3 319 résultats
1802réf. 699631802. London: Printed and Sold by E. Thomas 1802. London: Printed and Sold by E. Thomas 1802. Will the Church Allow Her to Stay on Land Donated by Her Brother Trial. Butler Cathrine O'Brien 1730-1807 Plaintiff. The Trial and Particulars of the Case Wherein the Lessee of Catharine O'Brien Butler Was Plantiff And the Rev. A. Dunn Secretary to the Roman Catholic Collage of Maynooth Defendant. Tried at the Last Trim Assizes 1802. With a Circumstantial Account of the Testimony Given by the Rev. Father Gahan. Second Edition. London: Printed and Sold by E. Thomas 1802. 20 pp. Octavo 8-1/2" x 5-1/2". Disbound pamphlet all leaves detached moderate edgewear soiling to title page and verso of final leaf "9." in small early hand to head of title page. $350. Second and final edition published the same year as the first. This case concerned the will of Catharine O'Brien Butler's brother John Butler 12th Baron Dunboyne who had left his property to the St. Patrick's College Maynooth. OCLC locates 3 copies 2 in North America Emory Pitts Theological Seminary Newberry Library which are both first editions. COPAC locates 1 copy Ushaw College Durham which has a second edition. unknown books
1825réf. 745381825. New York 1825. 16 pp. McDade 1020. Cohen 13136. New York 1825. 16 pp. McDade 1020. Cohen 13136. He Shot Her in the Back: : OCLC Locates 3 Copies in Law Libraries Trial. Van Patten John F. 1801-1825 Defendant. The Trial and Life and Confessions of John F. Van Patten Who was Indicted Tried And Convicted of the Murder of Mrs. Maria Schermerhorn On the 4th of October Last And Sentenced to be Executed on the 25th February 1825. New York: S.n. 1825. 16 pp. Octavo 8-1/2" x 5-1/4"; 21.6 x 13.3 cm. Stab-stitched pamphlet in self wrappers woodcut execution vignette to front wrapper untrimmed edges. Moderate toning and dampspotting faint dampstaining to margins of a few leaves lower outside corner lacking from leaf containing pp. 5-6 text not affected ink smudge to p. 11 legibility not affected. A very good copy. $1250. Only edition. A chilling early American true crime narrative. The conflict began when Mrs. Maria Schermerhorn cautioned a local young woman against marrying John F. Van Patten prompting the girl's parents to forbid the courtship. Seeking revenge Van Patten borrowed a shotgun from a neighbor and visited Mrs. Schermerhorn at her home in Rotterdam New York. Under the pretense of needing wadding for his gun he waited until her back was turned as she ascended the stairs to fetch it and shot her dead McDade. This pamphlet is one of only three contemporary accounts published on the Van Patten case all of which are exceptionally scarce. OCLC locates 3 copies of our imprint in law libraries Harvard Library of Congress Yale. McDade The Annals of Murder 1020. Cohen Bibliography of Early American Law 13136. unknown books
1830réf. 714241830. Scarce Account of a Famous Salem Murder: McDade 569 Trial. Knapp John Francis 1810-1830 Defendant. The Trial and Conviction of John Francis Knapp for the Murder of Joseph White Esq. of Salem On the Sixth of April 1830. Boston: Published by Charles Ellms 1830. 35 1 pp. Woodcut frontispiece. Woodcut title vignette of murder. Half-title reads: Knapp's Second Trial Conviction And Sentence. Octavo 9" x 5-1/2"; 23 x 14 cm. Stab-stitched pamphlet wrappers lacking. Light soiling to exterior moderate toning to text some chipping short tears and wear to fore-edges of leaves through p. 19 with no loss to text faint spotting in a few places faint dampstaining to a few leaves. A scarce title. $500. First edition one of five known variants/issues of this sensational 19th-century murder pamphlet. The trial details a gruesome and calculated insurance fraud plot. Benjamin Hunter having lost a $7000 investment in John M. Armstrong's music-publishing company sought to recoup his losses-and turn a profit-by taking out a $25000 life insurance policy on Armstrong. Hunter and a hired accomplice Tom Graham lured Armstrong to Camden New Jersey where Hunter brutally attacked him with an axe. In a calculated move to mislead investigators Hunter had pre-marked the axe with another man's initials. Remarkably Armstrong survived the initial assault though he remained unconscious. In a chilling final act Hunter visited the dying man at his home and hastened his death by tearing the bandages from his head wounds. Graham ultimately confessed leading to Hunter's conviction and subsequent hanging. All Barclay & Company issues of this pamphlet feature varying cover titles and paginations and all are genuinely scarce on the market. OCLC locates only 7 copies of this specific 86-page issue with only one held in a law library University of Missouri. OCLC locates 9 copies 2 in law libraries Library of Congress Yale. McDade The Annals of Murder 569. unknown books
