43 résultats
1831662131831. Libel in Worcester Massachusetts Trial. Russell Samuel 1798-1835 Plaintiff. Trial of the Action in Favor of the Rev. Samuel Russell of Boylston Against John Howe of Boylston For Defamation: At the Supreme Judicial Court Holden at Worcester April A.D. 1831. Worcester MA: Spooner and Church Printers 1831. 27 pp. Octavo 9-1/2" x 6". Stab-stitched pamphlet in plain wrappers untrimmed edges. Light soiling and moderate edgewear to wrappers front wrapper partially detached. Moderate toning and light foxing to text minor tears to edges of some leaves internally clean. $450. Only edition. "In protesting Russell's election to the school committee Howe allegedly accused him of lying to a colleague about an exchange of church ministers. Russell sued for libel but the jury found for the defendant. Russell's motion for a new trial was denied" Cohen. This pamphlet is a detailed summary of Russell's charges and the testimony of witnesses. Russell's motion for a new trial was based on an allegation that one of the jurors had improperly concealed a bias favoring Howe. This account contains the complete text of the court's opinion denying the motion. OCLC locates 10 copies 4 in law libraries Harvard Library of Congress Social Law Yale. Cohen Bibliography of Early American Law 12028. unknown
1877577141877. A Complicated Case of Inheritance and Succession. A Complicated Case of Inheritance and Succession. A Complicated Case of Inheritance and Succession Involving a Charity and the Laws of France and Great Britain Trial. Wallace Sir Richard 1818-1890. Gibbs Frederick Waymouth 1821-1898 Reporter. The Case of Lord Henry Seymour's Will Wallace v. the Attorney-General. London: Stevens and Haynes 1877. vii 98 48 pp. Includes forty-eight page publisher catalogue. Octavo 9-1/2" x 6-1/2". Original cloth blind rules to boards gilt titles to front board and spine. Some rubbing to extremities light fading to spine joints and front hinge just starting at ends. Early owner annotation to half-title interior otherwise fresh. $450. Only edition. Text in English and French. At head of title: "Les Hospices de Paris et de Londres." This was an unusually complicated case of inheritance and succession. "France . was the country to whose courts belonged the principal administration of his estate and his will was brought before the Court of Chancery here by Mr. Wallace . in aid of the French administration. The universal legacy gave rise to two questions . 1st what was the extent topographically of the word 'London' as used by the testator; and 2ndly what institutions were included within the description 'Les Hospices de Londres'" 1-2. Catalogue of the Library of the Harvard Law School 1909 II:1218. unknown
1815650051815. London 1815. OCLC locates no copies this imprint. London 1815. OCLC locates no copies this imprint. Fraud In The Yorkshire Coal Fields Trial. Stocks Michael Defendant. An Authentic Report Of The Trial Of Michael Stocks Esq. For Wilful And Corrupt Perjury At The Yorkshire Lent Assizes 1815. Before The Honourable Sir Alexander Thompson Knt. Chief Baron Of His Majesty's Exchequer And A Special Jury. Huddersfield: Sold by the Principal Booksellers in London; And the Booksellers of York Leeds Bradford Huddersfield Halifax Sheffield Wakefield Rochdale Manchester &c. 1815. 116 pp. Octavo 8-1/4" x 5-1/4". Stab-stitched pamphlet bound into nineteenth-century unlettered pebbled cloth. Light rubbing to extremities with light wear to spine ends corners bumped minor spotting to boards. Light toning to text finger smudges and light foxing to a few leaves. A very good copy. $500. First edition second issue with the errata all corrected. Stocks was accused of stealing and selling 10000 tons of coal from mines in Northowram in the West-Riding of Yorkshire he owned in partnership with two other men. Stocks was not convicted. The trial details the contractual history of the partnership such contentious matters as the exact legal boundaries of neighboring mines and coal-pits and the nature of written and verbal agreements. OCLC locates no copies of this imprint. 1 copy located at the Library of Congress. unknown
