Another Letter to Mr. Almon, In Matter of Libel, London, 1770.
A Defense of Freedom of the Press [Grenville-Temple, Richard, 2nd Earl Temple (1711-1779), Attributed]. Another Letter to Mr. Almon, In Matter of Libel. London: Printed for J. Almon, 1770. 84, 99-198; 16 pp. Text continuous and complete despite pagination error. With a half-title and 16-pp. publisher catalogue. Octavo (8-1/2" x 5"). Later buckram, gilt fillets and title to spine, endpapers renewed, top-edge of text block gilt, fore and bottom edges untrimmed. Light shelfwear and some fading to exterior, later bookplates of William Arthur Cavendish-Bentinck and Anne and F.G. Renier) to front pastedown, owner initials "AR" in ink to rear free endpaper. Light toning to interior, light foxing in a few places. $450. * First edition. This book was written in response to the prosecutions of Henry Sampson Woodfall, John Almon and others for seditious libel for publishing The Letters of Junius, a collection of political tracts. The jury found Woodfall technically guilty of publishing the Letters, but Lord Mansfield, the presiding judge, declared a mistrial and Woodfall escaped imprisonment. John Almon [1737-1805], a bookseller, was found guilty but not punished seriously (if at all). He was well-known as an advocate of press freedom and a friend of prominent politician Richard Grenville-Temple, to whom this work is sometimes attributed. A second edition appeared in 1771. Cavendish-Bentinck [1857-1943], 6th Duke of Portland, was a landowner and Conservative politician. Anne Renier [1911?-1988] and her husband, Fernand Gabriel Renier [1905-1988] were important collectors of popular books, pamphlets and ephemera. English Short-Title Catalogue T1509.
Price: $450.00
Book number 81875