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. [3]-84, 99-198; 16 pp. Text continuous and complete despite pagination error. Lacking half-title. With a 16-pp. publisher catalogue. Octavo (8-1/4" x 5-1/4"; 20.95 x 13.33 cm). Disbound. Moderate toning, light foxing to a few leaves, light soiling to exterior, later library inkstamps (Birmingham Law Society) to title page and a few other leaves, final leaves of publisher catalogue partially detached. A good copy. $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). Almon 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. English Short-Title Catalogue T1509.
Price: $450.00
Book number 84751