Trial; Tichborne CaseBiblio.com
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1872ref. 857421872. London 1872. Oblong sheet folded into 16 panels. London 1872. Oblong sheet folded into 16 panels. A Rare and Vibrant Victorian Pictorial Satire of the Century's Most Infamous Legal Charade Trial. Tichborne Case. The Tichborne Trial As Told to Our Grandchildren. London: H. G. Clarke and Co. c.1872. Oblong 34-1/4" x 11-1/2" 87 x 29 cm sheet 5-3/4" x 4-3/4" 14.5 x 12 cm when folded completely in sixteen panels glued into pictorial wrappers title to front wrapper and advertisements to its verso and rear wrapper. Front illustration and panels each with a woodcut vignette and accompanying satirical verse hand-colored. Unobtrusive light foxing and soiling a few small tears along fold lines not affecting images colors vivid. A well-preserved survival of a fragile and seldom-encountered form of Victorian popular ephemera. $1750. This folding satirical panorama was issued during the height of public fascination with the Tichborne case which captivated Victorian England in the 1860s and 1870s. In 1854 Roger Tichborne the 25 year-old heir to the Tichborne baronetcy disappeared while traveling in South America presumed to have died in a shipwreck. His mother refused to abandon hope. When she heard rumors that he was in Australia she placed several advertisements concerning his whereabouts in Australian newspapers. In 1865 an Australian butcher named Thomas Castro sometimes referred to as Arthur Orton claimed to be the missing heir. He failed to convince the courts was convicted of perjury and served a long prison sentence. The dispute over his identity continued until his death in 1898. The case generated a vast body of popular literature and has continued to captivate the public as recently as Zadie Smith's 2023 novel The Fraud. Our example is one of several known silhouette illustration satires of the case by Clarke & Co all of which are rare. The vivid hand-coloring highlights the illustration style which had the advantage for the publisher of emphasizing Orton's size. OCLC locates 7 copies of Clarke & Co. satires under this title 2 in law libraries Yale Harvard. unknown
1840ref. 848861840. Philadelphia: Printed by W.S. Martien 1840. Philadelphia: Printed by W.S. Martien 1840. A Foundational Text of American Family Law: The 1840 d'Hauteville Habeas Corpus Report Trial. D'Hauteville Custody Case. Sears David et al. Defendants. Report of the d'Hauteville Case: The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania At the Suggestion of Paul Daniel Gonsalve Grand d'Hauteville Versus David Sears Miriam C. Sears and Ellen Sears Grand d'Hauteville: Habeas Corpus for the Custody of an Infant Child. Philadelphia: Printed by W.S. Martien 1840. 295 pp. Octavo 8-3/4" x 5-1/2"; 22 x 14 cm. Contemporary three-quarter morocco over marbled boards later repair to head of spine. Light rubbing to boards moderate rubbing to extremities front joint starting corners bumped and lightly worn early owner name "Clara A. Coolidge" to front free endpaper. Moderate toning to interior faint dampstaining to foot of text block. A very good copy. $450. Only edition. The d'Hauteville case was a 19th-century cause celebre that pitted an American heiress against her Swiss aristocratic husband in a battle that transfixed the Atlantic world. When Ellen Sears fled her 'tyrannical' husband to give birth in Philadelphia she challenged the centuries-old legal tradition of patria potestas-the absolute right of the father to his children. This report documents the court's revolutionary decision to prioritize the child's welfare over the father's 'property' rights. It is a cornerstone of American jurisprudence cited for decades as the origin of the 'Tender Years Doctrine' and the shift toward maternal custody for infants. This copy bears the contemporary ownership signature of Clara A. Coolidge likely of the prominent Boston family. Her possession of this specific report is noteworthy as the d'Hauteville case became a rallying cry for elite 19th-century women navigating the restrictive laws of coverture and custodial rights. See Grossberg A Judgment for Solomon: The d'Hauteville Case and Legal Experience in Antebellum America. Cohen Bibliography of Early American Law 11423. unknown
1824ref. 857701824. The Fatal Consequences of Sports Betting Trial. Thurtell John 1794-1824 & Joseph Hunt d.1825 Defendants. Egan Pierce 1772-1849 Reporter. Pierce Egan's Account of the Trial of John Thurtell and Joseph Hunt. With an Appendix Disclosing Some Extraordinary Facts Exclusively in the Possession of the Editor. With Portraits And Many Other Illustrative Engravings. London: Knight & Lacey Publishers 1824. iv 105 1 pp. With an engraved portrait frontispiece of Thurtell Hunt and William Probert and 6 unnumbered full-page woodcuts as called for. Bound with Egan Pierce. Recollections of John Thurtell Who was Executed at Hertford on Friday The 9th of January 1824.Being an Appendix to His Account of the Trial Which May Now be Had Price 2s. London: Knight & Lacey Publishers 1824. iv 44 pp. With a woodcut frontispiece depicting Thurtell's execution. Octavo 8-1/2" x 5"; 21.4 x 12.7 cm. Contemporary three-quarter calf over marbled boards gilt fillets and lettering piece to spine. Some rubbing to exterior light wear to extremities front joint cracked spine varnished corners bumped rear hinge cracked. Light toning to interior occasional light foxing and soiling unobtrusive faint dampstaining to first three leaves of Account. A good copy. $250. Only editions. John Thurtell an unlucky gambler was deeply in debt to the bookmaker William Weare. Deciding to take revenge Thurtell along with his friends Joseph Hunt and William Probert murdered Weare in a grisly manner and tossed his body into a pond. Thurtell tried to escape conviction. He was hanged. Hunt confessed his involvement and stated that Thurtell was the killer. He was sent to the penal colony in Botany Bay Australia. Charges against Probert were dropped in exchange for his wife's testimony which minimized his role in the crime. Our account of the trial and its aftermath was produced by Pierce Egan a popular journalist and sportswriter. Thurtell himself was an admirer--the chance to read Egan's coverage of a recent prizefight was purportedly among his final wishes. Recollections was issued separately as the appendix which is referenced on the title page of Account. unknown
