The Works of the Honourable James Wilson. 3 Vols. Philadelphia, 1804.
A Founder's Vision: The Rare 1804 First Edition of James Wilson's Legal Works Wilson, James [1742-1798]. Wilson, Bird [1777-1859], Editor. The Works of the Honourable James Wilson, L.L.D. Published Under the Direction of Bird Wilson, Esquire. Philadelphia: At the Lorenzo Press, 1804. Three volumes. xvi, 467; vi, 497; iv, 439 pp. Volume I has a copperplate engraved portrait of James Wilson with a tissue guard. Octavo (8-1/4" x 5"; 21 x 12.7 cm). Contemporary sheep, blind fillets and red and black morocco gilt lettering pieces to spine, small embossed owner stamp, "D.A. Smalley," to centers of front boards. Light rubbing, a few faint stains and minor scuffs to boards, moderate rubbing to extremities, corners bumped and somewhat worn, front joint of Volume I just starting at head, owner signature ("T.C. Aylwin," dated 1856) to front pastedowns, foxing and dampstaining to frontispiece, foxing and offsetting to title-pages. Moderate toning, light foxing and offsetting to text throughout set, light dampstaining in top corner of most leaves in second volume, wear and toning along edges of pp. (67)-70 in third volume, "D.A. Smalley" to title pages. An appealing set. $8,500. * First edition. This seminal first edition represents a primary source of American Enlightenment jurisprudence. James Wilson (1742-1798) occupies a singular position in the American founding, being one of only six individuals to sign both the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution. As a primary drafter of the Constitution and an inaugural Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, Wilson's Works, compiled posthumously by his son, Bird Wilson, constitute the first systematic legal treatise published in the United States. The collection is anchored by his 1790-1791 lectures at the College of Philadelphia, which provide some of the earliest authoritative commentaries on the federal Constitution, the law of nations, and the philosophical integration of natural law with the American common law tradition. One of the owners of this set was Thomas Cushing Aylwin [1806-1871], a renowned Canadian trial lawyer, judge and politician. "D.A. Smalley," another owner, is probably David Allen Smalley [1809-1877], a Vermont lawyer, judge and politician who was chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 1856 to 1860 and a judge of the United.
Price: $8,500.00
Book number 78567