A Brief Narrative of the Case and Tryal of John Peter Zenger...
The Landmark Trial that Helped Established Freedom of the Press in America [Trial]. Zenger, John Peter [1697-1746], Defendant. A Brief Narrative of the Case and Tryal of John Peter Zenger, Printer of the New-York Weekly Journal. [Drop-Head Title]. [London, 1738?]. 32 pp. Text in parallel columns. Quarto (8-1/2" x 6-3/4"). Disbound stab-stitched pamphlet. Moderate toning, light edgewear, light soiling to exterior, first leaf partially detached, smudges to a few leaves. $2,500. * Reprint of the Boston edition of 1738, one of the first London editions. The 1734 trial and acquittal of John Peter Zenger was a landmark event in the establishment of press freedom in America, a right that would be confirmed by the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment. Zenger's paper often targeted New York's governor, William Cosby. Cosby had Zenger arrested on a charge of seditious libel and ordered the seizure and burning of the four offending numbers of his journal. Zenger's defense was led by Andrew Hamilton, whose "address to the jury asserted the right of the jury to determine matters of law as well as of fact and held that the truth of an utterance could be upheld as a defense against a charge of libel. Both assertions were contrary to the common law that then prevailed, but it took the jury only a few minutes of deliberation to return a verdict of innocent. Hamilton was immediately hailed as a popular hero and Zenger as a symbol of the free press as a bulwark against tyranny" (ANB). Written by James Alexander, one of Zenger's lawyers, A Brief Narrative of the Case and Tryal of John Peter Zenger was edited and published by Zenger in 1736. Immediately famous, it was reprinted several times in the colonies, London and Dublin. American National Biography (ANB) 24:233. Sabin, A Dictionary of Books Relating to America 106306. Howes, USiana Z6. English Short-Title Catalogue N15462.
Price: $2,500.00
Book number 75254