1853ref. 852571853. Corrupt Conduct and Malfeasance" Trial. Hubbell Levi 1808-1876 Defendant. Leland T.C. Reporter. Trial of Impeachment of Levi Hubbell Judge of the Second Judicial Circuit By the Senate of the State of Wisconsin June 1853. Madison: Argus & Democrat Steam Press 1853. 820 pp. Octavo 8" x 5-1/4"; 20.4 x 13.5 cm. Contemporary sheep blind rules to boards blind fillets and lettering piece to spine blind tooling to board edges. Worn rubbing spotting and some shallow scuffing to boards which are separated but secured by cords spine ends abraded corners of lettering piece lacking corners bumped and worn faint offsetting to edges of endleaves upper outside corner of front free endpaper lacking. Light toning to interior occasional sparse light foxing and soiling small clean tears to upper outside corner of pp. 513-514 without loss to text. Owner signatures of Ewing Sibbett and Charles C. Dey with a note indicating presentation from Dey to Sibbett to front pastedown owner signature of Charles C. Dey to title page. Internally sound. $750. Only edition. A comprehensive official record of the impeachment trial of Levi Hubbell. Hubbell was a judge on Wisconsin's 2nd Circuit a position he held by virtue of a prior appointment to the state Supreme Court. In 1853 he was accused of eleven separate charges of "corrupt conduct and malfeasance" including embezzlement taking bribes and luring women into hotel rooms using his position. The heated proceedings went on for a month. Impeached but not removed Hubbell holds the dubious distinction of being the first state official impeached in Wisconsin. He resigned three years later. He went on to a career as a representative in the state legislature and U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. Again accusations of corruption led to his resignation as U.S. Attorney. Charles Carr Dey 1854-1935 a former owner of this copy began his legal practice in Milwaukee. He later moved to Salt Lake City Utah and established himself as an eminent attorney and judge. unknown
1833ref. 849161833. 2 works in 1 books. 2 works in 1 books. Two Landmark Accounts of a Infamous 19th-Century American Murder Trial Including the Rare Harnden "Narrative" Trial. Avery Ephraim 1799-1869 Defendant. Hallett Benjamin Franklin 1797-1862 Reporter. Trial of Rev. Mr. Avery: A Full Report of the Trial of Ephraim K. Avery Charged with the Murder of Sarah Maria Cornell Before the Supreme Court of Rhode Island at a Special Term in Newport Held in May 1833: With All the Incidental Questions Raised in the Trial Carefully Preserved The Testimony of the Witnesses Nearly Verbatim and the Arguments of Counsel And a Correct Map and References of All the Localities Described in the Testimony Prepared Expressly for this Report Alone. Boston: Published at the Offices of the Daily Commercial Gazette And the Boston Daily Advocate May 1833. 191; 40 pp. Two parts each with individual pagination pp. 33-40 of second part which has the running title Avery's Trial Supplementary Edition in duplicate due to a binder error. Folding map. Bound with Harnden Harvey. Narrative of the Apprehension in Rindge N.H. Of the Rev. E.K. Avery Charged with the Murder of Sarah M. Cornell Together with the Proceedings of the Inhabitants of Fall River. Providence: W. Marshall & Co. Printers 1833. 36 pp. Octavo 7-3/4" x 4-3/4"; 19.70 x 12.10 cm. Contemporary three-quarter pebbled calf over marbled boards gilt fillets and title to spine. Moderate rubbing to extremities hinges starting armorial bookplate of the estate of William Paine Sheffield to front pastedown. Moderate toning and light foxing to interior negligible light dampstaining to a few leaves creases and minor edgewear to folding map in Trial signature of William Gilpin to head of title page of Narrative. A very good volume. $750. The Avery case stands as one of the most sensational and culturally significant American murder trials of the nineteenth century. The Reverend Ephraim K. Avery a Methodist minister was accused of murdering factory worker Sarah Maria Cornell after discovering she was pregnant with his child. Avery allegedly strangled Cornell before staging the scene as a suicide by hanging her from a barn rafter. The trial pitted anti-Masonic and anti-clerical sentiments against a defensive Methodist church capturing the absolute fascination of the American. unknown
ref. 84690Chicago: I.W.W. Printing Co-Op 1969. Illustrated broadside 44cm x 28cm 17" x 11". Offset lithograph printed in black on white stock. Old horizontal fold; mild toning in margins else Near Fine. A well-preserved example. Signed in plate "Spain" lower right. Chicago I.W.W. printer's bug. Satirical broadside issued to announce the opening of the trial of the Chicago 8 later 7 who had been jailed for conspiracy and inciting a riot for their role in the Chicago street protests during the Democratic National Convention of 1968. This graphic by the prominent underground cartoonist Spain Rodriguez is evidently quite rare not previously seen by us; we can trace no examples in commerce and OCLC notes only a single physical location UVA as of March 2025. unknown