1874réf. 726231874. Otego N.Y.: Otego Job Printing 1874. Otego N.Y.: Otego Job Printing 1874. "Criminal Intercourse" in Otego NY Trial. Smith Charles S. Defendant. The Trial and Conviction of Charles S. Smith Of Otego N.Y. Elder of the Presbyterian Church Superintendent of the Sunday School And Trustee of the School District For Bastardy With Sketch of Lucy Edith Wilson His Victim A Girl Eleven Years and Five Months Old And One of His Sunday School Scholars. Otego NY: Otego Job Printing Office 1874. 60 pp. Octavo 9" x 5-3/4". Stab-stitched pamphlet in printed wrappers portrait of Charles S. Smith to front wrapper and title page. Light soiling to wrappers some chipping to extremities with loss to lower right front corner small tear to back wrapper near spine. Light toning to interior occasional light foxing some small folds to corners. $650. Only edition. Smith a married Presbyterian elder was put on trial in December 1873 for repeatedly raping and ultimately impregnating Edith Wilson an eleven-year-old girl. Although the account is highly sympathetic to the victim the assault described as "criminal intercourse" was apparently less at issue than the bastardy. Edith swore an affidavit in November 1873 that she was pregnant by Charles Smith "without means of support" and "likely to become a charge upon the town." Still pregnant she testified against Smith in open court a remarkable act of bravery and self-possession. The scandal rocked the small upstate New York town. Despite gossip that Edith's father had been involved and a certain degree of scapegoating by other witnesses Smith was convicted of criminal bastardy on the strength of her testimony. Nothing is known about the aftermath of this remarkable trial. OCLC locates 8 copies 3 in law libraries Harvard Social Law University of Missouri. unknown books
1943réf. 42274Moscow Foreign Languages Pub. House 1943. Paperback. 1st English Language Edition. Original Wrappers. 8vo. 40 pages; 19 cm. Koppel Pinson's copy with gift bookplate. Contemporary account published in 1943 of the very first war crimes trial against Nazi defendants held following the Russians’ recapturing of Krasnodar From the Germans who had occupied it. SS-sonderkommando units massacred thousands of Russian citizens Jews and communists. The trials were held immediately in the summer of 1943 while the war against Hitler was ongoing. Includes transcript from the trial and gruesome photographs of the victims of the atrocities. SUBJECT S : War crimes -- Soviet Union. OCLC: 11136869. Small donation bookplate number on margin of final leaf otherwise Very Good condition excellent copy. Very important. B holo2-135-10-LWWEV-'mmacc. Moscow, Foreign Languages Pub. House paperback
1806réf. AQ35068London: Longman Hurst Rees and Orme 1806. iv xcv 1 1-120 121-230 121-378pp 8. With an engraved portrait frontispiece. Twentieth century green buckram lettered in gilt to spine. Lightly rubbed and marked. browning to title and blank fly-leaves light scattered spotting with chipping to edges of title page. The first edition of this report of the last impeachment trial to be held in the House of Lords. The defendant Henry Dundas 1st Viscount Melville 1742 – 1811 was accused of embezzling government funds during his appointment as treasurer of the admiralty between 1782 and 1800. Despite being acquitted the trial lost Dundas a great degree of public favour partially sullying his legacy as Home Secretary Lord Advocate Secretary of State for War and First Lord of the Admiralty. . First edition. 8vo. Longman, Hurst, Rees and Orme hardcover
