190 résultats
1914659851914. New York 1912-1914. Image in 30-1/2" x 24" frame. New York 1912-1914. Image in 30-1/2" x 24" frame. "His Famous Wig Composed Entirely of Split Hairs and Adorned with the Ceremonial Crimson Tape" Robinson Boardman 1876-1952. Becker-Rosenthal Murder Trial. Mr. Justice Precedent. New York 1914. 21" x 15-1/2" gouache image on 26" x 19-1/2" sheet image signed twice and inscribed by Robinson caption in pencil below image most likely in another hand laid down on illustration board. Image in 30-1/2" x 24" wooden frame glazed. Light soiling a few minor stains and four crop-marks to margins outside of image which could be covered with a matte image fine. Several minor scuffs and nicks to frame. A unique item relating to a notable trial. $4500. This piece was created to illustrate "Leaden Footed Justice in New York State" an article that appeared in the Special Feature Section of the New York Tribune on Sunday March 1 1914. The caption reads: "Mr. Justice Precedent wearing his famous wig composed entirely of split hairs and adorned with the ceremonial crimson tape." The caption refers to the protracted nature of the Becker-Rosenthal Murder case which began on October 7 1912 restarted on May 2 1914 and finally concluded after a series of procedural events in 1915. The case involved a group of corrupt police offices led by Charles Becker who ran a protection racket on illegal casinos. Becker hired gangsters to kill a casino owner and rival gangster who was threatening to expose the racket. A breathtaking example of police corruption the investigation and trial was front-page news in New York for months. In the end Becker was sent to the electric chair at Sing Sing. This was the first time a police officer received the death penalty. The case lived on for several years in the popular imagination; it is mentioned for example in The Great Gatsby 1925. Robinson the creator of this illustration was a distinguished artist illustrator and cartoonist. A native of Nova Scotia he studied art in Boston and completed his training in Paris at the Academie Colarossi and the Ecole des Beaux-Arts both in Paris. "Mr. Justice Precedent" shows his affinity acquired in Paris for the work of Daumier Forain and Steinlen. Robinson produced work for several newspapers and periodicals. He created "Mr. Justice Precedent" when he was an editorial cartoonist for the Tribune a posit. unknown books
194961207New York 1949. Pen and ink on watercolor paper image 10 x 20 inches on larger sheet one margin toned. Illustrations in photo reproduction most 8 x 18 inches mounted on black board. 1 vols. Oblong folio. Full green morocco stamped in gilt with full red morocco doublures silk endleaves by Whitman Bennett N.Y. Faintest traces of rubbing but overall fine. Pen and ink on watercolor paper image 10 x 20 inches on larger sheet one margin toned. Illustrations in photo reproduction most 8 x 18 inches mounted on black board. 1 vols. Oblong folio. Red Scare Trial: Judge Medina's Album with Original Drawing. Large souvenir album prepared for Harold R. Medina the judge who presided over the 1949 trial of Communist conspirators in New York City. The trial of party chairman William Z. Foster Gus Hall and 10 other prominent Reds was the culmination of several years of FBI investigation of Communist activities. It garnered worldwide publicity and lasted nine contentious months against a backdrop of acrimonious exchanges between Judge Medina and the defense attorneys. Medina charged the defense with delaying tactics trifling unnecessary jury challenges and contempt; the defense attorneys claimed judicial bias racism in the jury selection and infringements upon the freedom of the press.<br/>Artist William Sharp also illustrated the Limited Editions Club Poe 1941 and Pepys 1942.<br/>A unique and superbly visual record of a key episode in postwar American history. Provenance: the Library of Judge Harold Medina unknown books
1699646431699. 3 titles bound together. London 1699. 3 titles bound together. London 1699. "The Murder of Mrs. Sarah Stout A Quaker" Trial. Cowper Spencer 1669-1728 Principal Defendant. The Tryal of Spencer Cowper Esq; John Marson Ellis Stevens And William Rogers Gent. Upon an Indictment for the Murther of Mrs. Sarah Stout a Quaker. Before Mr. Baron Hatsell At Hertford Assizes July 18 1699. Of Which They were Acquitted. With the Opinions of the Eminent Physicians and Chyrurgeons on Both Sides Concerning Drowned Bodies Delivered in the Tryal. And the Several Letters Produced in Court. London: Printed for Isaac Cleave in Chancery-Lane Matt. Wotton in Fleet-street and John Bullord 1699. ii 22 i.e.46 pp. Folio 11-1/2" x 7". Bound with P.D. The Hertford Letter: Containing Several Brief Observations on a Late Printed Tryal Concerning the Murder of Mrs. Sarah Stout. London: Printed and Sold by the Booksellers of London and Westminster 1699. 16 pp. Octavo 8-1/2" x 5". And A Reply to the Hertford Letter: Wherein the Case of Mrs. Stout's Death is More Particularly Considered; And Mr. Cowper Vindicated from the Slanderous Accusation of Being Accessory to the Same. London: Printed; And Sold by the Booksellers of London and Westminster 1699. 