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[ John Fonblanque, author and whig politician. ] Autograph Memorandum, signed 'John: Fonblanque', regarding 'distinguishing Barons by Tenure from Barons by Writ'.

Author: 
John Fonblanque [ John Anthony de Grenier Fonblanque ] (1759-1837), English author, whig politician and barrister
Publication details: 
Temple [ London ]. 7 March 1830.
£90.00

2pp., 12mo. 55 lines of closely-written text, with a few minor emendations. In fair condition, on lightly aged and worn paper, with 'John Fonblanque' in another hand at foot of first page. The document begins: 'I have been considering whether the Distinction that we notices this morning in the Description of the Heir sometimes as Lord & sometimes not may not fornish another Criticism for distinguishing Barons by Tenure from Barons by Writ'. He proceeds to argue the point learnedly.

[ Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne. ] Secretarial Letter, signed 'Lansdowne | &ct. &ct.', to 'Sec[retar]y. of Commission', containing a list of 'the names of [Wiltshire] Gentlemen to be added to the Magistracy'.

Author: 
Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice (1780-1863), 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne [ Lord Lansdowne], Whig statesman
Publication details: 
Bowood [ Bowood House, Derry Hill, Wiltshire ]. 20 December 1861.
£65.00

3pp., 4to. Bifolium. In good condition, on aged and lightly-worn paper, with a few minor rust stains. Addressed on reverse of second leaf to the Secretary of the Commission of the Peace. In the hand of a secretary, and signed by Lansdowne. Addressed by Lansdowne on reverse of second leaf 'Sec[retar]y. of Commission'. Docketed: 'Decber. 20th 1861 | Wilts | Ld. Lansdowne recd several | <?> all but the 2 parsons'.

[ Nanking; Japan ]Long Autograph Letter from English-born jurist/adviser to Japan on foreign affairs Thomas Baty to 'Cooper', presenting a detailed defence of the Japanese position after the Nanking Massacre, and of Franco in the Spanish Civil War.

Author: 
Thomas Baty (1869-1954), English-born jurist and authority on international law, who settled in Japan in 1916 as foreign legal adviser [Nanking Massacre; Second Sino-Japanese War; Spanish Civil War]
Publication details: 
'Tokio [Tokyo] 1 October, 1937'.
£1,000.00

A letter of the first importance, as Baty had been since 1916 foreign legal adviser to the Japanese Government (following the death of Henry Willard Denison), and had been part of the Japanese delegation to the 1927 Geneva disarmament conference. Such was Baty's support for the Japanese position that the British Government seriously considered trying him for treason following the Second World War, choosing instead to revoke his British citizenship. 5pp., 4to. The first five pages of the letter only, and so lacking the signature, although Baty is without doubt the author.

Manuscript Fee Book of E. G. M. Carmichael, Worcestershire barrister and 29th Chief of the Clan Carmichael, covering over fifty years [1895-1947].

Author: 
Evelyn George Massey Carmichael (1871-1959), 29th Chief of the Clan Carmichael, barrister at law of the Inner Temple and Worcestershire cricketer [Harrow; Oriel College, Oxford]
Publication details: 
In 'Partridge & Cooper's Improved Fee Book.' Entries dated from 1 January 1895 to June 1947.
£200.00

4to, 168 pp. Text clear and complete, in a number of different hands. Internally tight, on lightly-aged paper. In loose buff calf half-binding, with the front of the green cloth boards stamped in gilt with 'FEE BOOK [in scroll] | E. G. M. CARMICHAEL'. Every opening in a spread of seven columns across the two pages: Date, Solicitor, Name of Cause or Matter, Description, Fee, When paid, Remarks. Giving a rounded picture of the activities of a well-connected provincial solicitor. (Represented Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin - another Worcestershire man, M.P.

