Law
We offer free shipping
BLACKSTONE, Sir William.
Commentaries on the Laws of England. 1765
£15,000
First edition. "Blackstone's great work on the laws of England is the extreme example of justification of an existing state of affairs by virtue of its history … Until the...
4 volumes, quarto (269 × 209 mm). Contemporary tan calf, skilfully rebacked and relined to style, red and green morocco labels, boards with gilt rope-roll border,... Read more
BRACTON, Henry de.
De Legibus & consuetudinibus Angliae Libri quinque 1569
£12,000
First edition of a classic of English law, "incomparably the best work produced by any lawyer in the middle ages" (Encyclopaedia Britannica), "a formulation of principles which have...
Folio (293 × 195 mm). Contemporary calf, rebacked and recornered with old gilt spine laid down. Housed in a dark brown cloth solander box. Rubbed, front joint a... Read more
SHELLEY, Percy Bysshe.
Autograph letter signed ("Mr. Shelley." in the third person) to Christopher John Pike. 1813
£8,500
Shelley writes in the third person: "Mr. Shelley requests that Mr. Pike would give the Bearer the copy of the Settlement in his possession. Mr. S. will return it in the course of the...
One page, 12mo, with Shelley's red wax seal, red cloth portfolio. Provenance: A. Edward Newton (his sale Parke-Bernet, pt III, 30 October 1941, lot 247; bookplate in... Read more
MONTESQUIEU, Charles de Secondat, Baron de.
The Spirit of Laws. 1750
£5,000
First English edition. One of the central texts in the history of 18th-century thought, L'Esprit des Loix was a huge influence both on English law, especially as mediated by William...
2 volumes, octavo. Contemporary quarter calf, marbled boards, vellum tips, dark blue morocco labels, spines numbered direct. With advert leaf at end of Vol. I. Quire... Read more
MONTESQUIEU, Charles Louis de Secondat, Baron de.
The Complete Works. 1777
£3,500
First collected edition in English.
4 volumes, octavo (210 × 128 mm). Contemporary red straight grain morocco prize-binding, spines gilt in compartments, arms of Trinity College Cambridge gilt to... Read more
BLACKSTONE, William.
Law Tracts, in two volumes. 1762
£2,500
First Collected Edition, reprinting, "with a few corrections and additions", four early works: An Essay on Collateral Consanguinity (1750; Blackstone's first legal publication),...
2 volumes, octavo. Contemporary calf, red morocco labels, sides with double blind rules and scalloped inner border. With 8 engraved illustrations of seals and 2... Read more
BLACKSTONE, William.
Commentaries on the Laws of England. 1770
£2,500
Fourth edition. "Until the Commentaries, the ordinary Englishman had viewed the law as a vast, unintelligible and unfriendly machine; nothing but trouble, even danger, was to be...
4 volumes, quarto (273 × 218 mm). Contemporary pale tan legal calf, red morocco lettering-pieces, green morocco numbering-pieces, raised bands, sides with a blind... Read more
(LAW)
The Laws concerning Travelling, &c. 1718
£1,750
First edition of what is thought to be the first work of its kind in English. It was reprinted at Bristol shortly afterwards.
Duodecimo (160 × 96 mm). Contemporary sheep, later red morocco spine label. Complete with final 3pp. adverts. Some skilful repair to spine-ends, a scattering of... Read more
(SKENE, Sir John, comp.)
The lawes and actes of Parliament, 1597
£1,750
First edition. John Skene (c. 1540–1617) had been appointed to a commission in 1592 to review and print acts of parliament and other laws, which resulted in the present work,...
Folio (253 × 174 mm). Contemporary panelled calf, rebacked and recornered c. 1800 with gilt spine lettered in the second compartment. Without the additional... Read more
REISS, R[odolphe] A[rchibald]
La Photographie Judiciaire. [1903]
£1,500
First and only edition. Foundation text of the use of photography in forensic investigations. Uncommon, just 9 copies on OCLC, none apparently in the US. Reiss (1876-1929), received...
Large octavo. Resewn and recased in the original marl printed card wraps. 6 original photographic plates mounted on card, numerous illustrations to the text, many of... Read more
BLACKSTONE, William.
Commentaries on the Laws of England in Four Books. 1770
£1,500
Fourth edition. "Blackstone's great work on the laws of England is the extreme example of justification of an existing state of affairs by virtue of its history … Until the...
4 volumes, quarto (267 × 210 mm). 19th-century tan calf, spines gilt in compartments, red and black morocco labels. Bookplate of William Baker to each volume.... Read more
GOOD, I. J.
Probability and the Weighing of Evidence. 1950
£1,250
First edition, first impression. Born Isadore Jacob Gudak to a Polish-Jewish family in London, Irving John Good (1916-2009) anglicized his name, and was known to his friends as Jack....
Octavo. Original burgundy Rexene covers in imitation of pebbled cloth, spine printed in gilt. In the original printed dust jacket. A hint of foxing to first two... Read more
REISS, R[odolphe] A[rchibald]
Manuel de Police Scientifique (Technique). 1911
£750
First and only edition. The first, and the only published, volume of a projected, comprehensive, four-volume manual of scientific police practice by one of its unsung pioneers. The...