1833661941833. New Orleans 1833. New Orleans 1833. Religious Liberty and the Tyranny of the Mississippi Presbytery Trial. Clapp Theodore 1792-1866 Defendant. Channing William Ellery 1780-1842. A Report of the Trial of the Rev. Theodore Clapp Before the Mississippi Presbytery At Their Sessions in May and December 1832. New Orleans: Printed and Published by Hotchkiss & Co. 1833. xiv 374 pp. Octavo 9-1/4" x 5-1/4". Publisher's quarter cloth over plain boards printed paper title label to spine. Light soiling and a few minor stains to boards moderate rubbing to extremities with some wear to spine ends and corners which are bumped chipping to spine label. Some toning to text occasional light foxing brief early annotations in pencil to a few leaves. Ex-library. Location label to foot of spine bookplate to front pastedown small embossed stamp to title page. $500. Only edition. Clapp paid a heavy price for his gradual rejection of Calvinist views and embrace of Unitarian principles. He spent seven stormy years at the First Presbyterian Church of New Orleans affiliated with the Mississippi Presbytery which finally convicted him of heresy in 1832. This record of his trial is preceded by a reprint of a sermon concerning the trial "On the Subject of Religious Liberty" by William Ellery Channing the foremost Unitarian preacher and theologian of the early nineteenth century. It warns of the evils of religion when it turns into "tyranny" as exemplified by the Mississippi Presbytery. Indeed says the introduction "no Presbytery in the United States ever before had the moral turpitude the hardihood the utter recklessness of justice evinced by the Mississippi Presbytery" xiv. OCLC locates 2 copies in North American law libraries Harvard Social Law. Jumonville Bibliography of New Orleans Imprints 790. unknown
1852665911852. 1808 Court Martial of Rhode Island Militia Officers Who Refused to Select Six Guardsmen for Federal Service Trial. Court Martial. Kentish Guards. Trial of Colonel David Pinniger Lt. Col. William P. Maxwell Major Nathan Whiting Captain Allen Tillinghast: Officers of the Kentish Guards Before a General Court-Martial Holden at the Court-House In Providence April 27 1808 For Disobedience of Orders and Neglect of Duty. Warren RI: Printed by Nathaniel & John F. Phillips 1808. 41 4 pp. Errata slip pasted to verso of p.41. Octavo 7-3/4"x 4-3/4". Stab-stitched pamphlet fragments of wrapper along spine untrimmed edges. Moderate toning early owner signature to verso of final leaf. $500. Only edition. Formed in 1774 the Kentish Guards of Rhode Island boasted General Nathanael Greene as an original officer. The Guards distinguished themselves at the Siege of Boston and elsewhere. In 1807 Colonel David Pinniger refused an order to select six guardsmen for federal service asserting that the Guards's charter permitted the call up of the entire unit but not individual soldiers. Pinniger's refusal precipitated his court martial and that of the fellow officers who supported him. All were removed from office without further penalty. The guards elected replacement officers; no one went into the U.S. Army. This pamphlet was published by the officers after the "unfavorable result" of the court martial in order to protect their reputations. All aspects of the case are covered. Cohen Bibliography of Early American Law 13588. unknown
1815646021815. London 1815. 1st ed. London 1815. 1st ed. A Hand in the Scuttle Trial. Stocks Michael d. 1836 Defendant. Report of the Trial of Michael Stocks Esq. For Wilful and Corrupt Perjury At the Yorkshire Lent Assizes 1815 Before the Honourable Sir Alexander Thompson Knight Chief Baron of his Majesty's Court of Exchequer And a special jury. Huddersfield England: Printed for the Editor By J. Lancashire 1815. iv 109 1 pp. Octavo 8" x 5". Recent period-style quarter calf over marbled boards gilt title to spine. Moderate toning to text newspaper article "Last Moments of Jonathan Martin" pasted over errata list the verso of p. 109 small newspaper clipping pasted to foot of title page. Early owner annotations to title page and following leaf light soiling and minor edgewear to final two leaves interior otherwise clean. $500. Only edition one of two issues both from 1815. Stocks was accused of stealing and selling 10000 tons of coal from mines in Northowram in the West-Riding of Yorkshire he owned in partnership with two other men. Stocks was not convicted. The trial details the contractual history of the partnership such contentious matters as the exact legal boundaries of neighboring mines and coal-pits and the nature of written and verbal agreements. Including both edition OCLC locates 9 copies in North America 5 in law libraries Harvard Library of Congress Ohio State University of Georgia Yale. Not in the British Museum Catalogue. unknown
