[Rarebooks] fa: THOMAS WOOD - INSTITUTE OF THE LAWS OF ENGLAND 1728

[Ardwight Chamberlain]

After a long summer hiatus...

Listed now, auction ending Sunday, September 21. More details and images can be found at the URL below or by searching under the seller name arch_in_la.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/arch_in_la/m.html?item=351168108877&

Thanks again,
Ardwight Chamberlain
L.A.

Thomas Wood: An Institute of the Laws of England; or, The Laws of England in their Natural Order, according to Common Use. Published for the Directions of Young Beginners, or Students in the Law; and of Others that Desire to Have a General Knowledge in Our Common and Statute Laws. In Four Books. The Fourth Edition, Corrected. To which is prefixed, Some Thoughts concerning the Study of the Laws of England, &c. by the same Author. [London] In the Savoy: Printed by E. and R. Nutt and R. Gosling for Bernard Lintot [etc.], 1728. Large folio (35.5 cm; 14 in.) in full period calf with raised bands and gilt-lettered spine label; [2], xi, [3], 663, [35] pp.; engraved portrait frontispiece. ESTC T107515.

A handsome example of this much-expanded edition of Wood's Institute of the Laws, first published in 1704, a standard legal reference work in England and America for much of the eighteenth century. The four books, or parts, comprise: Of Persons; Of Estates; Of Crimes and Misdemeanors, or the Pleas of the Crown; Of the Courts of Justice, or Jurisdiction of Courts.  Also included is Wood's pioneering essay, Some Thoughts concerning the Study of the Laws of England (with a separate title-page).

Binding bumped and worn at the extremities, short split to the front joint near the crown, a 3" gash with loss to the leather at the bottom corner of the rear board; light dust-soiling to the edges of the text block and some dimpling to the leaves (as is common with laid paper of the period), otherwise the contents are exceedingly clean, bright and fresh, firmly bound. With a small engraved armorial bookplate and the early signature of "Tho. Porter, June 7th, 1729." An appealing volume inside and out.