Octavo. Contemporary oatmeal half cloth on mid-blue boards, blue morocco label to spine, original wraps bound in. Profusely illustrated. Some light spotting, a... Read more
CHARLES I, king of England, Scotland, & Ireland.
His Majesties Answer to a book, entituled, The Declaration, or Remonstrance of the Lords and Commons, of the 19th of May, 1642. 1642
£750
First London edition (there were reprints at York and Cambridge). A response to "A declaration or remonstrance of the state of the kingdome, agreed on by the Lords and Commons...
Small quarto (183 × 143 mm), pp. [ii], 30. Modern paper wrappers. Short closed tear to last leaf not affecting text, a good copy. Read more
MARRIOTT, Sir James.
The Case of the Dutch Ships, Considered. 1758
£700
First edition. Published when Marriott had recently graduated in Law and entered the College of Advocates, and at the height of the Seven Years' War, this pamphlet contends that "......
Octavo (202 × 132 mm). Recent sprinkled half calf on marbled boards, red morocco label to spine. Lightly browned, else very good. Read more
BURN, Richard & John.
The Justice of the Peace and Parish Officer. 1793
£500
Seventeenth edition. Richard Burn was a JP and clergyman who edited the ninth, tenth and eleventh editions of Blackstone's Commentaries. His Justice of the Peace and Parish Officer...
4 volumes, octavo (208 × 130 mm). Contemporary tan calf, black morocco labels, 5 raised bands, patterned roll to boards in blind. Boards rubbed and scuffed, some... Read more
CANTLIE, Keith.
Notes on Khasi Law. 1934
£500
First edition. Decidedly uncommon, just 5 copies on OCLC, all but one in the UK. Cantlie entered the Indian Civil Service in 1909, being first posted to Assam in 1910 as Assistant...
Octavo. Original green cloth, title gilt to the spine. A little rubbed, lightly toned, a very good copy. Read more
LOMAX, Montagu.
The Experiences of an Asylum Doctor. 1921 & 1922
£425
First Editions. "Deficiencies in the day-to-day management of English asylums had long been exposed, ever since the damning indictment of neglect and casual cruelty contained in...
2 vols. Octavo. Original brown and black cloth respectively. Some browning to both, the second item from the Daily Express library with their inkstamps to the... Read more
EVANS, E[dward] P[ayson].
The Criminal Prosecution and Capital Punishment of Animals. 1906
£400
First edition. Having graduated from the University of Michigan and studied for three years at Göttingen, Berlin and Munich, in 1862 Evans was appointed Professor of Modern...
Octavo, original dark blue combed cloth, title gilt to the spine. Frontispiece and title-page vignette. Light shelf-wear, endpapers a little browned, some foxing to... Read more
LOWE, Louisa.
The Bastilles of England; the Lunacy Laws at Work. 1883
£395
First edition of "one of the most powerful accounts of wrongful confinement" of the Victorian period (Homberger, "Wrongful Confinement", bbc.ac.uk). Despite institutional reforms in...
Octavo. Original grey cloth, title gilt to spine and in black to the upper board, decorative frieze to both boards, grey on white floral sprigged endpapers A little... Read more
REISS, R[odolphe] A[rchibald]
Manuel du Portrait parlé 1905
£275
First edition, uncommon abridgement of the Bertillon system designed for easier handling and consultation by police officers and agents of the Justice Department. Only 9 copies...
Small octavo. Original pale grey cloth, rounded corners, title in white to upper board and spine. . 5 black and white plates from photographs, one coloured plates of... Read more
GRIFFITHS, Arthur.
Secrets of the Prison-House or Gaol Studies and Sketches. 1894
£200
First edition. "Griffiths's historical importance is twofold. Firstly, he was a significant, if second-rank, prison administrator, and an efficient and trusted subordinate of Du Cane...
2 volumes, octavo, original light green cloth, title gilt to spines, block of a prisoner in a cell gilt to the upper boards. Frontispiece to each and numerous... Read more
[PRITCHARD, John Laurence] LAURENCE, John (pseud.)
Everyday Swindles and how to avoid them. 1921
£200
First edition. Guide for potential gulls; "Foolishness is largely a matter of ignorance, and the man who is gulled by the wiles of the swindler is usually the man who has not had...
Octavo, original pictorial card wraps. Wraps slightly rubbed and with diagonal crease across the upper panel, spine chipping at the tail, browned throughout, about... Read more
TOWNE, Charles Hanson.
The Rise and Fall of Prohibition. 1923
£175
First edition, first impression.
Octavo. Original dark blue cloth, titles to spine and upper board gilt. With the dust jacket. Frontispiece and 3 plates. Lightly rubbed, spine titles dulled, endpapers... Read more
(PRISONS)
Standing orders to be followed in carrying out the Rules (made by the Secretary of State for the Home Department) for the Government of Local Prisons. 1899
£150
First edition of this comprehensive guide to the running of local prisons. Print run of 2025, but uncommon, no copies showing on COPAC, OCLC listing just 2 copies of the 1906 revised...
Octavo, contemporary dark blue buckram, title gilt to spine and upper board. Corrigenda slip mounted at p.437, a few pencilled marginalia in a contemporary hand.... Read more