188873541Bruxelles: Jacques Godenne / Veuve Ferdinand Larcier 1888-1908. Years 1-16 and 2 index volumes in half leather bindings and years 17-21 and index volume 1898-1902 in 55 stapled fascicules 28x22.5 cm. Complete run till 1908. leather bit rubbed several leather bindings with water stains - see pictures 98% of the inside is clean and only some pages slightly affected most fascicules are a bit loose and therefore stapled In all a good set see pictures Jacques Godenne / Veuve Ferdinand Larcier hardcover
1879668961879. New Haven 1879. Only edition. New Haven 1879. Only edition. "The Most Mysterious of All the Cases Which Have Baptized Connecticut in Blood": McDade 449 Trial. Hayden Herbert H. b.1850 Defendant. Stannard Mary 1856-1878. Poor Mary Stannard! A Full and Thrilling Story of the Circumstances Connected with Her Murder. History of the Monstrous Madison Crime. The Most Mysterious of All the Cases Which Have Baptized Connecticut in Blood. The Only True and Reliable Account. The Clairvoyant's Wonderful Story. New Haven: Stafford Printing Company 1879. 47 pp. Octavo 9" x 5-1/2"; 23 x 14 cm. Stab-stitched pamphlet in printed wrappers with a woodcut portrait of Stannard. Faint fold lines some wear to spine ends a few small chips to edges small dampstain to upper corner of front wrapper some browning to text. A well-preserved copy. $650. Only edition. "In 1879 the body of Mary Stannard twenty-two once the servant of Reverend Herbert H. Hayden was found in one of Hayden's fields in Madison Conn. Her throat was cut her skull was fractured and there was arsenic in her stomach. Stannard had spoken to several people about her recent pregnancy by Hayden and explained that he was going to give her something to induce an abortion. She said also that she was planning to meet Hayden in the field to pick berries and discuss their future. Unable to account for himself during the time of the killing Hayden was arrested after it was discovered that he had purchased an ounce of arsenic "to kill rats" the day of his former servant's death. At the three-month trial a clairvoyant testified to the defendant's innocence the first such incident in an American courtroom. A hung jury resulted in Hayden's release" Nash. OCLC locates 12 copies 2 in law libraries University of Missouri Yale. Nash Encyclopedia of World Crime 1493. McDade The Annals of Murder 449. unknown
1838664731838. Dedham Mass.: 1838. Dedham Mass.: 1838. 1838 Libel Case in Dedham Massachusetts Due to an Accusation of Adultery Trial. Pond Preston 1792-1868 Defendant. Report of the Case of Rev. Moses Thatcher Vs. Gen Preston Pond For Slander In Charging Him with Committing the Crime of Adultery. Reported for the Dedham Patriot. Dedham MA: Dedham Patriot and Boston Times 1838. 31 pp. Quarto 7-3/4" x 4-1/2". Stab-stitched pamphlet in contemporary thick patterned-paper wrappers hand-lettered title panel to front cover. Some rubbing to extremities with a bit of wear to spine ends and corners a few minor tears to wrappers. Light browning to text occasional light foxing dampstains to a few leaves two leaves have clean tears light soiling to title page. Early annotations and signatures to title page interior otherwise clean. $650. Only edition. "Moses Thacher sometimes spelled Thatcher charged Pond with slander. Pond pleaded not guilty and alleged truth as a defense. The jury found for the plaintiff and awarded $5.00 in damages and $1.25 in costs" Cohen. After the trial Thacher left New England and served as pastor in Wysox Pennsylvania and in Courtland and Cayuga Counties in New York. The trials attracted a fair amount of attention; according to Cohen it was discussed in three pamphlets. All are scarce. OCLC locates 7 copies of the Report in North American law libraries Columbia Harvard Library of Congress Social Law University of Minnesota University of Missouri William and Mary. Cohen Bibliography of Early American Law 12063. unknown