8 pp. Octavo 8-1/2" x 5". Three titles in an 11-1/2" x 7-1/2" binding. Three-quarter cloth over paper-covered boards gilt title to spine. Light soiling dampspotting and offsetting to boards some rubbing to extremities early owner bookplate top front pastedown. Light browning and foxing to interior internally clean. $2500. Only editions. Spencer Cowper a judge was indicted for the murder of Sarah Stout. He was at her house late on the evening before she was found drowned in a river. Cowper's alleged motivations were a desire to end an illicit love affair and avoid payment of a debt. Cowper's lawyers argued that Stout's parents wanted to hide the fact that their daughter committed a suicide a heinous act among Quakers. The defence also suggested a political motivation: a desire by local Tories to harm the career of a rising Whig. Cowper had been at the woman's house late on the evening before she was found drowned in the river but there was little material evidence against him. Also his lawyers benefited from expert medical testimony from three leading physicians Samuel Garth Hans Sloane and William Cowper." He. unknown books
186436882np 1864. 4to. Written in ink and signed at the end by Royce on the verso of a single leaf. Several small holes text unaffected a few closed tears two archival tape repairs. Good. <br/><br/> This unusual insightful document illuminates the laws of war applicable during the bitter American Conflict. Royce's Petition seeking justice for Gurley is directed to the Confederate Commission of Exchange. Its author Confederate Captain Moses Strong Royce was captured in Tennessee and imprisoned at Nashville. His cell-mate Captain Frank R. Gurley had allegedly murdered Union General Robert McCook of Ohio near Huntsville Alabama in August 1862. In October 1863 Gurley was captured and charged with the murder. Gurley Union officials claimed was a guerrilla who shot McCook while the General was lying in an ambulance. Southerners claimed that Gurley was not a guerrilla but a regular soldier in the Confederacy's 4th Alabama Cavalry; and that he killed McCook according to the laws of war. <br/> The pages of Harper's Weekly and Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper fanned the flames claiming that guerrillas or lawless Confederate cavalrymen caused the general's death; feelings ran high. "US General Grant wrote CS General Hardee in December of 1863 and said that although Gurley was a member of the Confederate army that did not preclude him from being tried for having committed a foul murder" online Huntsville-Madison County Public Library essay 'Frank B. Gurley's 1866 Diary'.<br/> Royce advises that he escaped from prison "on the 1st of March." War Department Records claim Royce was a still a prisoner at Nashville on April 6 1864. That Record doubtless relied on outdated information. Having escaped in March 1864. Royce pleads Captain Gurley's case. "He was confined in a cell for sixty-eight days and allowed only about one hour a day for exercise and was put upon trial for the killing of Genl. McCook. He was obliged to employ counsel to defend himself at an expense of 2500 dollars in greenbacks. The evidence produced completely exonerated him of anything like MURDER and the argument of his counsel was a complete vindication of his RIGHT as a soldier and an officer to do all that he did in bringing Genl. McCook to his death. When the trial was nearly ended four communications by flag of truce were sent to the court and were there read - one from Lt. Col. Hambrick one from Genl. Forrest one from Genl. Hardee and one from Genl. Johnston" assuring that Gurley was not a guerrilla but a duly enrolled member of the Confederate military forces. Nevertheless Gurley was found guilty and sentenced to death. original italics are printed here in capital letters.<br/> "The undersigned believes that if an effort were to be made by the Confederate Commission of Exchange to have Capt. Gurley exchanged the Federal authorities would immediately send him forward for that purpose and as a friend of Capt. Gurley the undersigned respectfully requests General Johnston to use his influence in procuring the exchange of Capt. Gurley. Respectfully submitted M. S. Royce." <br/> Even after War's end the dispute continued. Gurley having been released from prison in an administrative snafu was re-arrested charged but finally released and placed on parole in April 1866. unknown books