1822ref. 826501822. Boston: Russell & Gardner 1822. First edition. Boston: Russell & Gardner 1822. First edition. Copy of a Report of an Early U.S. Navy Court Martial with an Interesting Provenance Trial. Abbot Joel 1793-1855 Defendant. Trial of Lieutenant Joel Abbot by the General Naval Court Martial Holden on Board the U.S. Ship Independence At the Navy Yard Charlestown Massachusetts on Allegations Made Against Him by Capt. David Porter Navy Commissioner. To Which is Added an Appendix Containing Sundry Documents in Relation to the Management of Affairs on the Boston Station. Boston: Printed by Russell & Gardner 1822. 164 72 1 pp. Octavo 9-1/2" x 6". Stab-stitched pamphlet with untrimmed edges bound into recent three-quarter morocco over marbled boards raised bands gilt title and blind publication date to spine. Negligible light rubbing to extremities moderate toning to interior light foxing to a few sections marks in early pen to margins of a few leaves early inscription to front endleaf: "Presented to the Honble/ Churchill C. Cambreleng/ Member of the U.S. Congress/ Geo. Washington" "Geo." added in a later mischievous hand. $500. First edition one of two issues the other published in Washington DC by Davis and Force the same year. Abbott was a distinguished naval officer who fought on the frigate President during the War of 1812. He was tried on charges brought by Porter for making "scandalous and false insinuations" of corruption against his superior officer Captain Isaac Hull perhaps the greatest American naval hero of the War of 1812. Found guilty Abbot was suspended from the naval service for the period of two years. Churchill Caldom Cambreleng 1786-1862 was a New York City merchant and politician. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1821 to 1839 where he was a prominent member who chaired several high-profile committees. He later served as U.S. Minister to Russia from 1840 to 1841. Cohen Bibliography of Early American Law 13396. unknown
1875ref. 826551875. The Only Published Account of an 1873 Murder Near Syracuse New York: McDade 628 Trial. Linsday Owen Defendant. Tinsley Charles G. Reporter. Morgan Frederick J. Reporter. The Baldwinsville Homicide. Verbatim Report of the Trial of Owen Linsday For the Murder of Francis A. Colvin Containing the Testimony in Full; Opening and Closing Speeches of Counsel; Charge to the Jury &c. Printed from the Minutes of the Official Reporters. Also Accurate Likenesses of Linsday Colvin and Vader Engraved from Photographs Recently Taken. Syracuse NY: Published by Tinsley & Morgan Official Stenographers to the Supreme Court Truair Smith & Co. Printers 1875. 268 pp. Text in double columns. 6 plates. Octavo 8-3/4" x 5-3/4". Stab-stitched pamphlet in printed wrappers publisher advertisement to verso of rear wrapper fragment of early owner label to spine. Moderate soiling edgewear and a few small chips to wrappers spine ends abraded rear wrapper beginning to detach at ends. "C.F. Libby" in early hand to head of front wrapper price at its foot struck through. Moderate toning to interior corner folds and light edgewear to first few leaves of text block "Copy of Mayor Charles F. Libby of Portland Me." in small early penciled hand to head of title page. $450. Only edition of the only published account. In 1873 with the assistance of Vader Linsday contrived a plan to murder Colvin and steal his money a nest egg of about $3000 that he always kept with him. Linsday fatally struck Colvin in the back of his head with an axe then he and Vader sunk Colvin's body in the Seneca River and told people afterwards that Colvin left town to live in Syracuse. The crime was detected when the body was discovered two years later. Vader confessed in exchange for testimony and the charges against him were dropped. Linsday was convicted and hanged. Libby 1844-1915 a Maine lawyer and politician was Portland's mayor in 1882 and president of the American Bar Association from 1909 to 1910. He served in the Maine Senate from 1889 to 1892 and was the Senate's president from 1891 to 1892. Tinsley and Morgan's is the only published account of this case excepting reports in periodicals. OCLC locates 10 copies in law libraries Brooklyn Law School Harvard NY State Appellate Court NY State Supreme Court Northwestern Trial Cour. unknown
1760ref. 826621760. Copy of an Account of the Last Peer Hanged as a Common Criminal with an Interesting Provenance Trial. Ferrers Lawrence Laurence Shirley Earl 1720-1760 Defendant. The Trial of Lawrence Earl Ferrers For the Murder of John Johnson Before the Right Honourable the House of Peers In Westminster-Hall In Full Parliament On Wednesday the 16th Thursday the 17th And Friday the 18th of April 1760: On the Last of Which Days Judgment for Murder was Given Against Him. Published by Order of the House of Peers. London: Printed for Samuel Billingsley 1760. iv 55 pp. With initial imprimatur leaf. Folio 11-1/2" x 7-1/4". Stab-stitched pamphlet bound in nineteenth-century quarter speckled calf over marbled boards gilt fillets to calf edges gilt title to spine gilt morocco armorial bookplate of Edward Hailstone to front pastedown. Moderate rubbing to extremities boards partially detached but secure. Moderate toning to interior text block trimmed closely with loss to page numbers and catch-words in places no loss to main text early annotation "Right Honoble/ Welbore Ellis/ Council Office" to recto of imprimatur leaf. $300. Only edition one of two issues from the same year the other published in Dublin by Faulkner. Lord Ferrers was apparently a pleasant man if arrogant when sober but prone to violent rages and brutality while drunk. After six years of abuse his wife left him and returned to her family. She applied to Parliament for and received an order for maintenance. This came from a separate trust administered by Ferrers's steward John Johnson. The Earl eventually convinced himself that Johnson was plotting against him stealing his money and having an affair with his estranged wife. During a meeting he ordered Johnson to kneel and to beg pardon. Ferrers shot Johnson when he complied with this order. As established at trial Ferrers had been sober when he shot Johnson but quickly took to the bottle and assaulted the wounded man again. Johnson eventually died. Ferrers employed an insanity defense but was unsuccessful. He was sentenced to be hanged and anatomized the last peer to be executed in this manner. Welbore Ellis 1713-1802 was an English politician and civil servant who served as Secretary of State for the Colonies during the American Revolution. At the time of the trial he was M. unknown