1873000097Somerset Fall River Massachusets. Good. 1873. On offer is the original handwritten diary of J. B. Slade of Somerset Fall River MA. The diary is dated 1871 but Mr. Slade has used this as 1873 making changes as he goes along. At first we thought the gentleman was a farmer given the numerous tasks of a rural nature but that's the pioneer life and Mr. Slade was very active growing hauling planting and picking. However as you will read from the snippets to follow that Mr. Slade was also a Judge and or a Justice of the Peace and an attorney too: ".attended church in the morning at the Baptist afternoon at the Methodist" "Walter went to the Village . errands." give an insight into the daily life of a Victorian Farmer. "Complaint Commonwealth vs C. Perry." ".very cold and at the nite 70 below." "Tried the case of Commonwealth vs. Perry at the town clerk's office." "Write deed for William Davis." "At night Mr. Furned called on business relative to the Methodist Society." "Mr. Bean & Sampson called on business being State constables." "Tried the case of Commonwealth vs. Burns for unlawfully keeping intoxicating liquers for sale!" "This was the day set aside for the execution of _____ for the murder of Putnam in New London and also another in Boston. per crime of murder." "Evening wrote contract for John B. Bowers and William Miller." "Mrs. W.L. Slade injured by the unhanging of the laundry." "A gentleman from Abbington called for multiple writs." The book is also filled with many many names of friends contacts business associates and religious persons of the area that should provide historians and genealogists with a great deal of work. The back of the book has an accounting of yearly expenditures. Research shows the Slade family were very early settlers of Fall River and big land and farming owners. A Slade's Ferry Bridge long gone from the north end of the city was named for them. The diary has had May 23rd to June 10th torn out and the flap with the 'tongue' is torn away but present and otherwise in good condition.; Manuscript; 32mo - over 4" - 5" tall; FALL RIVER MASSACHUSETTS SLAE HANDWRITTEN MANUSCRIPT DOCUMENT LETTER AUTOGRAPH DIARY JOURNAL LOG KEEPSAKE WRITER HAND WRITTEN DOCUMENTS SIGNED LETTERS MANUSCRIPTS HISTORICAL HOLOGRAPH WRITERS DIARIES JOURNALS LOGS AUTOGRAPHS PERSONAL MEMOIR MEMORIAL PERSONAL HISTORY AMERICANA Massachusetts Genealogy Justice DiaryTrials Legal Jurisprudence Attorney Courtroom . unknown
1822556511822. A Notable Freethinker and Publisher Of Thomas Paine Reports One of His Blasphemy Trials Trial. Carlile Richard 1790-1843 Defendant and Reporter. The Report of the Proceedings of the Court of King's Bench In the Guildhall London On the 12th 13th 14th And 15th Days of October: Being the Mock Trials of Richard Carlile For Alledged sic Blasphemous Libels In Publishing Thomas Paine's Theological Works and Elihu Palmer's Principles of Nature; Before Lord Chief Justice Abbott And Special Juries. London: Printed and Published by R. Carlile 1822. xx 203 pp. Octavo 8-1/4" x 5-1/4". Stab-stitched pamphlet without wrappers bound into recent marbled boards with paper title label. Toning light soiling to title page creases to corners of a few leaves. An appealing copy. $750. Only edition. Carlile was one of the most prolific freethinking journalist-publisher-political activists of his day. As one would suspect he was often at odds with the government. In 1819 he was fined 1500 pounds and imprisoned for three years for six counts of "blasphemous libel." He published this account of the first day of his 1819 trial after his release. It deals with the information against him for publishing Thomas Paine's Age of Reason and Examination of the Passages in the New Testament Quoted from the Old and Called prophecies concerning Jesus Christ which Carlile issued as The Age of Reason Part the Third. Portions of these were read in court by Carlile with commentary. Carlile reissued this pamphlet in 1826. Catalogue of the Library of the Harvard Law School II:1035. unknown
