[Rarebooks] fa: COMPLETE HISTORY of the MURDER OF MR. WEARE 1824 (w/ A History of Gaming Houses & Gamesters)

[Ardwight Chamberlain]

Listed now, auction ending Sunday, July 17. More details and images can be found at the URL below or by searching for the seller name arch_in_la. 

http://tinyurl.com/zoeqkgt

Thanks,
Ardwight Chamberlain
Ann Arbor, MI, USA


A Complete History and Development of All the Extraordinary Circumstances and Events Connected with the Murder of Mr. Weare, Together with the Trial at Large; Including the Speeches of Counsel, Examination of Evidence, Defence, &c. &c. A Faithful Picture of all the Fashionable “Modern Hells” and “Black Legs” of the Metropolis, with Sketches of the Principal Individuals who frequent them, whether in the Character of “Greeks” or “Pigeons.” An Exposition of the Frauds practised, the Immense Sums Won and Lost, and the calamitous Events to which this System of Nefarious Villainy has in many instances led. Comprising Most Curious and Highly Interesting Details Furnished from the Original and Authentic Sources: With a view to deter the Young and unwary Novice from this Vortex of Vice and Misery. The Whole forming a Genuine Series of Gambling Biography. London: Jones and Co., 1824. FIRST EDITION; 8vo (21.5 cm) in 19th-century half calf and pebbled cloth, top page edges gilt; (3), [1]-60, (2), [7]-72, (1), 61-266, (1), [1]-74 pp.; with eight leaves of engraved plates. Complete, though the appendix has been misbound after p. 60 of the main text.

Detailed account of the notorious Radlett Murder Case and the subsequent trial. William Weare, an accomplished solicitor and card shark, was owed £300 in gambling debts by John Thurtell, an amateur boxer and member of "the fancy." But Thurtell felt he had been cheated and so, rather than pay the debt, he and two accomplices lured Weare into Hertfordshire where they shot him in the face, slit his throat, bashed his head in, and dumped his body in a nearby pond. The crime elicited several lurid accounts, this one being noteworthy for much additional  material on gambling, gamesters and gaming houses. Illustrated with eight leaves of plates, three of which are by Henry Alken. Binding with wear to the edges, sunning to the spine, front joint cracked and tender but the board is holding; offsetting/browning from the plates, contents toned with some spotting and occasional light soiling.