1876ref. 827311876. A Rare McDade Title Trial. Piper Thomas W. Defendant. Brown Edward P. Commonwealth of Massachusetts By Indictment Vs. Thomas W. Piper For the Murder of Mabel H. Young. Closing Argument for the Defence By Edward P. Brown Esq. Delivered February 9 1876. Boston: Alfred Mudge & Son Printers 1876. 112 pp. Octavo 9-1/4" x 6". Stab-stitched pamphlet in printed wrappers. Faint vertical crease through center light soiling and edgewear to wrappers spine worn away at ends front wrapper partially detached. Light toning to interior small embossed library stamp to head of leaf 7 pp. 49-50 another to head of title page small deaccession inkstamp to its verso. $350. Only edition. Piper was the sexton of the Warren Avenue Baptist Church in Boston. He lured a five-year-old girl into the church tower then beat her to death with a cricket bat. Circumstantial evidence linked him to the earlier murder of another girl and attacks on several others. Found guilty he was hanged on the scaffold that was used for another notable Boston murderer: Professor John W. Webster. This is a rare title. OCLC locates 7 copies 3 in law libraries Harvard Social Law University of Missouri. McDade The Annals of Murder 752. unknown
1827ref. 829331827. Albany: Printed by John B. van Steenbergh 1827. Albany: Printed by John B. van Steenbergh 1827. "The Guiding Genius of the Crime was His Wife": McDade 940 Trial. Strang Jesse Defendant. Trial of Jesse Strang For the Murder of John Whipple At a Special Court of Oyer and Terminer Holden in Albany in July 1827. Albany: Printed by D. M'Glashan No. 3 Beaver-St. 1827. 35 pp. Octavo 8-3/4" x 5-1/2"; 22 x 14 cm. Stab-stitched pamphlet bound into later quarter sheep over marbled boards gilt title to spine. Light rubbing to boards moderate rubbing to extremities with wear to spine ends and corners library bookplate with de-accession stamp to front pastedown. Moderate toning and light foxing to interior. A very good copy. $350. Jesse Strang living under the alias Joseph Orton was involved in an affair with Elsie Whipple. Strang shot Elsie's husband John Whipple after several unsuccessful attempts by the lovers to poison him. Strang was convicted and executed. Elsie was tried individually and acquitted. McDade notes: "The murder of John Whipple was unusual in two respects: one the actual killing followed months of the most careful planning and preparation; two the guiding genius of the crime was his wife." McDade The Annals of Murder 934. unknown
1807ref. 829601807. London 1807. London 1807. A Presentation Copy from the Author with an Additional Folding Map Not in Other Copies Trial. Harmer James 1777-1853. Holloway John d. 1807 Defendant. Haggerty Owen d. 1807 Defendant. Murder of Mr. Steele. Documents and Observations Tending to Shew a Probability of the Innocence of John Holloway and Owen Haggerty Who Were Executed on Monday the 23d of February 1807 As the Murderers of the Above Gentleman. London: Printed for the Author; and sold by M. Jones 1807. iv 89 1 pp. Octavo 8-1/2" x 5"; 21.5 x 13 cm. Bound after Kinnard W. Jr. Plan of a Part of Hounslow Heath. By W. Kinnard Junior. In Relation to the Murder of Mr. Steele. S.l.: S.n. 1807. 2 ff. Octavo 5" x 3-1/2"; 13 x 9 cm. With a folding map of Hounslow Heath. Later buckram gilt title to spine endleaves added. Moderate toning to interior light foxing and soiling in a few places small blind-embossed library stamp "Grendon Hall" to first few leaves creasing to map its upper right corner lacking without loss to image manuscript docket to its verso inscription "George Chetwynd/ from the Author" to head of title page slightly affected by trimming. $450. THIS DESCRIPTION IS TRUNCATED DUE TO CHARACTER LIMITS. PLEASE CONTACT US FOR A COMPLETE VERSION. Only edition. James Harmer was one of the most prominent criminal defense lawyers of early 19th-century London later serving as an alderman and Sheriff of London. His immense knowledge of Old Bailey proceedings and his formidable court presence directly inspired Charles Dickens when creating the shrewd attorney Mr. Jaggers in Great Expectations. Driven by his extensive trial experience Harmer became a relentless crusader against wrongful convictions and an outspoken advocate for the reform of English criminal procedure. This work represents Harmer's meticulous investigation into the 1802 murder of lavender merchant John Steele on Hounslow Heath. John Holloway and Owen Haggerty were convicted entirely on circumstantial evidence and the dubious testimony of a paid informer. Despite public doubts-including Harmer's forceful evidence presented in this volume-both men were hanged at Newgate on February 23 1807. The trial captivated London to a sensational degree: an estimated 40000 spectators gathered for the execution. The dense crowd panic. unknown