1841652231841. The Times Testimonial. London 1841. Rare. The Times Testimonial. London 1841. Rare. One of the Most Detailed Accounts of a Major Nineteenth-Century Financial Swindle Trial. Hughes W. Hughes Editor. "The Times" Testimonal: Report of the Trial of the Action Bogle Versus Lawson For a Libel Published in "The Times" London-Newspaper Tried at the Summer Assizes for the Country of Surrey Held at Croydon Monday August 16 1841 Before the Right Honourable Sir Nicholas Conyngham Tindal Knt. Lord Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas And a Special Jury; Together with the Proceedings of a Public Meeting of Merchants Bankers and Others Held at the Mansion House London Friday October 1 1841 On the Subject of Such Action And of the Committee then Appointed; And Also a List of Subscribers to "The Times" Testimonial. Published by the Committee. London: John Hatchard and Son Henry Butterworth and Pelham Richardson 1841. 179 1 pp. Half-title lacking. Octavo 8-1/4" x 5". Recent quarter cloth over marbled boards printed paper title label to spine. Some toning to text light soiling to title page. A very nice copy. $750. First edition. A sensational case of a million-pound plot to defraud Continental bankers by forged letters of credit or lettres circulaires purporting to have been issued by the bankers Glyn Hallifax Mills & Co. The plot was exposed by a Times of London correspondent in a letter published on 26th May 1840. This case was important because it exposed the largely unregulated banking practices associated with letters of credit which were easy to forge and difficult to police. The naming of Allan George Bogle-who was almost certainly involved-triggered this libel action against John Joseph Lawson the printer and publisher of the Times and resulted in the award of one farthing damages for Bogle but enormous expense and the considerable gratitude of bankers and investors for the Times. The present report is probably the most detailed account of a major financial swindle of this period particularly one involving letters of credit. A second edition was published the same year as the first the third and final edition in 1842. All three are rare. OCLC locates 6 copies worldwide of the first edition 2 in North America Newberry Library Temple University. LibraryHub adds a copy at the Society of Antiquaries. This edition not in Kress. unknown
1836636871836. Buenos Aires: Imprenta Argentina 1836. Buenos Aires: Imprenta Argentina 1836. Notable Fraud Case at an Important Argentinian Trading House Trial. Iturriaga Jose de Defendant. Cavallero Manuel. Respuesta a la Acusacion Formada por la Sindicatura de los Concursos de Lezica y Hornung Contra D. Jose Iturriaga. Buenos Aires: Imprenta Argentina 1836. iv 47 pp. Bound with Iturriaga Jose de. Breve Contestacion al Libelo Publicado por Manuel Sainz de la Maza. Buenos Aires: Imprenta Argentina 1836. 8 pp. And O. G. Manifesto en Derecho a Favor de Jose de Iturriaga Acusado de Ocultacion de Unos Ganados y de Complicidad en la Falsificacion de su Firma Ejecutada por Federico Hornung. Buenos Aires: Imprenta Argentina 1836. 83 pp. Contemporary quarter calf over marbled boards gilt ornaments and title reading Causa de Iturriaga to spine. Rubbing to extremities with heavy wear to corners chipping to head of spine hinges starting owner bookplate to front pastedown. Manuscript divisional title pages between items. Moderate toning and occasional foxing to text internally clean. Ex-library. Location label to spine small inkstamps to title page of Respuesta brief annotations to verso. Solid copies of three rare items. $750. Only editions. These items relate to a trial that followed the collapse of a notable Argentinian trading house. "Corruption or mismanagement by employees or partners of non-British houses frequently made news during the century. One of the more celebrated cases was the failure of Sebastian Lezica Brothers in September 1835. The manager of the house a German named Frederick Hornung apparently forged bills of exchange without the knowledge of his employers three Argentine brothers. After the failure of a British house Thwaites and Company and after the retention of money in the Chilean branch the Lezica Brothers had to raise money. Originally Hartung procured the signatures of a number of people including Thwaites; but when persons declined he began to forge names on bills of exchange--both the drawer's and drawee's names--in order to prevent bankruptcy. He thought this would need to be done for only a short time but he became involved until the total sum owed the market was over one and a half million pesos." Reber. OCLC locates 1 copy of Respuesta at UC-Berkeley 1 copy of Breve Contestacion at the. unknown