1800réf. AQ35203Dublin: Published by John Rea 1800. 48pp. Disbound. Inked ownership inscription to head of title. Later bookseller's ticket of Wildy & Sons Ltd. of London to foot of title. Light scattered staining and spotting throughout. The sole edition of a witness account of the scandalous trial of Assistant Deputy Post-Master and apothecary Arthur Wallace of Carlow Ireland indicted under the charges that 'on the 1st March in the 40th year of the King at Carlow he feloniously did secrete and embezzle a packet directed to Henry Loftus Tottenham at Ross which packet was sent by the post'. Despite the severity of the charges Wallace received countless recorded testimonies of good character being described by his own prosecution as 'a man of honour and integrity'. As such convicting Wallace of defrauding the mail required definitive evidence which was collected with the assistance of one Mr. De Joncourt described as a man 'of considerable sagacity’ and a ‘gentleman of considerable trust in the Department of the General Post Office'. In an almost-cartoonish fashion Joncourt's interrogation of the 'honest sober and industrious' Wallace revealed a great deal of repossessed banknotes in 'an inside concealed pocket' which were promptly identified as those missing from Tottenham's package. Wallace was accused of subsequently forging numerous counterfeit bills to replace those stolen and circulating them across the county; he was sentenced to death with execution ordered for the 16th of August 1800. . First edition. 8vo. Published by John Rea unknown
1798réf. ABE-1713891567743James Ridgway 1798. London: James Rigway 1798. 8vo 133 p. disbound. Contemporaneous account of the trial of Arthur O'Connor and his co-conspirators. The men were arrested in Margate after Binns' failed attempt to secure passage to France for O'Connor and Coigley. They were charged with high treason and imprisoned in the Tower of London though only Coigley who had been arrested with incriminating correspondence in his pocket would be executed. O'Connor was released in 1802 on the condition of his 'banishment'. He traveled to Paris where he served under Napoleon as the official representative of the United Irishmen. Disbound with wear and discoloration along spine joints; library stamp to upper title page; p 63/4 mended with tape but a sound complete copy. OCLC locates six copies of this edition. 1st Edition. Soft cover. Very Good. James Ridgway Paperback
réf. 159037London: William Hodge and Company 1953 1st printing. Hardcover 271pp. Fine no dust jacket. Illustrations photographs chronology appendices bibliography. Trial of John George Haigh. Murder of Olive Durand-Deacon. Publisher series: Notable British Trials. Law Murder Trials. William Hodge and Company Hardcover
1820réf. 365658Annual Register London 1820. Softcover Booklet - Unbound Pages. Very Good Condition. 56 pages printed in double columns throughout. An authentic standalone article extracted from a larger volume. Not a reprint or reproduction but an original work in its own right. Preserved in a modern card cover prepared for practicality - an unassuming but serviceable presentation that favours function over finery. Size: 13 x 20.5 cms. Category: Annual Register;. Annual Register paperback
1809réf. 373530Cobbett's State Trials London 1809. Softcover Booklet - Unbound Pages. Very Good Condition. If the fact that I have done cannot be justified by the law of England let me perish. Proving that even Parliament's Chains shall not bind a Freeborn Englishman. Tried under a new Treason Act seemingly tailored for him Lilburne's defiant oratory transformed his prosecution into a spectacle of resistance. Arguing for his freeborn rights he denounced the legitimacy of Cromwell's regime and turned public sentiment in his favour. His acquittal by a London jury was a stunning embarrassment to the Commonwealth ' and a lasting testament to the power of conscience over command. 101 pages printed in double columns. Printed between 1809 and 1826 these historic documents are vivid extracts from Cobbett's State Trials; pages from the courtroom record that preserve the voices arguments and verdicts which helped shape the course of British justice and still echo through its constitutional legacy. Over two centuries old each leaf is a tangible fragment of legal history compelling original and rarely encountered outside institutional collections. These are not reprints or replicas but authentic 19th-century printings that are rich in drama and steeped in history. This particular trial report has been removed from a volume of Cobbett's State Trials and is now preserved in a modern card cover for practicality - an unassuming but serviceable presentation that favours function over finery. Size: 15 x 25 cms. Category: State Trials; State Trials::Octavo; This item may require more postage than the rates shown for delivery outside the UK. If extra postage is required we will contact you before processing your order and you will be given the details and option to decline the extra cost. Cobbett's State Trials paperback
