proper Indexes, Now First Collected...
Colonial Laws of Maryland [Maryland]. Bacon, Thomas [c.1700-1768], Compiler. Laws of Maryland at Large, With Proper Indexes. Now First Collected into One Compleat Body, and Published from the Original Acts and Records, Remaining in the Secretary's-Office of the Said Province. Together With Notes and Other Matters, Relative to the Constitution Thereof, Extracted from the Provincial Records. To Which is Prefixed, The Charter, With an English Translation. Annapolis: Printed by Jonas Green, 1765. [736] pp. Folio (15-3/4" x 9-1/2"). Contemporary reverse calf, blind fillets to boards, raised bands and lettering piece to spine, blind tooling to board edges. Light rubbing and faint dampstaining to boards, a few small scuffs, nicks and inkstains, early ink annotation to front board, which is separated but secured by cords, rear board detaching at ends but secure, moderate rubbing and wear to extremities, spine ends abraded, corners bumped and worn, front free endpaper lacking, rear free endpaper detached, later ownership signature (of "Mrs. Robert Stockslager Funkstown Md.") to front pastedown. Moderate toning and light foxing to interior, light browning in places, occasional faint dampstaining, somewhat heavier to first and final few leaves, light edgewear to first few leaves, small hole to head of title page, which has two struck-through annotations (ownership signatures?) and early ownership signature of Adam Ott to title page, early annotations, possibly by Ott, in several places. $1,500. * First edition. Bacon was the rector of All-Saints Parish in Frederick County and chaplain to the province's governor Frederick Calvert, 6th Baron Baltimore. His extensive compilation, spanning the years 1637-1763, is considered "not only the most important of the legal publications of the Province of Maryland, but a specimen of typography which was not exceeded in dignity and beauty by any production of an American colonial press" (Wroth). The former owner of our copy may have been Adam Ott [1748-1827], Revolutionary War veteran and later sheriff of Washington County. The annotations, possibly his, describe repeals or reforms that took place after the Revolution. Wroth, A History of Printing in Colonial Maryland 254. Babbitt, Hand-List of Legislative Sessions and Session Laws 169. Benedict, Acts and Laws of the Thirteen Or.
Price: $1,500.00
Book number 74844