Pierce Egan's Account of the Trial of John Thurtell and Joseph Hunt.
The Fatal Consequences of Sports Betting [Trial]. Thurtell, John [1794-1824] & Joseph Hunt [d.1825?], Defendants. Egan, Pierce [1772-1849], Reporter. Pierce Egan's Account of the Trial of John Thurtell and Joseph Hunt. With an Appendix, Disclosing Some Extraordinary Facts, Exclusively in the Possession of the Editor. With Portraits, And Many Other Illustrative Engravings. London: Knight & Lacey, Publishers, 1824. [iv], 105, [1] pp. With an engraved portrait frontispiece (of Thurtell, Hunt and William Probert) and 6 unnumbered full-page woodcuts, as called for. [Bound with] Egan, Pierce. Recollections of John Thurtell, Who was Executed at Hertford on Friday, The 9th of January, 1824...Being an Appendix to His Account of the Trial, Which May Now be Had, Price 2s. London: Knight & Lacey, Publishers, 1824. [iv], 44 pp. With a woodcut frontispiece depicting Thurtell's execution. Octavo (8-1/2" x 5"; 21.4 x 12.7 cm). Contemporary three-quarter calf over marbled boards, gilt fillets and lettering piece to spine. Some rubbing to exterior, light wear to extremities, front joint cracked, spine varnished, corners bumped, rear hinge cracked. Light toning to interior, occasional light foxing and soiling, unobtrusive faint dampstaining to first three leaves of Account. A good copy. $250. * Only editions. John Thurtell, an unlucky gambler, was deeply in debt to the bookmaker William Weare. Deciding to take revenge, Thurtell, along with his friends Joseph Hunt and William Probert, murdered Weare in a grisly manner and tossed his body into a pond. Thurtell tried to escape conviction. He was hanged. Hunt confessed his involvement and stated that Thurtell was the killer. He was sent to the penal colony in Botany Bay, Australia. Charges against Probert were dropped in exchange for his wife's testimony, which minimized his role in the crime. Our account of the trial and its aftermath was produced by Pierce Egan, a popular journalist and sportswriter. Thurtell himself was an admirer--the chance to read Egan's coverage of a recent prizefight was purportedly among his final wishes. Recollections was issued separately as the appendix which is referenced on the title page of Account.
Price: $250.00
Book number 85770