2020réf. 23053ELos Angeles: Netflix 2020. First Edition. Small format paperbound 5 1/4” x 8 1/4” 160 pages. Specially printed for distribution to members of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences in consideration for nomination of the Best Original Screenplay. Shooting script for the film The Trial of the Chicago 7 written and directed by Aaron Sorkin starring Eddie Redmayne Alex Sharo Sacha Baron Cohen John Carroll Lynch Yahya Abdul-Mateen II Mark Rylance Joseph Gordon-Levitt Ben Shenkman Frank Langella and Michael Keaton. A perfectbound book looking like a trade paperback. The film was nominated for six Oscars; Best Supporting Actor Sacha Baron Cohen Best Original Screenplay Best Picture Best Editing Best Cinematography Best Original Song. It won a Golden Globe for Best Screenplay - Motion Picture and was nominated for Best Motion Picture - Drama Best Director Best Supporting Actor Cohen and Best Original Song. Fine bright copy in printed wrappers. Netflix paperback
réf. 1347031294.Ghardcover. Good. Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items. May be an ex-library book. hardcover
réf. 72424London 1717 Unbound. Wrapps. pp. 48. Extracted from Trials 1717. Only the second Jew to be tried for High Treason. Francia was found not guilty. RARE London, 1717 unknown
1822réf. TRIALSTU005649Archibald Constable Edinburgh and Hurst Robinson and Co. and James Ridgeway London. 1822. Second edition. pp iv 186 ii 20 Appendix. Recent plain quarter calf with marbled boards title label on front board. A murder trial which excited much public interest at the time. The son of James Boswell had been killed in a duel.Fine. Archibald Constable, Edinburgh, [and] Hurst, Robinson, and Co. and James Ridgeway, London. hardcover
réf. 15673London : Sold by George Kearsley No. 46 Fleet-Street and Martha Gurney No. 34 Bell-Yard Temple-Bar 1781. First edition. Folio 14 x 9 1/2 inches 58-pages; disbound. Title page detached and dust-marked first leaf torn without loss tear to margin of last leaf. Later 1860 inscription on title. Drawing of Mrs. Donellan's tomb and notes on her subsequent marriages below. London : Sold by George Kearsley, No. 46, Fleet-Street, and Martha Gurney, No. 34 Bell-Yard, Temple-Bar, 1781. unknown
1886réf. 791321886. London: Stevens and Haynes 1886. London: Stevens and Haynes 1886. Bartlett Adelaide Defendant. Beal Edward Editor. Clarke Edward Preface. The Trial of Adelaide Bartlett for Murder. Held at the Central Criminal Court Monday April 12 to Saturday April 17th 1886. London: Stevens and Haynes 1886. x 313 pp. Octavo 8-1/2" x 6". Original cloth. Bookplate of "Sir John Hall of Dunglass Baronet" to front pastedown. Some shelfwear and dampstaining binding somewhat cocked. Internally clean. A good copy. $95. The Dunglass family was a noble Scottish family. The plate may belong to Sir John Richard Hall of Dunglass 9th Bt 1865-1928 who was an author and decorated serviceman appointed to Commander Order of the British Empire. thepeerage.com. One of the more unusual and baffling English murder cases it involved liquid chloroform and an incestuous family. Mrs. Bartlett the lover of her brother-in-law was accused of poisoning her husband in order to inherit his estate. How she murdered him remains a mystery however. Although chloroform was found in his stomach no traces were found in his mouth or throat. Unable to determine how she could have killed her husband the jury did not convict Mrs. Bartlett. unknown
