Commentaries on the Laws of England: All 4 Books (Illustrated)

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Sir William Blackstone was an English jurist, judge, and Tory politician. His series of lectures on English law, the first of their kind in any university, have endured since their publication as a definitive reference on the principles of Common Law. The first American edition was produced in ; prior to this, over 1, copies had already been sold in the Thirteen Colonies, and it was greatly influential among the Framers of the Constitution. Event today, Blackstone's Commentaries are cited in U.

Supreme Court decisions times a year. His plan for a dedicated School of Law, included in the Commentaries upon its rejection by Oxford, provided the foundation of the modern system of American law schools. Books by William Blackstone. Trivia About Commentaries on t Maroon morocco spine labels, gilt. Spine with raised bands. Random foxing particularly to preliminary leaves.

A nice wide-margined set, with the majority of the text fine and fresh. The foundations of English law rest extensively on this important work. Contemporary full speckled calf with double gilt fillet border to boards. Spine in 6 compartments. Gilt titles on red and green morocco spine labels to second and third.

Raised bands flanked by double gilt fillets.

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Rolled design in blind to edges of boards. Discrete professional restoration to head and tail of spine, exterior joints, and corners. Boards lightly rubbed with some areas of surface abrasion. Front free endpaper pasted to front flyleaf in three volumes. Internally very clean with just some light dampstaining to gutter of 4th volume. With two engraved plates, 1 folding, in Volume 2. Blackstone's commentaries provided historical context to vast body of English law and presented it in a manner accessible to the average Englishman. In doing so, he revealed the logic and reasoning behind a legal system that heretofore inspired fear and suspicion in the population.

Blackstone also wrote with an enthusiasm that helped make his work an enduring success and a landmark law book Printing and the Mind of Man A handsome set in a contemporary binding. Contemporary calf, raised bands, gilt morocco spine labels. Several joints cracked, but sound, with cords intact, some old scars to the boards and occasional small nicks and chips to spine ends, but a vey good, clean set.

First editions of volumes three and four, third editions of the first and second volumes.

A cornerstone work on English laws, which had an undeniable influence on the course of jurisprudence in other nations. Blackstone's great achievement was to popularize the law and the traditions which had influenced its formation If the English constitution survived the troubles of the next century, it was because the law had gained a new popular respect, and this was due in part to the enormous success of Blackstone's work" - PMM. Blackstone's work was immediately influential and successful - it was reprinted a dozen times in England over the ensuing two decades, and translated into French, German, Italian, and Russian.

Each volume of the present set has the contemporary engraved bookplate on the front pastedown of one Richard Scott, Esq. Oxford; Clarendon Press; ; 68; 68; 69; Quarto;, Bound in fine modern beige leather. Gilt rule to boards. Marginal damp stain throughout, affecting text of first few pages in each volume, affecting text in Vol. Soot to prelims and page ends. Early signature of John Spence to title page. Grolier, English, Printing and the Mind of Man 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 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.

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But he achieves the astonishing feat of communicating this delight, and this is due to a style which is itself always lucid and graceful. I and II; 1st ed. II, [4], iv, [4], [3], [1], [8], , xix. Internally sound and crisp with only scattered foxing or browning. Triangular piece replaced at bottom of title-leaf in Vol. Lacks first text leaf in Vol. A cornerstone work in the development and codification of English law. Fifth edition and first Oxford octavo edition. Contemporary calf, green and red spine leather spine labels.

• Commentaries On the Laws Of England?
• Commentaries On the Laws Of England by Blackstone, William.
• Commentaries on the laws of England : in four books.
• .

Covers rubbed, spine a bit dry, heads slightly chipped and joints split, but cords are holding; internally clean and attractive. Bookplate of Gervas Holmes. One of the cornerstones of our legal system, and still regarded as the best general history of English law.

Covers rubbed, spine a bit dry, heads slightly chipped and joints s Edition: Finely bound set of Blackstone's landmark work. Bound in full period calf, gilt tooling and titles to the spine, red leather title labels lettered in gilt, small oval green leather labels with volume numbers. Portrait frontispiece in Volume 1, one plates and folding chart in Volume 2. This edition contains the last corrections made during the life of the author. In very good condition. Blackstone's work succeeded that of Edward Coke as the foundational treatise on English law.

PMM states "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 Raptis Rare Books Published: Printed by Isaiah Thomas, Property in chattels was already beginning to overshadow property in land, but its law lacked the complex feudal background of the common law of land, and was not dealt with nearly as extensively by Blackstone. Of Private Wrongs dealt with torts as they existed in Blackstone's time. The various methods of trial that existed at civil law were also dealt with in this volume, as were the jurisdictions of the several courts, from the lowest to the highest.

Almost as an afterthought, Blackstone also adds a brief chapter on equity , the parallel legal system that existed in English law at the time, seeking to address wrongs that the common law did not handle. Of Public Wrongs is Blackstone's treatise on criminal law. Here, Blackstone the apologist takes centre stage; he seeks to explain how the criminal laws of England were just and merciful, despite becoming later known as the Bloody Code for their severity.

He does however accept that "It is a melancholy truth, that among the variety of actions which men are daily liable to commit, no less than an hundred and sixty have been declared by Act of Parliament to be felonious without benefit of clergy ; or, in other words, to be worthy of instant death". Blackstone frequently resorted to assuring his reader that the laws as written were not always enforced, and that the King's power of pardon could be exercised to correct any hardships or injustices.

Commentaries on the Laws of England, Volume 4: A Facsimile of the First Edition of 1765-1769

Blackstone for the first time made the common law readable and understandable by non-lawyers. At first, his Commentaries were hotly contested, some seeing in them an evil or covert attempt to reduce or codify the common law which was anathema to common law purists. For decades, a study of the Commentaries was required reading for all first year law students. Lord Avonmore said of Blackstone: He found it a skeleton and clothed it with life, colour and complexion.

He embraced the cold statue and by his touch, it grew into youth, health and beauty. While there is much valuable historical information in the Commentaries , later historians have tended to be somewhat critical of the uses Blackstone made of history.