1871660611871. Lockport NY: M.C. Richardson and Co. 1871. Lockport NY: M.C. Richardson and Co. 1871. A Successful "Mania Transitoria" Defense: McDade 748 Trial. Pierce Aratus F. Defendant. Trial of Aratus F. Pierce At Lockport N.Y. For the Murder of William Bullock Eighth Judicial District Court of Oyer and Terminer Charles Daniels Presiding; Lorenzo Webster and G.L. Judd Associate Justices Tried at Adjourned October Term 1871. Lockport NY: M.C. Richardson and Co. 1871. 101 pp. Octavo 8-3/4" x 5-3/4"; 22.2 x 14.6 cm. Stab-stitched pamphlet in printed wrappers. Minor wear to spine ends a few small chips to edges light soiling to rear wrapper light toning to interior. A well-preserved copy of a scarce title. $750. Only edition. Pierce killed a man who seduced his sister then refused to marry her. The trial is notable because it involved a successful defense based on the law of "mania transitoria" or momentary insanity McDade. OCLC locates 13 copies 4 in law libraries Harvard Social Law Supreme Court of New York U.S. Supreme Court. McDade The Annals of Murder 748. unknown
1852641061852. Vannoud Louis; Cavallari Luigi. Vannoud Louis; Cavallari Luigi. A Sensational Case of Kidnapping Trial. Wikoff Henry 1813-1884 Principal Defendant. Vannoud Louis Defendant. Cavallari Luigi Defendant. Trial of Wikoff Vannoud And Cavallari For a Forced Marriage Between Miss Gamble and One of the Accused. Before the High Court of Genoa February 9-10 1852. London: William Shoberl 1852. 64 pp. Lithograph portrait frontispiece of Wikoff. Octavo 8-1/2" x 5-1/2". Stab-stitched pamphlet in printed wrappers. Moderate soiling rubbing to extremities with some wear to spine ends and corners. Light toning to text foxing to a few leaves internally clean. $750. Only edition. An account of one of the sensational trials of the early 1850s. Wikoff or as he called himself Chevalier Wikoff was an American impresario occasional European correspondent for the New York Herald and possibly a spy for Lord Palmerston. He was engaged to Jane Catherine Gamble an English woman. Gamble changed her mind shortly before the wedding and fled to Genoa. Wikoff tracked her down and apparently tricked her into coming along with him to his apartment. Shortly afterwards Gamble filed a complaint of kidnapping that landed Wikoff in an Italian jail for 15 months. He was found guilty in an Italian court and forced to return her letters and "extorted promise of marriage." Ever enterprising Wikoff responded to the negative publicity with a memoir entitled My Courtship and Its Consequences 1855 which became a best-seller. Copies of The Trial of Wikoff are scarce. OCLC locates 7 worldwide: 2 in the British Library and 5 in North American law libraries Harvard Library of Congress University of Georgia University of Minnesota University of Pennsylvania. unknown
1817657281817. With a Duplicate Colored Frontispiece Annotated by George Cruikshank Trial. Thistlewood Arthur 1770-1820 Defendant. Watson James Defendant. Preston Thomas Defendant. Hooper John Defendant. Cruikshank Isaac 1764-1811 Illustrator. Cruikshank George 1792-1878 Annotation. High Treason!! The Whole Proceedings on the Trial of Arthur Thistlewood Gent. James Watson The Elder Surgeon Thomas Preston Cordwainer And John Hooper Labourer: Upon an Indictment Found Against Them for High Treason. Fairburn's Edition. London: Printed by W. Marchant; Published by John Fairburn 1817. 23 parts comprising 360 numbered columns. Folding frontispiece two plates. Complete. Octavo 9" x 5-3/4"; 22.86 x 14.60 cm. Original plain paper-covered publisher boards with contrasting spine untrimmed edges. Some soiling and staining moderate edgewear spine abraded and worn front board detached early owner signature L. Palmer and later owner bookplate of William Hartmann Woodin 1868-1934 to front pastedown. Moderate toning to text minor oil stains and dampstains to a few leaves. Brief annotations in pencil to front pastedown and verso folding plates both entry references to Douglas's Works of George Cruikshank interior otherwise clean. Duplicate of folding