1812réf. 759851812. The Only Successful Attempt on the Life of a British Prime Minister Trial. Bellingham John 1769-1812 Defendant. The Trial of John Bellingham For the Assassination of the Right Honourable Spencer Perceval First Lord of the Treasury Chancellor of the Exchequer &c. &c. &c. In the Lobby of the House of Commons On Monday the 11th May 1812. Taken in Short Hand By Mr. Fraser. To Which is Added An Account of Bellingham's Execution On Monday May 18. London: Printed for R. Mercer 1812. ii 108 pp. Octavo 8" x 5-1/2". Disbound stab-stitched pamphlet. Moderate toning light soiling to exterior light foxing to title page and a few other leaves small chip to bottom-edge of final leaf. $500. Only edition. Bellingham was motivated by a baseless claim that the Crown owed him money as compensation for time he served in a Russian prison. He believed he was owed compensation because the government did not try to assist him. His murder of Perceval was the only successful attempt on the life of a British Prime Minister. OCLC locates 5 copies in North American law libraries Harvard LA County Social Law University of Pennsylvania York. Not in the British Museum Catalogue. unknown
1873réf. 694441873. A Constant Reminder that Innocent Persons Can Be Convicted" Trial. Boorn Stephen Defendant. Boorn Jesse Defendant. Sargeant Leonard 1793-1880 Reporter. The Trial Confessions and Conviction of Jesse and Stephen Boorn for the Murder of Russell Colvin And the Return of the Man Supposed to Have Been Murdered. Manchester VT: Journal Book and Job Office 1873. 48 pp. Octavo 9" x 5-3/4". Stab-stitched pamphlet in printed wrappers publisher advertisement to rear wrapper. Light soiling to wrappers light foxing to front wrapper light toning to text. A well-preserved copy. $150. As noted by McDade this famous case is a "constant reminder that innocent persons can be convicted. Russell Colvin the alleged victim had married a sister of the Boorns and had several children by her. He was mentally deficient and disappeared in 1812. Local gossip credited the Boorns with having disposed of him presumably because he was a burden on the family. In the spring of 1819 the Boorns were arrested and either from fear or mental weakness they told stories involving each other in the death of Colvin--Stephen's amounting to a confession of murder. They were tried and sentenced to be hanged; the state legislature however commuted Jesse's sentence to life imprisonment. As a last resort a notice was placed in the papers requesting information about Colvin. A farmer in Monmouth County New Jersey believed he recognized a hired man in the vicinity from the description. This man who was mentally deranged was enticed to Manchester arriving.six weeks before the day set for Stephen's execution. It was definitively established that he was the missing Colvin; he had apparently wandered off on his own volition annotation to Entry 111. Though published fifty-four years after the event the pamphlet was prepared by one of the defense counsellors and contains important information on the discovery and return of Colvin." McDade The Annals of Murder 113. unknown
1796réf. 752461796. With Interesting Commentary on Irish and English Morals Trial. Cavendish Bradshaw Augustus 1768-1832 Defendant. The Trial at Large on an Action for Damages Brought in His Majesty's Court of Exchequer Before the Right Hon. Lord Chief Baron Yelverton and a Jury of Citizens On Saturday the 20th of February 1796; By the Right Hon. George Fred. Earl of Westmeath Against the Honourable Augustus Cavendish Bradshaw For Adultery with the Right Hon. Mary Anne Countess of Westmeath; Containing the Whole of the Evidence With the Speeches of the Learned Counsel And the Charge of the Venerable Judge. On Which a Verdict was Found for 10000. To Which is Prefixed An Epistle Dedicatory to the Fashionable World. London: Re-Printed for Allen and West 1796. Octavo 7-3/4" x 4-3/4". xii 36 pp. Stab-stitched pamphlet disbound and resewn. Light toning light soiling to exterior and a few other pages small inkspots to fore-edge light foxing in a few places. $500. Only London edition reprinted from the first Dublin edition. Westmeath an Irish peer sought 20000 in damages after he caught his wife Maryanne carrying on an affair with Bradshaw during a period of separation. The jury awarded him 10000 though Bradshaw's relative poverty made the damages difficult to recover. The Westmeaths later divorced and Bradshaw and Maryanne married in 1796. An interesting feature of this account is the extensive editor's preface addressed "to the Right Honourable Right Fashionable Truly Liberal and Uncontroulable Amateurs of the Haut Ton." It discusses among other topics Irish assimilation into English culture and high society and the subsequent loosening of Irish morals. English Short-Title Catalogue T2981. unknown