1869ref. 830041869. Manchester NH: Daily Mirror Office 1869. 46 pp. Manchester NH: Daily Mirror Office 1869. 46 pp. A Rare Somnambulism Sleepwalking and Insanity Defense: McDade 770 Trial. Prescott Abraham 1815-1836 Defendant. Report of the Trial of Abraham Prescott For the Murder of Mrs. Sally Cochran Of Pembroke June 23 1833. Executed at Hopkinton January 6 1836. Manchester NH: Daily Mirror Office 1869. 46 pp. Octavo 8-1/4" x 5-1/4"; 21 x 13.3 cm. Stab-stitched pamphlet in self-wrappers. Moderate toning very light foxing light soiling to exterior light edgewear and a few small tears to front wrapper which is separated but secured by thread. $450. First and only edition. Abraham Prescott 18 years old at the time had lived and worked with the Cochran family for several years. In January 1833 he had attacked both Chauncey and Sally Cochran in their sleep with an axe an incident the couple dismissed as an "unhappy occurrence of somnambulism" and did not press charges. Months later in June 1833 Prescott bludgeoned Sally Cochran to death with a wooden stake while they were picking strawberries. Prescott's defense attorneys argued that he committed the murder while sleepwalking and was not mentally responsible for his actions. Extensive testimony from medical experts and family members was presented to support claims of his troubled past history of sleep disturbances and hereditary insanity. Despite a vigorous defense the jury was unconvinced by the sleepwalking plea a novel legal strategy at the time. Prescott was found guilty in two separate trials and sentenced to death. The case garnered significant public attention and the controversy surrounding his mental state and eventual public execution led to the founding of New Hampshire's first mental institution. According to McDade "the defense was one of the best for that time on the subject of insanity" but the jury was unconvinced and Prescott was hanged. McDade notes that there is "much interesting information in this case on the superstitions and treatment of the weak-minded." An historical account offering insight into 19th-century law societal attitudes toward mental illness and the justice system of that era. McDade The Annals of Murder 770. unknown
1863ref. 830711863. Trial. Bailey John Crawshay Primary Defendant. Somerset Henry Charles FitzRoy 8th Duke of Beaufort 1824-1899 Plaintiff. In the Common Pleas. His Grace the Duke of Beaufort Against John Crawshay Bailey and Others. For Trespass on Cwmdu Hill In the Parish of St. Michael Cwmdu Breconshire. Report of the Trial Before Mr. Justice Mellor and a Special Jury At Brecon On the 21st 23d And 24th of March 1863. Watkins Hooper Baylis And Baker 11 Sackville Street London Solicitors for His Grace. London: Printed by Strangeways & Walden 1863. iv 284 2 pp. Octavo 9-1/2" x 6-1/4"; 24.5 x 15.5 cm. Later green pebbled cloth printed paper label to spine endpapers renewed. Light rubbing and minor shelfwear moderate toning to interior negligible light foxing and soiling to a few leaves presentation inscription "C. Lloyd Esq./ With Mr. Baker's Compliments/ 30 March 1868" to front endleaf. $300. Somerset the 8th Duke of Beaufort was a British peer military officer and Conservative politician. This case centered on trespassing by members of the public on some of his vast property holdings totalling some 51000 acres in all in Wales. The defendants nearby farmers alleged that the portions of the land in question were part of their estates but the court found for the Duke. This copy was presented by Charles Baker one of the Duke's attorneys in the case. This is a scarce title. OCLC locates 3 copies in North American law libraries Columbia Harvard Jenkins Law Library. unknown
1863ref. 831271863. Don't Trespass on My Land! Trial. Bailey John Crawshay Primary Defendant. Somerset Henry Charles FitzRoy 8th Duke of Beaufort 1824-1899 Plaintiff. In the Common Pleas. His Grace the Duke of Beaufort Against John Crawshay Bailey and Others. For Trespass on Cwmdu Hill In the Parish of St. Michael Cwmdu Breconshire. Report of the Trial Before Mr. Justice Mellor and a Special Jury At Brecon On the 21st 23d And 24th of March 1863. Watkins Hooper Baylis And Baker 11 Sackville Street London Solicitors for His Grace. London: Printed by Strangeways & Walden 1863. iv 284 2 pp. Octavo 9-1/2" x 6-1/4"; 24.5 x 15.5 cm. Textured cloth with later cloth rebacking printed paper label to spine endpapers renewed. Light rubbing and minor shelfwear faint dampstaining to boards minor bubbling of cloth in places moderate toning to interior mostly negligible light foxing and soiling to a few leaves inscription "To be kept with His Grace's Breconshire Muniments/ C. Baker/ 29 Apl. 1863" to head of title page. $300. Somerset the 8th Duke of Beaufort was a British peer military officer and Conservative politician. This case centered on trespassing by members of the public on some of his vast property holdings about 51000 acres in Wales. The defendants nearby farmers alleged that the portions of the land in question were part of their estates but the court found for the Duke. This copy was apparently retained and filed by Charles Baker one of the Duke's attorneys in the case who was also an antiquarian and the duke's "steward of seignories of Gower and Kilvey." This is a scarce title. OCLC locates 3 copies in North American law libraries Columbia Harvard Jenkins Law Library. Powys-Land Club Collections Historical and Archaeological Relating to Montgomeryshire 5:407. unknown