frontispiece hand-colored and with an annotation by George Cruikshank laid in. It is lightly soiled lightly edgeworn and beginning to tear along fold lines later reference annotation to Douglas bibliography to top margin. Items housed in a quarter-morocco over cloth slipcase with raised bands and gilt title to spine. Moderate rubbing to extremities. A unique copy of a rare title. $950. First and only edition. A "Fairburn's Edition" which provides the "whole proceedings" of the trials. It includes verbatim accounts of the evidence presented arguments from defense attorneys and the cross-examination of witnesses. The trials occurred during a period of significant post-Napoleonic War economic hardship and political repression in Britain. The defendants were part of a movement advocating for radical reforms like universal suffrage and land redistribution. The men organized two mass meetings at Spa Fields to protest and petition the Prince Regent. While the first meeting was largely peaceful the second on December 2 1816 devolved into a riot. unknown
1817619331817. Appeals of murder were abolished after this case. Appeals of murder were abolished after this case. "Diabolically Ravished Murdered And Thrown Into a Pit" Trial. Thornton Abraham c.1793-1860 Defendant. Horrible Rape and Murder!! The Affecting Case of Mary Ashford A Beautiful Young Virgin Who was Diabolically Ravished Murdered And Thrown Into a Pit As She Was Returning From a Dance; Including the Trial of Abraham Thornton For the Wilful Murder of the Said Mary Ashford; With the Whole of the Evidence Charge to the Jury &c. Tried at Warwick Assizes Before Mr. Justice Holroyd On the 8th of August 1817. Taken in Short Hand. To Which is Added Copious Elucidations of this Extraordinary Case; And a Correct Plan of the Spot Where the Rape and Murder were Committed &c. &c. London: Published by John Fairburn 1817. ii 60 columns 34 pp 64 1 pp. Several newspaper clippings concerning this case pasted to final leaf rear wrapper and verso of title page. Woodcut folding map of crime scene. Octavo 8-3/4" x 5-1/2". Stab-stitched pamphlet in printed wrappers untrimmed edges. Some soiling and edgewear spine and fold-lines of table reinforced fore-edge mended some toning to text. Early owner inscriptions to front wrapper "Bright" and "St John Crookes" and verso of map "St John Crookes/ Sunderland/ 1856". $950. "Third Edition." Abraham Thornton a bricklayer was accused of the rape and murder of Mary Ashford when she was found dead the morning after a dance where the two had been seen together. Thornton admitted that the two had been consensually intimate but denied the charges of rape and murder. Eyewitness accounts backed up his story and in the absence of other evidence he was acquitted of both charges. 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 and was released after William Ashford declined the challenge. The case resulted in the abolition of appeals by murder and thus the end of trial by battle. Despite his protestations of innocence the public was thoroughly convinced of his guilt. Unable to lead a normal life Thornton moved to the United States and settled in Baltimore Maryland. One of the former owners of our copy may have been John Bright 1811-1889 a r. unknown
18103720<p><b><i>Early Maine Murder Trial Gone Awry</i></b><br /></p><p>An account of a murder trial in Malta now Windsor in the District of Maine. Paul Chadwick was a surveyor on what was then the northern frontier of Maine and in an area where disputed land titles were common. Chadwick was shot while conducting a survey by a group of landowners disguised as Indians. Despite fairly overwhelming evidence of the guilt of the accused the jury found all not guilty. <br /></p>Previous owner's Rice Dudley book label on front pastedown. Another early owner's name Moody Kent in ink in several places.<br /><br /><b>References:</b> Shaw & Shoemaker: 21516 3 locations. Sabin: 47985. Williamson: 5651. Noyes: 505. Skillin: 10-32. McDade: 641. <br /><br /><b>Condition:</b> 186 2 pp. Original blue/gray paper-covered boards with chipping. Paper spine cracked and eroded. Original paper spine label with vertical separation. Occasional foxing and staining mostly very light. A solid example of a scarce early Maine imprint. Ezekiel Goodale