1849717751849. Petersburg VA: J.M.H. Brunet 1849. Petersburg VA: J.M.H. Brunet 1849. An 1849 Murder in Petersburg VA: McDade 286 Trial. Epes William Dandridge 1806-1848 Defendant. Brunet James Monroe.H. d. 1856 Reporter. Trial of William Dandridge Epes For the Murder of Francis Adolphus Muir Dinwiddie County Virginia: Including the Testimony Submitted in the Case The Speeches of Counsel &c. To Which are Added the Confessions of the Prisoner An Account of His Execution &c. &c. Petersburg VA: J.M.H. Brunet Reporter 1849. 76 pp. Woodcut portrait of Epes on p.3. Stab-stitched pamphlet bound into later three-quarter calf over cloth recently rebacked gilt title to spine endpapers renewed. Light rubbing to board edges some wear to corners. Moderate toning to text light foxing in a few places light soiling and edgewear to title page the following leaf and final leaf. $1850. "Muir threatened to foreclose farm property he had sold to Epes so Epes shot his creditor and hid his body on the farm. He faked a series of letters to account for Muir's absence but he pawned his victim's watch and led the police to his door" McDade. OCLC locates 7 copies in law libraries Harvard Jenkins Library of Congress University of Missouri University of Virginia US Supreme Court William & Mary. McDade The Annals of Murder 286. unknown books
1739706801739. York: Printed by Ward and Chandler 1739. 6th ed. York: Printed by Ward and Chandler 1739. 6th ed. Unrecorded Imprint With an Added Hand-Colored Portrait of the Criminal Trial. Turpin Richard c.1705-1739 Defendant. Kyll Thomas Reporter. The Whole Life and Trial at Large of the Notorious Highwayman Richard Turpin At York Assizes On the 22d Day of March 1739 Before the Hon. Sir William Chapple Knt. Judge of Assize And One of His Majesty's Justices of the Court of King's Bench. Taken Down in Court by Mr. Thomas Kyll Professor of Short-Hand. To Which is Prefix'd An Exact Account of the Said Turpin From His First Coming Into Yorkshire To the Time of His Being Committed Prisoner to York Castle; Communicated by Mr. Appleton of Beverly Clerk of the Peace for the East-Riding of the Said County. With a Copy of a Letter which Turpin Received from his Father While Under Sentence of Death. To which is Added His Behaviour at the Place of Execution On Saturday the 7th of April 1739. Together with the Whole Confession he Made to the Hangman at the Gallows; Wherein he Acknowledg'd Himself Guilty of the Facts for Which he Suffer'd Own'd the Murder of Mr. Thompson's Servant on Epping-Forest And Gave a Particular Account of Several Robberies which he Had Committed. The Sixth Edition. To Which is Prefix'd a Large and Genuine History of the Life of Turpin From his Birth to his Execution; And of All his Transactions and Robberies And the Various Methods he Took to Conceal himself. The Whole Grounded on Well-Attested Facts And Communicated by Mr. Richard Bayes At the Green Man on Epping-Forest and Other Persons of the County of Essex. York: Printed by Ward and Chandler Booksellers At their Printing-Office in Coney-Street; And Sold at Their Shop without Temple-Bar London 1739. Price Sixpence. vi 2 18 iii-vii 1 3-25 1 pp. Copperplate portrait frontispiece of Richard "Dicky" Dickinson. Added Colored portrait of Turpin dated 1742 preceding p. iii. Complete. Octavo 8" x 5". Stab-stitched pamphlet with untrimmed edges bound into recent cloth gilt title to spine small bookplate Waite Collection to front pastedown. Moderate toning somewhat heavier in places light foxing to title page and a few other leaves faint dampstaining to margins of Turpin portrait. $1850. Sixth edition. Turpin a charismatic highwayman was one of the "media sensations" of his day especially after his executi. unknown books
1752691781752. London: P. Brown 1752. London: P. Brown 1752. The First Major Victory for Freedom of the Press in America Trial. Zenger John Peter 1697-1746 Defendant. The Trial of John Peter Zenger Of New-York Printer; Who was Tried and Acquitted For Printing and Publishing a Libel Against the Government With the Pleadings and Arguments of Both Sides. London: Printed for P. Brown 1752. iv 74 2 pp. Octavo 7-3/4" x 4-3/4". Stab-stitched pamphlet bound into recent quarter calf over marbled boards gilt title to spine endleaves added. Light rubbing to extremities light toning to text light foxing in a few places. A handsome copy. $1750. London reissue of an account first published in New York in 1736 as A Brief Narrative of the Case and Trial of John Peter Zenger which was probably written by James Alexander the co-founder and main editorial voice of Zenger's newspaper the New-York Weekly Journal. Zenger was tried for seditious libel for publishing satirical comments about the governor of New York in his newspaper. Defended by the brilliant Philadelphia lawyer Andrew Hamilton his 1735 acquittal is generally regarded as the first major victory for freedom of the press in the American colonies and a precedent for the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. McCoy Freedom of the Press Z8. English Short-Title Catalogue T877. unknown books
1679709101679. Fronsac France 1679-1680. Fronsac France 1679-1680. Determining Compensation for Madame de Corbin's Property Manuscript. Case Concerning the Seizure of Property from Madame de Corbin A Widow. Rennes. Saint-Aignon France 1679-1680. 160 ff. Quarto 9-3/4" x 7". Contemporary limp vellum ties lacking faint hand-lettered annotation to front cover. Moderate soiling and a few stains worming in a few places some loss to lower rear corner and corners of 52 preceding leaves with no loss to text. Text in large neat hand to rectos and versos of all but the final leaf each section endorsed by a stamp of the Generalite de Bordeaux the administrative division that included Sait-Aignon. $1500. Carefully organized and clearly written this is a fair copy of notes taken for a case concerning the seizure of real estate from a Madame de Corbin a widow by a Pierre de Gombauld a local minor noble. It records the sale records of various parcels of land near Saint-Aignon each endorsed with an official stamp. Presumably these records were collected to help the court to determine an appropriate amount of financial compensation for Madame de Corbin's land. unknown books