1775réf. 728391775. Accused of Poisoning Her Elderly Paramour Trial. Butterfield Jane Defendant. The Trial of Jane Butterfield for the Wilful Murder of William Scawen Esq; At the Assizes Held at Croydon for the County of Surry on Saturday the 19th of August 1775 Before the Right Honourable Sir Sidney Stafford Smythe Knt. Lord Chief Baron of His Majesty's Court of Exchequer. London: Printed for W. Owen and G. Kearsly 1775. iv 53 1 pp. Folio 13-1/4" x 8-1/2". Stab-stitched pamphlet bound into recent quarter calf over marbled boards blind fillets to calf edge lettering piece and blind fillets to spine. Moderate toning to interior occasional light foxing light soiling and cellotape repairs to edges of a few leaves without loss to text light browning to first and final leaves. $750. Only edition. Butterfield met Scawen an elderly gentleman when she was fourteen and was persuaded by a female accomplice to live with him as a kind of housekeeper-cum-mistress. When her father disowned her as a result Scawen apparently had something of a crisis of conscience and promised to act as a new father to her. The two lived together quite happily and when he grew ill she became his devoted caretaker. When he died his doctor egged on by a suspicious maid accused her of poisoning him in order to gain the inheritance he had supposedly left. The jury deliberated only ten minutes before acquitting Butterfield. English Short-Title Catalogue T93407. unknown
1802réf. 699631802. London: Printed and Sold by E. Thomas 1802. London: Printed and Sold by E. Thomas 1802. Will the Church Allow Her to Stay on Land Donated by Her Brother Trial. Butler Cathrine O'Brien 1730-1807 Plaintiff. The Trial and Particulars of the Case Wherein the Lessee of Catharine O'Brien Butler Was Plantiff And the Rev. A. Dunn Secretary to the Roman Catholic Collage of Maynooth Defendant. Tried at the Last Trim Assizes 1802. With a Circumstantial Account of the Testimony Given by the Rev. Father Gahan. Second Edition. London: Printed and Sold by E. Thomas 1802. 20 pp. Octavo 8-1/2" x 5-1/2". Disbound pamphlet all leaves detached moderate edgewear soiling to title page and verso of final leaf "9." in small early hand to head of title page. $350. Second and final edition published the same year as the first. This case concerned the will of Catharine O'Brien Butler's brother John Butler 12th Baron Dunboyne who had left his property to the St. Patrick's College Maynooth. OCLC locates 3 copies 2 in North America Emory Pitts Theological Seminary Newberry Library which are both first editions. COPAC locates 1 copy Ushaw College Durham which has a second edition. unknown
1765réf. 729001765. That Absurd Relic of Gothic Barbarism" Trial. Byron William Lord 1722-1798 Defendant. The Trial of William Lord Byron Baron Byron of Rochdale For the Murder of William Chaworth Esq; Before the Right Honourable the House of Peers In Westminster-Hall In Full Parliament. On Tuesday the 16th And Wednesday the 17th of April 1765: On the Last of Which Days the Said William Lord Byron was Acquitted of Murder But Found Guilty of Manslaughter. Published by Order of the House of Peers. London: Printed for Samuel Billingsley 1765. ii 47 1 pp. Lacking initial imprimatur leaf. Folio 12-1/2" x 8". Stab-stitched pamphlet disbound and later resewn edges speckled red. Light toning occasional light foxing light soiling and spotting in a few places slightly heavier to first and final leaves. $200. First edition. "April 16th came on before the house of peers in Westminster-hall the trial of William Lord Byron for killing Mr. Chaworth a gentleman of Nottinghamshire in a duel at the Star and Garter tavern in Pall Mall. After examining witnesses as to the circumstances of the encounter the Lords next day acquitted the prisoner of murder declaring him only guilty of manslaughter: and as by an old statute 1 Edw. VI. c. 12 in all cases wherein peers are allowed the benefit of clergy they are dismissed without burning in the hand loss of inheritance or corruption of blood; Lord Byron was enlarged on paying his fees. Much might be said on the custom of duelling that absurd relic of gothic barbarism; which still compels every man to risk his life at demand on the most frivolous or even the most insulting and cruel occasions. The laws of honour have so little connexion with those of honesty that a man may support his claim to the title of a gentleman by the former after he has forfeited all pretensions to the character by the latter. Sir John Brute is made to state the behaviour of some men of honour very justly when he says-" He comes to my house eats my meat lies with my wife dishonours my family gets a bastard to inherit my estate; and when I ask a civil account of all this-sir says he I wear a sword!": Noorthouck A New History of London: Including Westminster and Southwark 1773 Volume I:419-450. English Short-Title Catalogue T150380. unknown
