The Reports of Edward Coke - 1602

Sir Edward Coke was an English barrister, judge and, later, opposition politician, who is considered to be the greatest jurist of the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras.

A portrait of a brunette man in his 40s, with a brunette beard and mustache. He is wearing a shapeless black robe and a Jacobean ruff; to the right of his head is a coat of arms with a motto underneath it. On the bottom right of the portrait is a paragraph of indistinguishable text, while the entire picture is captioned "Given by the descendent Thomas William Coke 1780+".

Coke's Law Reports (a.k.a. Coke's Reports) were a collection of judgements from cases he had participated in, watched, or heard of. Contemporaries such as Theodore Plucknett, John Baker, and Francis Bacon praised the work's richness of detail, and foresaw the influence and importance of the reports. The reports were originally written into seven notebooks, four of which are lost.

This volume still has it's closure ties, though the cover does show extensive wear and tear. 

Full title in French:
Le second part des reportes del Edvvard Coke Lattorney Generall de Roigne de diuers matters en ley, auec grand & mature consideration resolue, & ... adiudge par deuant.

It appears the rest of the text is in Latin.

Though the cover shows some aging, as do the corners of pages, the text is still intact. This is pretty great considering this item is around 415 years old!

The Tryal of Thomas 1st Earl of Macclesfield

We just got in a lovely 1725 copy of the proceedings in the trial of Thomas Earl of Macclesfield. Not having much knowledge about this trial, I decided to do some research.

Thomas Parker was the son of an attorney (of the same name), who stayed in the family business. In 1691 he was called to the bar, and became a Member of Parliament. He served under the monarchs Queen Anne and King George I, and was was a favorite of the King; so much so, he was knighted in 1705 and made Privy Counsellor in 1710 after refusing the office of Lord Chancellor.

The Earl of Macclesfield, as depicted by Sir Godfrey Kneller.

Thomas was Lord Chief Justice, the second-highest judge of the Courts of England and Wales, from 1710 to 1718, during which time he was elevated in title to Baron Parker of Macclesfield. His movement up the ladder did not stop there. When Queen Anne died on August 1, 1714 her successor, George I, was in Germany, so Baron Parker was designated Regent until the new king could take the crown. Parker ended up governing until September 18, 1718, and even gave the King's Speech in the House of Lords since the new monarch could not speak English.

In 1718, he became Lord Chancellor, and was eventually advanced to the title of Earl of Macclesfield in 1721 with an additional title of Viscount Parker. However in 1725, fortune averted her gaze from Parker. In this year, Parker was impeached and tried in the House of Lords. The ruling was found unanimously to convict him of corruption. It turns out, Parker took more than £100,000 in bribes, which is somewhere in the range of  £11,000,000 today. He was jailed in the Tower of London and required to pay a £30,000 fine before being released. This conviction lead Parker to resign as Lord Chancellor, and to be struck off the roll of the Privy Council.

Unfortunately for Parker, his money was confiscated as part of court proceedings, and thus, this once wealthy man had no resources to quickly pay his fine. Once released from the Tower, Parker spent the rest of his life at his son's estate, Shirburn Castle. 

A Letter from Mr. George Robertson

Today a letter from 1820 actually came across my desk as an acquisition. The author, George Robertson, was a distinguished Kentucky jurist, law professor (Translyvania University), and politician. He served terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, Kentucky House of Representatives, and also served as chief justice of the Kentucky Court of Appeals. In this letter he is complaining to a bookseller that he has not received a consignment of books.

Lancaster 6^th July 1820

Gentlemen, 

            You have written to me 

twice that you had rec’d two boxes of

books for me and sent them to Jas Anderson 

and Co. in Lexington. Since the reception of

this information I have sent three times to 

Mr. Anderson but can’t find the boxes. They 

say they never rec’d them.

            I’m very anxious to get them – and fear that 

you did not send them. It is the third attempt 

I have made to get books here and have never 

succeeded yet. There is something very strange 

in the fatality that befalls my books.

            Be so good as to examine and if you have

them, send them on as soon as possible – or let me 

know what has become of them.

Respectfully &c

G. Robertson

Working in acquisitions, I can DEFINITELY relate. Sometimes you order these really magnificent items and they don't come in when you want/need them, and like good old George, you get worried they may never arrive! This penmanship is gorgeous, and the parchment is so nice! I love looking at it, it transports me back to 1820, and I, for a moment, forget text messages and Netflix, I just think about how these books were transported, How this letter was written, over candlelight perhaps? Where are his books now? It's remarkable how one artifact can impact your imagination so!

Sketch of Horace Binney

First things first - who is Horace Binney?

       Horace Binney is a Philadelphia-born lawyer who served as an Anti-Jacksonian (Republican) in the United States House of Representatives from March 4, 1833- March 3, 1835. Binney graduated from Harvard in 1797, and went on to study law in the office of Jared Ingersoll - a member of the constitutional convention of 1787 and Pennsylvania attorney-general from 1791-1800 and 1811-1816. Binney was also the founder of Harvard's Hasty Pudding Club - a social club for Harvard students. Prominent members of the Hasty Pudding Club include: John Adams, John Quincy Adams, Theodore Roosevelt, and John F. Kennedy.


About the Item

This well-worn item that I had the pleasure of acquiring is  a 1907 presentation copy of "A Sketch of Horace Binney" by Hampton Carson. Presentation copies are rare, since they have been signed by the author without request as a gift. Inscribed copies are those which have been signed by the author at the book owner's request. This item, as previously stated, is well-worn, so it will be kept in a plastic sheet within an acid free envelope to prevent further damage. 

"WW Smithers Esquire with the compliments of Hampton Carson Oct 17/07"

1852 Proceedings of the Annual Communication of the Grand [Masonic] Lodge of Alabama

Today is conspiracy theory gold! Had the 1852 Proceedings of the Annual Communication of the Grand [Masons] Lodge of Alabama come through my desk today. Snapped a few pics that include the Masonic calendar for that year. It's a gorgeous, yet delicate, book. However, some of the wording inside the book definitely gave me the heebie jeebies. THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE!

The Cutter

The Cutter in Five Lectures Upon the Art and Practice of Cutting Friends, Acquaintances, and Relations
- this particular copy is from 1808, and just arrived bubble-wrapped to the heavens! It really is gorgeous (and quite the funny read)! 

Witchcraft in Old and New England

Had this lovely book from 1929 come in this morning. I'm so excited to read through it!The accessible materials for a history of Elizabethan witchcraft are scattered and fragmentary. Much is lost. We cannot hope to understand the prosecutions of the last sixty years of the 17th century, whether in Old England or New, until we arrive at a substantially accurate comprehension of what was thought and done at the close of the great queen's reign. Contents; typical case; English witchcraft before 1558; image magic and the like; love and hate; madness, curses and the elfshot; Venefica; charms ghoulish and profane; wind and weather; witch in the dairy; metamorphosis; mirrors and thieves; treasure trove; haunted houses and haunted men; the seer; cold water; company and the witches; Sabbath; King James I; witchcraft and the Puritans.