1807708151807. I Am Inclined to Give Credit to Her Assertions" Manuscript. Trial. Ireland. Account of a Rape. County Carlow Ireland June 25 1807. 11" x 7" leaf docketed on verso. Horizontal fold lines light browning and edgewear. Annotations by presiding magistrate to foot of recto and sections of verso. $1500. Made before magistrate Gilbert Fitzgerald this appears to be testimony by Margaret Janson against Myles Barin in an apparently It reads in part: "Myles Barin opened his small cloths informant asked him what he was going to do to her he answered he would ride her then extending her legs and endeavouring to force something into her body and struggled with her near an hour." Fitzgerald notes: "I did not swear Informant to this Information as she appeared to be entirely ignorant of the nature of an Oath but the facts are strongly corroborated by other evidence and I am inclined to give credit to her assertions. unknown books
1818658941818. Glasgow: April 29 1818. 18 ff. Glasgow: April 29 1818. 18 ff. Who Stole My Cheese Manuscript. Trial. Glasgow Scotland. Trial of Robert Hunter Alias Robert Hunter Guthrie and John Mackie Running Title. Glasgow: April 29 1818. 18 ff. Last leaf partially blank docketed on verso. Folio 12-1/2" x 7.5". Disbound light soiling and edgewear three horizontal fold lines lower portion of final leaf lacking with no loss to text. Content in neat hand throughout. $1500. A curious collection of court documents involving a pair of men who were stealing and fencing stolen wheels of cheese from a warehouse. Sensing that the police were closing in on them they fled one is tempted to say "like mice" but were eventually apprehended. These documents appear to have been given to someone who organized them added annotations including the title on the first leaf and had them bound into a volume. unknown books
1819718231819. An Interesting Murder and Piracy Trial Joseph Story Presided Trial. Williams John Primary Defendant. The Trial of John Williams Francis Frederick John P. Rog Nils Peterson and Nathaniel White On an Indictment for Murder on the High Seas: Before the Circuit Court of the United States Holden for the District of Massachusetts At Boston On the 29th of December 1818. Boston: Printed by Russell and Gardner 1819. 92 pp. Octavo 9-1/2" x 5-1/2". Stab-stitched pamphlet in plain wrappers untrimmed edges. Moderate edgewear a few small tears and chips to wrappers spine abraded wrappers partially detached but secure faint inscription in pencil to head of front wrapper. Moderate toning and light foxing to text faint dampstaining to a few leaves soiling to p.92 and title page which has a chip to its lower inside corner. $1500. Only edition. Tried before Joseph Story in his capacity as the Judge of the U.S. Circuit Court for the District of Massachusetts this trial involved murders committed on the merchant schooner Plattsburgh bound from Baltimore to Smyrna. Led by Williams the accused murdered the captain and took the ship to Norway. All the defendants except White were found guilty of murder and piracy and hanged. Cohen Bibliography of Early American Law 13248. McDade The Annals of Murder 1103. unknown books
1846715931846. Louisville KY: Prentice and Weissinger 1846. Louisville KY: Prentice and Weissinger 1846. "More a Struggle Between Two Families Than an Affair of the State" Trial. Baker Abner Defendant. Crozier C.W. Life and Trial of Dr. Abner Baker Jr. A Monomaniac Who Was Executed October 3 1845 For the Alleged Murder of His Brother-In-Law Daniel Bates; Including Letters and Petitions in Favor of a Pardon And Narrative of the Circumstances Attending His Execution Etc. Etc. Trial And Evidence by A.R. M'Kee. Louisville KY: Prentice and Weissinger 1846. iv xiii 1 152 pp. Frontispiece Diagram of murder scene and additional portrait frontispiece of Baker. Octavo 8-1/2" x 5". Modern period-style three-quarter calf over marbled boards gilt title and fillets to spine endpapers renewed. Light fading to spine moderate toning and foxing faint dampstaining to most of text. $1500. Only edition. "Dr. Baker thought Bates was having an affair with his wife. On a street in Cumberland Kentucky he shot Bates in the back but was released as insane. The Bates family published and award for his capture and Baker family pride stung by the publication produced the doctor who was convicted and hanged. Like many Clay County cases this was more a struggle between two families than an affair of the state" McDade. OCLC locates 2 copies at Yale Law School and Los Angeles County Law Library. McDade The Annals of Murder 60. unknown books