1791réf. 623701791. London 1791. London 1791. A Cautionary Tale for "Young Gentlemen" Trial. Cork Edmund Boyle Earl of 1767-1856 Defendant. The Trial of Lord Dungarvan At the Old Bailey On Monday the 17th of January 1790 Before Mr. Baron Thompson. Taken Accurately in Short Hand by a Gentleman of the Middle Temple. Counsel for the Prosecution Mr. Knowles and Mr. Const. For his Lordship Mr. Shepherd Mr. Garrow and Mr. Cullen. London: Printed for Mr. Lewis 1791. 6 ii 3-38 2 pp. Includes two-page publisher catalogue. Copperplate portrait frontispiece. Quarto 10" x 8". Recent three-quarter morocco over cloth gilt rules to boards gilt title to spine untrimmed edges. Moderate rubbing to extremities some toning to text light soiling to half-title which has an owner signature of William Owen Trinity College dated 1794 repairs to corners and fore-edge of frontispiece. Ex-library. Stamps to boards and free endpapers bookplate to front pastedown. A solid copy of a rare title. $1250. Only edition. The frontispiece depicts Elizabeth Weldon the prostitute who initiated the suit. In an attempt to extort money she threatened Boyle also known as Viscount Dungarvan due to his Irish properties with a bogus lawsuit. She said she would claim he took money from her clothing after he purchased her services. However Cork called her bluff and eventually prevailed in court. Clearly a salacious case it is presented here as a cautionary tale for "young gentlemen whose levity may bring them into a familiar situation." The reporter warns that it "may not always be in the power even of a man of fashion to refute the plausible tale of an artful woman although a prostitute. It may not always happen that an innocent defendant shall have the same circumstances to protect his honour as my Lord Dungarvan" ii. OCLC locates 2 copies both in law libraries Columbia Harvard. English Short-Title Catalogue N013878. unknown
1803réf. 784691803. Lord Admiral Nelson Testified as a Character Witness Trial. Despard Edward Marcus 1751-1803 Primary Defendant. Gurney Joseph Reporter. Gurney William Brodie Reporter. The Trial of Edward Marcus Despard Esquire. For High Treason At the Session House Newington Surry sic On Monday the Seventh of February 1803. London: Sold by M. Gurney 1803. 271 1 pp. Final page is a publisher advertisement. Octavo 8-1/2" x 5". Contemporary three-quarter calf over marbled boards lettering piece gilt fillets and tiny early shelf label to spine speckled edges. Light rubbing and two small paper fragments from a label to boards moderate rubbing to extremities with wear to spine ends front board beginning to separate but secure rear joint starting at ends corners bumped and somewhat worn early owner bookplate John Smith Esq. to front pastedown rear hinge starting. Moderate toning to interior light foxing to a few leaves. $250. Only edition. After a brilliant military career in the West Indies Colonel Despard was recalled from his command and dismissed on frivolous charges. He tried to clear his name and seek compensation but his complaints led to imprisonment without a trial for two years. Financially ruined and bitter he came to resent the establishment. He joined the radical London Corresponding Society and revolutionary United Irishman and took part in a plot to organize uprisings in London and Ireland. After the plot was foiled Despard and six others were convicted of treason. A highlight during the trial was Lord Admiral Nelson's testimony as a character witness on Despard's behalf. Despard and his co-conspirators share the dubious distinction of being the last men in Great Britain sentenced to be hanged drawn and quartered the form of execution given to convicted traitors since 1283. However the king commuted their sentences to death by hanging followed by decapitation. Catalogue of the Library of the Harvard Law School 1909 II:1061. unknown