Commentaries on the Laws of England.
by BLACKSTONE, William
- Used
- first
- Condition
- See description
- Seller
-
London, United Kingdom
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Oxford: Clarendon Press,, 1768-70. The key work in English legal literature First editions of vols. III and IV, third edition of vols. I and II, of the supreme work on English law, Blackstone's magnum opus, a major influence on the Founding Fathers, and the foundation of all legal analysis for the next two centuries. "Blackstone's great work on the laws of England is the extreme example of justification of an existing state of affairs by virtue of its history... Until the Commentaries, the ordinary Englishman had viewed the law as a vast, unintelligible and unfriendly machine... Blackstone's great achievement was to popularize the law and the traditions which had influenced its formation... He takes a delight in describing and defending as the essence of the constitution the often anomalous complexities which had grown into the laws of England over the centuries. But he achieves the astonishing feat of communicating this delight, and this is due to a style which is itself always lucid and graceful" (PMM). With the contemporary bookplate to front pastedowns of Richard Scott Esq, either the elder (1731-1770), inheritor of the Betton estates, or the younger (1731-1821), wealthy merchant who acquired the manors of Whitley and Welbatch and the estates of Underdale and Peniarth Ucha. Four volumes, quarto (270 x 205 mm). Contemporary calf, red morocco labels, covers ruled in blind. With 2 engraved tables (1 folding) in vol. II. Some wear and repair around joints and extremities, old scratches to sides, contents clean. A very good set. ESTC T57756 vol. I, T134552 vol. II, T57753 vols. III and IV; Eller, The William Blackstone Collection in the Yale Law Library, pp. 1-4; Printing and the Mind of Man 212.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Peter Harrington (GB)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 161841
- Title
- Commentaries on the Laws of England.
- Author
- BLACKSTONE, William
- Book Condition
- Used
- Place of Publication
- Oxford: Clarendon Press,
- Date Published
- 1768-70
- Note
- May be a multi-volume set and require additional postage.
Terms of Sale
Peter Harrington
All major credit cards are accepted. Both UK pounds and US dollars (exchange rate to be agreed) accepted. Books may be returned within 14 days of receipt for any reason, please notify first of returned goods.
About the Seller
Peter Harrington
Biblio member since 2006
London
About Peter Harrington
Since its establishment, Peter Harrington has specialised in sourcing, selling and buying the finest quality original first editions, signed, rare and antiquarian books, fine bindings and library sets. Peter Harrington first began selling rare books from the Chelsea Antiques Market on London's King's Road. For the past twenty years the business has been run by Pom Harrington, Peter's son.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Bookplate
- Highly sought after by some collectors, a book plate is an inscribed or decorative device that identifies the owner, or former...
- Calf
- Calf or calf hide is a common form of leather binding. Calf binding is naturally a light brown but there are ways to treat the...
- Quarto
- The term quarto is used to describe a page or book size. A printed sheet is made with four pages of text on each side, and the...
- Morocco
- Morocco is a style of leather book binding that is usually made with goatskin, as it is durable and easy to dye. (see also...