1781ref. 831911781. Scarce Account of a Covetous Poisoner Donellan John 1737/8-1781 Defendant. The Trial of John Donnellan sic Esq. Late Master of the Ceremonies at the Pantheon in Oxford-Street at the Assizes Holden at Warwick On Tuesday the 27th of March 1781 Before Francis Buller Esq. One of the Judges of the Court of King's Bench For the Wilful Murder of Sir Theodosius Boughton Bart. Taken in Short-Hand by a Barrister at Law Attending the Midland Circuit. London: Printed for and sold by T. Brewman at No. 1 the Top of Fleet-Market facing the Obelisk in Fleet-Street 1781. 43 1 pp. Final page is a publisher advertisement. Octavo 7-3/4" x 5"; 20 x 12.5 cm. Stab-stitched pamphlet in contemporary thick marbled wrappers. Light rubbing a few minor chips and tears to edges of wrappers moderate rubbing to edges of wrappers and text block. Moderate toning to interior light foxing in places contemporary annotations doodles and marks both in ink and pencil in a few places. A very good copy. $150. Only edition one of two 1781 imprints. "Coveting the estates of Sir Theodosius Boughton who lived at resplendent Lawford Hall in Warwickshire England Captain John Donellan poisoned his host with essence of laurel water in 1780. This was later uncovered at a probing inquest which led to Donellan's conviction and execution; he was hanged at Warwickshire in 1781" Nash. Both imprints are scarce. OCLC locates 3 copies of the London issue in North American law libraries Library of Congress University of Georgia Yale. The English Short-Title Catalogue adds another Harvard. Nash Encyclopedia of World Crime II:999. English Short-Title Catalogue T92907. unknown
1875ref. 832031875. The Mystery of the Headless Skeleton: McDade 633 Trial. Lowell James M. d. 1875 Defendant. Plaisted Harris Merrill 1828-1898 Reporter. Report of the Trial of James M. Lowell Indicted for the Murder of His Wife Mary Elizabeth Lowell Before the Supreme Judicial Court of Maine For Androscoggin County; Containing the Evidence Arguments of the Counsel and the Charge of the Court In Full With the Verdict of the Jury and Sentence of the Prisoner And an Appendix. Portland ME: Published by Dresser McLellan & Co. 1875. 3 ii 260 pp. Frontispiece. Octavo 9" x 5-1/2"; 23 x 14 cm. Contemporary buckram gilt title and publisher name to spine. Light rubbing to spine ends corners bumped. Moderate toning to interior light foxing in a few places brief early annotations to a few leaves minor tears to edges of a few leaves tear to foot of title page with early cellotape repair another cellotape repair to head of rear endleaf. Overall a very good copy. $350. First and only edition. Although the headless skeleton encased in a silk dress was not discovered for more than three years after her murder Lowell was tried and convicted of murdering his wife. The tale is also interesting because the victim's mother foresaw the murder in a dream which is described in the Appendix. Plaisted's preface notes this was "a case of circumstantial evidence.hardly surpassed in the annals of criminal justice." Plaisted was a notable Maine politician who ended his career as a one-term governor of that state. He was Maine's attorney general when he wrote his report of the Lowell trial. McDade The Annals of Murder 633. unknown
1956ref. 184698Pretoria: The Government Printer 1956. A major moment in South African history First edition of the indictment for the "Treason Trial" in which Nelson Mandela and almost the entire anti-apartheid leadership were prosecuted. One defendant Ahmed Kathrada has signed beside his name; the signature was acquired by a collector in recent years. "The core of the treason charge related to a momentous - and for the government disconcerting - event at Kliptown on the outskirts of Johannesburg on 25-26 June 1955. The delegates were drawn from the ranks of the Congress Alliance a coalition of race-based anti-apartheid groups - the ANC still Africans only the Indian Congresses the Coloured People's Congress and the white mix of communists and non-communists. They had come together to draw up the country's first democratic constitution. Out of the deliberations came the endorsement of a Freedom Charter which to western eyes was an unexceptionable statement of democratic principles and equal rights owing something to the UN Charter but virtually nothing to the Communist Manifesto" Herbstein pp. 28-9. In response 156 individuals who attended or were associated with the meeting were arrested under the 1950 Suppression of Communism Act. The trial helped unite the anti-apartheid movement and attracted worldwide support for the struggle and international condemnation of the South African government. The trial lasted over four years after which all the accused were acquitted. However soon after Mandela and other defendants were imprisoned following the Rivonia Trial. 3 vols bound in 1 as issued folio. Ex library of the South African embassy in Bonn with their stamp to the front free endpaper and their shelf label and number to spine; binding rubbed and slightly worn and shaken contents toned. A good copy. Denis Herbstein White Lies: Canon Collins and the Secret War Against Apartheid 2004. unknown
1841ref. 816021841. From the Library of a Notable Worcester Doctor and Bibliophile Trial. Darnes William P. Defendant. Nelson Thomas S. Reporter. A Full and Accurate Report of the Trial of William P. Darnes On an Indictment Found by the Grand Jury of St. Louis County At the September Term 1840 Of the Criminal Court of Said County On a Charge of Manslaughter in the Third Degree For the Death of Andrew J. Davis Late of Northboro' Mass. In the City of St. Louis On the First of June 1840. Boston: Printed by Tuttle Dennett & Chisholm 1841. 