1904694071904. London: HMSO 1904. London: HMSO 1904. A Notorious Case of Wrongful Conviction that Led to the Creation of the English Court of Criminal Appeal Trial. Adolf Beck Case. Committee of Inquiry into the Case of Mr. Adolf Beck. Report from the Committee; Together with Minutes of Evidence Appendix And Facsimiles of Various Documents. Presented to Both Houses of Parliament by Command of His Majesty. London: Printed for His Majesty's Stationary Office 1904. xix 5 7-334 pp. 4 folding tables of facsimile documents. Complete. Contemporary library buckram red and black calf lettering pieces and gilt library name to spine faint embossed library stamp to front board endleaves added and later removed. Light rubbing to extremities light scuffing to lettering pieces faint binder stamp to front pastedown hinges partially cracked light toning to text a few minor creases and tears to folding tables. $1500. Adolf Beck was twice the victim of wrongful conviction on two related cases due to mistaken identity. The efforts of the judge who presided over his second trial led to the establishment of a committee of inquiry chaired by the noted jurist and Master of the Rolls Sir Richard Henn Collins 1842-1911. The committee determined that Beck was convicted twice through unreliable methods of identification erroneous eyewitness testimony and a rush to convict the accused. Along with its influence on police procedure the committee's report led to the creation of the English Court of Criminal Appeal in 1907. OCLC locates 4 copies in North America 2 in law libraries University of Michigan Yale. Other copies located at Harvard Law School and the Library of Congress. Catalogue of the Library of the Harvard Law School 1909 II:1014. unknown books
1754700281754. London: R. Griffiths 1754. London: R. Griffiths 1754. "A False Accusation of Witchcraft" Trial. Hathaway Richard Defendant. The Trial of Richard Hathaway At Surrey Assizes Begun and Held in the Borough of Southwark March the 24th 1702 Upon an Information for Being a Cheat and Imposter And Endeavouring to Take Away the Life of Sara Morduck On a False Accusation of Witchcraft; In Which is Discovered the Malicious Designs of the Said Imposter With an Account of his Pretended Inchantment and Witchcraft. Before the Right Honourable the Lord Chief Justice Holt and Mr Baron Hatfell. To Which is Added A Short Account of the Trial of Richard Hathaway Thomas Wellyn and Elizabeth his Wife And Elizabeth Willoughby Wife of Walter Willoughby Upon an Information for a Riot and Assault upon Sara Morduck The Pretended Witch At the Said Assizes. London: Printed for R. Griffiths 1754. ii 92 pp. 12mo. 6-1/2" x 4". Stab-stitched pamphlet bound into recent period-style quarter calf over marbled boards gilt title to spine. Light toning to text light soiling and three minor tears to half-title light soiling to p. 92. light wear to fore-edges of title page and first couple of leaves of preface inner margin of final leaf bound close to gutter. $1500. Reissue of the only edition. "Hathaway's importance or at least notoriety continues today: his case is cited frequently in scholarship on English witchcraft as evidence of both judicial skepticism towards the crime of witchcraft and the continued popular belief in it" Apps. This pamphlet was originally published in 1702 as The Tryal of Richard Hathaway. This is a scarce title. The 1754 reissue is rare. OCLC locates 5 copies 3 in North America Boston Public Library Cornell Harvard. Apps "Motive Hunting in the Case of Richard Hatchaway" Preternature: Critical and Historical Studies on the Preternatural Vol. 1 No. 1 2012 72. English Short-Title Catalogue N13804. unknown books
1776718821776. in a superb Dusel binding. in a superb Dusel binding. A Colorful Duchess Trial. Kingston Elizabeth Chudleigh Hervey Duchess of 1720-1788 Defendant. The Trial of Elizabeth Duchess Dowager of Kingston for Bigamy Before the Right Honourable the House of Peers In Westminster-Hall In Full-Parliament On Monday the 15th Tuesday the 16th Friday the 19th Saturday the 20th and Monday the 22d of April 1776; On the Last of Which Days the Said Elizabeth Duchess Dowager of Kingston was Found Guilty. Published by Order of the House of Peers. London: Printed for Charles Bathurst 1776. iv 176 pp. Title page preceded by imprimatur leaf. Folio 15" x 9". Recent period-style three-quarter calf over marbled boards by Phil Dusel gilt spine with lettering piece endpapers renewed. Moderate toning light soiling and dampspotting to margins of a few leaves faint dampstaining to heads of preliminaries. $1500. Only edition. The colorful duchess is said to have been the basis for William Thackeray's character of Beatrice in Esmond and of the Baroness Bernstein in The Virginians and was also ridiculed in a play that she tried to legally suppress The Capuchin. Prone to romantic entanglements and scandals she had many lovers and it is said that George II was one of many to be swayed by her charms. When she determined to marry the Duke of Kingston Elizabeth feared the scandal of divorce from her first husband Augustus Hervey later Earl of Bristol who wanted a divorce so she instituted a suit of jactitation against him. His negative response ignored