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BLACKSTONE, William.
Commentaries on the Laws of England.
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 expected from contact with it. Blackstone's great achievement was to popularize the law and the traditions which had influenced its formation" (PMM). Of these Commentaries Sir William Jones observed "they are the most correct and beautiful outline that ever was exhibited in any human science".
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 roll border, red sprinkled edges. Inscriptions on front free endpapers recording the gift of the book by Henry Devenish to Henry Leigh, ownership inscription of E. L. Holmes Leigh in first and last volumes, the latter dated 1897. Top and bottom of spines chipped with some loss, splitting to hinges, and general wear to boards, some light foxing throughout, still a good contemporary set.