269 pp. 12mo. 7-3/4" x 5". Stab-stitched pamphlet bound into later quarter cloth front and rear wrappers of pamphlet affixed to front and rear boards library shelf label to foot of spine. Light rubbing soiling and a few minor stains to boards moderate rubbing to extremities with some wear to spine ends corners and foot of front board hinges cracked front free endpaper detached. Light toning to interior light spotting in places tiny stain and embossed owner stamp of John Green M.D. to title page library discard inkstamp to verso of title page other embossed Green stamps to front wrapper and rear endleaf. $450. Second and final edition one of two issues both in 1841. Davis was the well-known owner of a St. Louis newspaper that published several highly critical columns about Darnes an important local politician. Enraged Darnes attacked Davis on the street with an iron rod striking him in the head. Davis was rushed to a hospital but died a few days later. Darnes was indicted. The trial lasted two weeks and engaged some of the best lawyers and medical experts in the area. The case turned on whether Davis died from the blow or his medical treatment. Both sides offered a strong case. In the end Darnes was convicted of fourth-degree manslaughter and fined $500. Our copy belonged to John Green III MD 1784-1864. A member of a distinguished Worcester MA family Dr. Green was an avid bibliophile and the founder of the Worcester Public Library to which he donated his personal library of nearly 12000 titles. This case not in McDade. Stevens St. Louis The Fourth City 1764-1911 I:369-370. Catalogue of the Library of the Harvard Law School 1909 II:1057. unknown
1808ref. 818921808. The Renier Copy of an Unrecorded 1808 "Crim. Con." Trial Pamphlet: A Salacious Window into Regency Legality and Tabloid Culture Trial. Hodgson Charles Defendant. Crim. Con. Between a Lawyer's Clerk and His Mistress. Fairburn's Edition of the Trial Between Joseph Fowler An Attorney And Chas. Hodgson His Clerk For Criminal Conversation with the Plaintiff's Wife Which was Tried at the Court of Common Pleas Before Lord Chief Justice Mansfield And a Special Jury July 13 1808. Taken in Short Hand. Embellished with an Engraved Frontispiece Representing "Her Dear Charles" Putting Her Ear-rings in Her Ears. London: Published by John Fairburn 1808. First and only edition. Octavo 8-1/4" x 5"; 21 x 12.7 cm. 17 1 pp. Folding frontispiece. Disbound stab-stitched pamphlet housed in recent card folder with annotations to front. Moderate toning somewhat heavier to exterior faint offsetting to title page text block split between pages 10 and 11. Owner signature "Renier" to verso of frontispiece small ink "5" to upper outside corner of title page owner initials "AR" to upper inside corner of last page. A rare copy. $350. A fascinating and remarkably rare piece of early 19th-century street literature capturing a classic "Crim. Con." Criminal Conversation trial. In Regency England a husband could sue his wife's lover for damages based on the loss of her "society and comfort"-effectively treating a wife as a piece of stolen property. These trials provided the era's most reliable scandals and enterprising publishers like John Fairburn rushed shorthand transcripts into print to satisfy the public's appetite for voyeuristic melodrama. This specific case captures a classic downstairs scandal: Joseph Fowler an attorney discovered that his clerk Charles Hodgson was carrying on an affair with Mrs. Fowler. Though Fowler sued for substantial damages the court largely agreed that Mrs. Fowler was the aggressive instigator. Lord Chief Justice Mansfield subsequently declined to award a large sum granting Fowler a modest and rather humiliating 150. This pamphlet belonged to Anne Renier 1911-1988. She and her husband Fernand Gabriel Renier 1905-1988 were important collectors of popular books pamphlets and ephemera. OCLC locates 2 copies worldwide University of British Columbia University of Oxford. Librar. unknown
1860ref. 818971860. New York: Robert M. DeWitt 1860. New York: Robert M. DeWitt 1860. An 1860 Illinois Divorce Case that Dominated Headlines Throughout the United States Trial. Burch v. Burch. Only Complete Report of the Burch Divorce Case; Containing a History of the Case--The Preliminary Movements The "Confession" of Mrs. Burch Opening and Closing Speeches of Counsel The Deposition of Parties Implicated and All the Testimony in Full With the Letters Offered in Evidence but Ruled Out by the Court. New York: Robert M. DeWitt Publisher 30 Frankfort Street c.1860. 116 5-8 pp. Main text in double columns. Pictorial wrappers lacking. Page 5 has drop-head title The Beardsley Divorce sub-titled History of the Case which is followed by a single-column account of that case. Octavo 6" x 9-1/2". Stab-stitched pamphlet in pictorial wrappers untrimmed edges. Light soiling dampststaining tears and notable edgewear to wrappers front wrapper detached moderate toning to interior faint dampstaining to heads of a few leaves. $125. Only edition one of two issues. This sensational Illinois divorce case dominated headlines throughout the United States. It involved a prominent Chicago banker and his socialite wife who denied his accusations of adultery and countered with charges that he married her for her fortune and had mistreated her. The jury agreed and ruled in her favor. Our copy is from the issue that includes a synopsis of the Beardsley divorce a case that involved adultery claims by both spouses. It is not included in the other issue which does not have any additional material. The synopsis is apparently a promotion for DeWitt's report of that case which is advertised on rear wrappers of copies in wrappers that we have seen. This issue not in Cohen or the Harvard Law Catalogue 1909 both of which record the issue with 116 pp. unknown