she took an oath that she was unmarried and the court so declared her. She married the Duke of Kingston in 1769 and he died in 1770 and left her a substantial estate on the condition that she remain a widow. The duke's nephew Mr. Evelyn Meadow brought suit against her for bigamy shortly after the duke's death while she was traveling in Italy. She returned to England to stand trial. Found guilty she would have been "burned on the hand" but she claimed the privilege of her peerage which served to exempt her from corporal punishment. She continued a life of travel and adventure until her sudden death in Paris in 1788. Dictionary of National Biography IX:730. Sowerby Catalogue of the Library of Thomas Jefferson 1957. English Short-Title Catalogue T92941. unknown books
1882714691882. St. Louis: Published by the Author 1882. St. Louis: Published by the Author 1882. "One of Those Legal Marathons Peculiar to the United States": McDade 576 Trial. Kring Charles F. Defendant. Kring Eugene. Love and Law In Two Parts. Part I. The Only True History of the Killing of Mrs. Dora C.J. Broemser by Chas. F. Kring: Together with the Autobiography of the Latter: Part II. Missouri's Fraud Or The Full and Complete Legal History of the Case of the State of Missouri vs. Chas. F. Kring: Embracing a Description of the Many Trials and Appeals Together with Law Points Involved and Appellate Court's Decisions Thereon. St. Louis: Published by the Author 1882. 200 pp. 2 woodcut frontispieces. 14 woodcut plates. Octavo 9" x 6". Original flexible cloth blind frame and gilt title to front board. A well-preserved copy of a scarce title. A few minor spots to covers some fading to spine light wear to spine ends and corners light toning to interior. $1500. Only edition. "Kring's case is one of those legal marathons peculiar to the United States. Infatuated with but rejected by Mrs. Broemser he shot her on January 4 1875. The death sentence in trial number 1 was reversed. Trials number 2 and 3 were mistrials. At trial number 4 Kring pled guilty to second-degree murder but after receiving a twenty-five-year sentence he got that reversed. At trial number 5 he received his second death sentence which the United States Supreme Court reversed in October 1882 by a five-to-four vote" McDade. OCLC locates 3 copies in law libraries Columbia Harvard St. John's University. McDade The Annals of Murder 576. unknown books
1736684421736. Newcastle upon Tyne 1736. Newcastle upon Tyne 1736. Early Account of a Famous Scottish Murder Trial This Copy Includes Two Pages of Contemporary Manuscript Notes Trial. Porteous John 1695-1736 Defendant. The Trial of Capt. John Porteous Before the High Criminal Court Or Lords of Justiciary In Scotland; For Wounding and Killing Several Persons at a Late Execution of a Criminal In the Grass-Market at Edinburgh By Firing and Ordering his Men to Fire on the Spectators. Newcastle upon Tyne: Printed by John White 1736. 32 pp. Octavo 8-1/8" x 5-7/8". Stab-stitched pamphlet and two manuscript leaves in contemporary hand bound into later library cloth calf lettering piece and paper shelf label to spine. Light soiling some fading to spine chipping to edges of lettering piece. Light browning to text some soiling library inkstamps and early owner signature David Hilton to title page library marks to verso. $1500. This appears to be a reissue of an account published the same year in Edinburgh. Porteous was convicted of murder and sentenced to be hanged after soldiers under his command accidentally killed six people while trying to control a mob during an execution. Under pressure from Prime Minister Walpole his execution was deferred pending further investigation. Angered at what was perceived as English interference a mob dragged Porteous from prison and lynched him. More than a murder case this was a highly charged referendum on Scottish autonomy. The events surrounding this case are treated in the early chapters of Sir Walter Scott's novel The Heart of Mid-Lothian 1818. The carefully written manuscript notes appear to have been laid into this pamphlet. It discusses a 1734 Act of Parliament calling for the punishment of the people who lynched Porteous. No print copies located on OCLC. English Short-Title Catalogue T174154. unknown books
1861717761861. Philadelphia Pa.: King & Baird printers 1861. Philadelphia Pa.: King & Baird printers 1861. Privateer Or Pirate Trial. Smith William Defendant. Murphy D.F. Reporter. The Jeff. Davis Piracy Cases. Full Report of the Trial of William Smith for Piracy As One of the Crew of the Confederate Privateer The Jeff Davis. Before Judges Grier and Cadwalader In the Circuit Court of the United States For the Eastern District of Pennsylvania Held at Philadelphia In October 1861. Philadelphia: King & Baird Printers 1861. ii 7-100 pp. Text in parallel columns. Octavo 9-1/4" x 5-3/4". Stab-stitched pamphlet bound into later three-quarter calf over marbled boards gilt title to spine endpapers added. Moderate toning to pamphlet light rubbing to edges of text block with minor wear light soiling to wrappers owner signature of Charles James Faulkner to front wrapper and title page. An appealing copy of a scarce title. $1500. Only edition. "In the Jeff Davis Piracy Cases the United States brought suit against members of the crew of that ship as pirates not recognizing her as the privateer of an independent warring nation. William Smith was in charge of one of her prizes the Enchantress when she was retaken by the U.S. gunboat the Albatross" Sabin. The crew was found guilty but the crew wasn't punished because the Confederacy threatened reprisals against captured Union personnel. Faulkner 1806-1884 was a planter lawyer and politician from Morgan County Virginia after 1863 West Virginia who served in both houses of the Virginia General Assembly and as a U.S. Congressman for Virginia and West Virginia. OCLC locates 11 copies 4 in law libraries Harvard Notre Dame Social Law University of Pennsylvania . Sabin A Dictionary of Books Relating to America 84728. unknown books
1935660021935. Washington DC 1935-1936. 19 items. Washington DC 1935-1936. 19 items. Documentary Record of Owens v. Butler A Supreme Court Case that Invalidated an Important New Deal Program Trial. Supreme Court United States. United States of America Petitioner V. William M Butler Et Al. Receivers of Hoosac Mills Corp. Rickert Rice Mills Inc. Petitioner V. Rufus W. Fontenot Individually and as Acting United States Collector of Internal Revenue for the District of Louisiana. Record. Briefs. Oral Argument of George Wharton Pepper. Opinions 1935-1936 spine title. Washington DC 1935-1936. 19 items various paginations. Folding tables. Pamphlets in wrappers bound in cloth gilt title to spine bound-in typewritten table of contents. Some rubbing to extremities with minor wear to corners faint vertical crease through spine. Minor edgewear and a few tears to folding tables internally clean. $1500. Assembled by an unknown attorney or law clerk the 19 items in this volume a 2-part transcript 15 briefs an oral argument and the opinion of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Owen J. Roberts form a documentary record of Owens v. Butler 297 U.S. 1 1936 the case that brought about the demise of the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1933. Part of Roosevelt's New Deal this was a Federal law that aimed to raise the value of crops by paying farmers and ranchers to reduce production. The money for these subsidies was generated through an exclusive tax on companies that processed farm products. This led to a series of seven suits by processors who believed they were being taxed unfairly. The most important of these was Owens v. Butler. As framed by the plaintiff's lawyers it asserted the right of a taxpayer to question the validity of a Federal tax. The Court decided in favor of Owens ruling that the taxes instituted under the 1933 Agricultural Adjustment Act were unconstitutional under the Tenth Amendment. As argued by Justice Roberts the tax was not valid because it was established in conjunction with coercive contracts with proceeds earmarked for the benefit of farmers complying with the prescribed conditions. The court also held that the basic premise of the act paying a farmer to produce less to manipulate prices went beyond the powers of the national government. The issues raised by Owens v. Butler were addressed by the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938 which continue. unknown books
1792718641792. This Singular and Lamentable Amour" Trial. Wilmot Fanny Defendant. The Trial of Fanny Wilmot Wife of John Wilmot Esq. M.P. for Adultery with a Footman. Containing the Whole of the Curious Depositions of the Servants And Others Who Described this Singular and Lamentable Amour from its Rise and Progress in the Drawing-Room To its Very Extraordinary and Affecting disclosure at Washborn's Lodgings. With the Result of the Sentence of the Ecclesiastical Court. London: Printed for J. Dawson 1792. 3-65 i.e.69 pp. Lacking half-title and final leaf a printer advertisement. Octavo 8-1/4" x 5". Stab-stitched pamphlet bound into recent period-style three-quarter calf over marbled boards lettering piece and gilt ornaments to spine which has light fading. Light toning to interior faint dampspotting to a few leaves faint stain to title page. $1500. Only edition. Intended to titillate this is a set of depositions many from servants detailing the Fanny Wilmot's affair with her footman Edward Washborn. This affair attracted notice because the cuckolded husband was John Eardley Wilmot 1748-1815 was a well-known lawyer author and politician from a distinguished family who sat in the House of Commons from 1776 to 1796. A divorce was granted. OCLC locates 5 copies 3 in North America 1 in a law library Harvard. English Short-Title Catalogue T2972. unknown books