1818ref. 820231818. The End of Trial by Battle in the United Kingdom Broadside. Trial. Thornton Abraham c.1793-1860 Respondent. Appeal of Murder: The Decision of the Judges in the Case of Ashford ver. Thornton Court of King's Bench April 20th 1818. Nottingham: Shorrock and Son Successors to E. Hodson Printers 1818. 12-1/2" x 7-1/2" broadside mounted to later backing sheet text in two columns separated by rule below headline and woodcut vignette of a landscape. Moderate toning light soiling to edges a few faint creases printer's flaw and clean tear to right column no loss to legibility. Rare. $3000. Ashford v. Thornton dealt with the aftermath of the murder of Mary Ashford in 1817. Abraham Thornton who had seen and been intimate with Ashford the previous night was tried for rape and murder but acquitted of both charges due to a lack of evidence and inconsistencies in the prosecutor's case. Public outcry around his acquittal led to Mary's brother William invoking an "appeal of murder." This uncommon legal practice allowed a retrial of a defendant acquitted for murder but crucially gave the defendant the right to trial by battle. Thornton invoked that right. After extensive proceedings in the Court of King's Bench the court found that he was eligible to do so. Our broadside documents the final hearing in which Ashford declined to battle with Thornton and withdrew his appeal. Thornton was given a pro forma arraignment and released. The case resulted in the abolition of appeals by murder and thus the end of trial by battle. This broadside is rare and appears to be unrecorded. No copies located on OCLC or Library Hub. Not at Harvard or the British Library. unknown
1871ref. 821101871. San Francisco 1871. Only edition. San Francisco 1871. Only edition. A Landmark Gilded Age Murder Trial-Offered with Its Definitive Modern History Trial. Fair Laura D. Defendant. Official Report of the Trial of Laura D. Fair For the Murder of Alex. P. Crittenden. San Francisco: Printed by the San Francisco Co-Operative Printing Co. 1871. 4 325 xvii pp. With two full-page woodcut portraits of Fair and Crittenden as a double frontispiece. Octavo 9-3/4" x 6-1/2"; 24.8 x 16.5 cm. Stab-stitched book bound in early twentieth-century three-quarter sheep over marbled boards gilt title to spine front board detached. Rubbing light wear to extremities front joint starting chipping to spine ends corners bumped and worn hinges cracked front hinge reinforced with archival tissue library bookplate with deaccession stamp to front pastedown. Moderate toning to interior; light edgewear and a few chips to portrait leaves; light foxing to last few leaves; tear to head of gutter of title page; internally clean. Housed in attractive custom crimson clamshell box quarter morocco over cloth with raised bands and gilt title to spine. $1250. First and only edition of the official report documenting the "Ferryboat Murder" a landmark case of femininity insanity and Victorian scandal. When Laura Fair discovered her lover Alexander Crittenden had no intention of leaving his wife she fatally shot him aboard a San Francisco ferry in front of his family. The ensuing trial became a national lightning rod for Victorian anxieties regarding the "sanctity of the family" and the legal rights of women. In a pioneering and controversial defense Fair's counsel argued she was a victim of "Moral Mania" a temporary insanity triggered by her menstrual cycle and "nervous prostration." While the suffragist movement championed her as a victim of a patriarchal legal system the public was captivated by the scandalous correspondence printed here in full. This historical drama is explored in depth in Gary Krist's Trespassers at the Golden Gate 2025 which contextualizes the trial within Gilded Age San Francisco. This remains a cornerstone text for the study of 19th-century gender politics and the 'insanity' defense. McDade The Annals of Murder 291. Krist Trespassers at the Golden Gate 2025 a copy of this work is included. unknown
1855ref. 821721855. New Haven: Thomas H. Pease 1855. New Haven: Thomas H. Pease 1855. Rare Account of an 1855 New Haven Murder Case: McDade 178 Trial. Clark Willard d.1855 Defendant. McFarland Henry H. Reporter. Report of the Trial of Willard Clark Indicted for the Murder of Richard W. Wight Before the Superior Court of Connecticut Holden at New Haven On Monday September 17 1855. New Haven: Thomas H. Pease. T.J. Stafford Printer 1855. 217 pp. Octavo 8-1/2" x 5-1/2"; 21.6 x 14 cm. Disbound. Moderate toning a few signatures at beginning and end of text block loose light foxing in places light soiling to title page and verso of final leaf residue from wrappers and binding to spine. $450. Only edition. McDade offers a neat summary of this case: "Clark was apparently infatuated with a girl who married Wight. With no warning he shot Wight through the head while Wight was kneeling to tie a bundle. The crime and trial were in New Haven Connecticut; Clark was acquitted on the ground of insanity." OCLC does not locate any printed copies but we found examples at the American Antiquarian Society the University of Michigan Medler Crime Collection Clements Library and Yale Law School. McDade The Annals of Murder 178. unknown
1796ref. 821781796. A Vermont Estate Case Involving Two Former Mayors of New York City Manuscript. Trial. Vermont. Colden vs. Custis and Morgan. Movnt & Judgment. Woodstock VT September 21 1796. 12-3/4" x 8" 32.4 x 20.3 cm bifolium and 12-3/4" x 8" 32.4 x 20.3 cm leaf which was pinned to bifolium forming 6 pp. document. Text in neat hand to rectos and versos docketed on verso of final leaf. Content in neat hand. Moderate toning light soiling horizontal fold lines rubbing to edges short clean tears along folds pin holes to upper-inside corners. $250. In this post-Revolutionary land dispute the estate of Whitehead Hicks 1728-1780-a prominent Queens landowner judge and pre-Revolutionary Mayor of New York City 1766-1776-was represented by Cadwallader David Colden 1769-1834 a Long Island lawyer future abolitionist and later Mayor of New York City 1818-1821. Acting on behalf of the estate Colden sued two Vermont residents Elias Curtis written as Custis in court records and Isaac Morgan for back rent dating to 1775. The disputed property was located in the colonial-era Gloucester County New York-a territory including Woodstock that was absorbed into the newly declared state of Vermont in 1777. Prepared and intended for official filing this manuscript is divided into two distinct parts: a legal motion and a formal judgment which effectively placed the case on appeal. unknown