1801641361801. Bribes Threats and Alarms" Manuscript. Trial. Pennsylvania. Grand Jury Presentment Concerning Improprieties in a Rape Case. Erie County PA August 8 1834. 4 pp. 13" x 8" bifolium docketed on verso of second leaf. Horizontal fold lines a few with minor tears light browning and minor edgewear. Content in small hand filling three pages. Item accompanied by typed transcription. $1250. This appears to be a document from an unrecorded rape case. It reads in part: "We the grand jurors. have become satisfied that the following persons are also guilty of a wicked and felonious rape upon the body of Nancy Burns viz. Wm. Harper Lorentine Miller David McCummins and that proper measures be pursued for the arrest and punishment of these persons whom we also learn have fled the country. The grand jurors further present that ample proof has been given before them to show that some persons whose name are unknown to them have by bribes threats and alarms spirited away one of two or three very important witnesses in this very important matter. unknown books
1791623701791. 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 books
1864712931864. Boston: James Redpath 1864. Boston: James Redpath 1864. The First Person to Rob an American Bank. Not in McDade. Trial. Green Edward W. d.1866 Defendant. A Citizen of Malden. Shall We Suffocate Ed. Green. Boston: James Redpath 1864. 61 3 pp. Octavo 9-1/4" x 5-1/2". Stab-stitched pamphlet in printed wrappers. Light soiling staining and edgewear to wrappers and corners of text block spine abraded wrappers partially detached but secure. Moderate toning to interior faint dampstaining to a few leaves early owner inscription to head of front wrapper. $1250. Only edition. Green the postmaster of Malden Massachusetts is believed to be the first person to rob an American bank. He was "a 'secretly drinking man' and had been short on his post office accounts. On December 15 1863 finding the bank manned solely by the seventeen-year-old son of the president he went back for his gun. Entering the bank he shot the youth twice through the head and carried off $5000. in bills. The crime was very quickly traced to him; his confession disclosed where he had hidden the money and he was condemned to die" McDade annotation to 381. Published during Green's trial this pamphlet condemns the large number of people who were ignoring the teachings of Christ by demanding his execution. OCLC locates 3 copies in North American law libraries Harvard Trial Court Library of Worcester Yale. Not in McDade which lists two other accounts of this case 381 and 382. unknown books
1804704961804. A Landmark Case in the History of the First Amendment Trial. Hamilton Alexander 1757-1804 et Al. Crosswell Harry 1778-1858 Defendant. The Speeches at Full Length of Mr Van Ness Mr. Caines the Attorney-General Mr. Harrison And General Hamilton In the Great Cause of the People Against Harry Croswell On an Indictment for a Libel on Thomas Jefferson President of the United States. New York: Printed by G. & R. Waite 1804. 78 pp. Octavo 8" x 5". Disbound stab-stitched pamphlet. Moderate toning occasional light foxing negligible light soiling to title page and verso of final leaf. $1250. Only edition. People of the State of New York v. Harry Croswell also known as People v. Croswell is a landmark case in the history of the First Amendment. It was a prosecution for criminal libel under the Sedition Act in the Court of General Sessions of the Peace of Columbia County New York. Croswell was indicted for an article published in The Wasp a Federalist newspaper he edited that accused Jefferson of hiring James Callender to write articles attributing various crimes to Washington and Adams. Crosswell was defended by a distinguished team of lawyers among them Alexander Hamilton. In one of his greatest and most influential speeches and one of the last he gave in his lifetime Hamilton argued that freedom of the press consists in publishing the truth from good motives and for justifiable ends however it may reflect on its subjects. More important he argued for a rejection of libel based on English rules which remained a part of New York law especially the rule that truthfulness is not a reason for acquittal. Croswell was convicted but he was not sentenced or retried. And the cause of his case was mooted the following year when the New York State Legislature abandoned English libel law in favor of one based on Hamilton's argument. It became the law of the land when the other states and the Federal government followed New York's example. Ford Bibliotheca Hamiltoniana 90. Cohen Bibliography of Early American Law 13322. unknown books
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 nice copy of a rare title. $1250. 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 in the newspaper on 26th May 1840 which referred to "the great forgery company established on the continent lately detected" and naming the co-conspirators. These included the Marquis of Bourbel "the chief of the gang" the Baron Louis d'Arjuzon alias De Castel Pipe "an Englishman who professes to be a solicitor in London" and Cunningham Graham "an anonymous partner in the house of Bogle Kerrich and Co." The case was sensational in both social and in banking circles. It exposed the largely unregulated and certainly sloppy banking practices associated with letters of credit easy to forge and difficult to police and the almost brilliant ingenuity of an international gang of con men. 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 co. unknown books