[ William Sprott, Procurator Fiscal of the City of Edinburgh. ] Autograph Signature and postscript to letter to Robert Park of Glasgow, covering a 'Copy of Minute about the Attorney Tax law'

Author: 
William Sprott, Procurator Fiscal of the City of Edinburgh [ Robert Park (d.1797), Writer, Glasgow; the Attorney Tax Law, Scotland, 1786 ]
Publication details: 
Copy minute from 'Edinburgh within John's Coffee House', 15 December 1786. Sprott's covering note to Park: Edinburgh. 16 December 1786.
£100.00

3pp., folio. Bifolium. On aged and worn paper. Docketed on reverse of second leaf and addressed to 'Mr. Robert Park | Writer in | Glasgow', with postmark in red ink. The first page is headed 'Edinburgh within John's Coffee House the fifteenth day of December One thousand Seven hundred and Eighty six Years. | Siderunt of the committee respecting the Attorney Tax Law.' The minutes end at the top half of the third page, and a followed on the lower part of the same page by Sprott's covering note, written by a secretary and signed by him with short autograph postscript.

[ Sir Joseph Jekyll, English judge. ] Autograph Signature ('J Jekyll') from frank.

Author: 
Sir Joseph Jekyll (1663-1738), English judge and Master of the Rolls
Publication details: 
Without date or place.
£23.00

On irregular piece of paper (4.5 cm wide, and up to 2.5 cm high). In good condition, lightly aged. Good firm hand. Reads 'Free | J Jekyll'.

[Embargo Act of 1807?;] Substantial copy letter, John Holmes, lawyer & politician in Maine/Massachusetts, to William Sabatier, merchant, about land in Maine/MA. Annotated & Copied by Sabatier,and forwarded to Thomas Hutchinson, Jr (see notes below)

Author: 
William Sabatier, "office holder, merchant, jp, and lobbyist (Canadian DNB) [John Holmes, US Senator, etc. (Wikipedia)]
Publication details: 
[Holmes letter] Alfred, Mass., 24 March 1809; [Wm Sabatier note], 5 May 1809.
£580.00

Four-pages bifolium, fold marks, good condition. Holmes letter copied by Sabatier to Hutchinson, and with substantial added material also by Sabatier, 2pp., folio; Sabatier added the note to Hutchinson, p.3, "A cross grained business has happened in the appointment which will occasion a temporary delay; Hutchinson's address appears on page four with a note (presumably in Hutchinson's hand), "Willm Sabatier Esq.

[Thomas O'Hagan, 1st Baron O'Hagan.] Autograph Letter Signed ('Thomas O'Hagan') to 'T. Streatfield Esq', regarding a memorandum

Author: 
Thomas O'Hagan, 1st Baron O'Hagan (1812-1885), Lord Chancellor of Ireland, 1868-1874, 1880-1881
Publication details: 
34 Rutland Square, Dublin. 9 May 1870.
£56.00

2pp., 12mo. On leaf with mourning border. In good condition, lightly-aged, with neat repair to a short closed tear. He is returning a memorandum, 'which is quite correct & may be acted on', and has made a payment of £380 to his account with Drummonds Bank.

[Female suffrage; printed pamphlet.] A Brief Summary, In Plain Language, of the most important Laws of England concerning Women, together with a few Observations thereon.

Author: 
Barbara L. S. Bodichon [Barbara Leigh Smith Bodichon (1827-1891); women's suffrage; Victorian feminism]
Publication details: 
Third Edition, revised with additions. London: Trübner & Co., 60, Paternoster Row. 1869.
£240.00

viii + 39pp., 8vo. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn, no wraps, disbound and with signatures separated. Five copies on COPAC.

[Female suffrage; printed pamphlet.] On the Forfeiture of Property by Married Women. [Reprinted, by kind permission, from the FORTNIGHTLY REVIEW, for the Committee in support of MR. RUSSELL GURNEY'S MARRIED WOMEN'S PROPERTY BILL.] With an Appendix.

Author: 
Arthur Hobhouse, Q.C. [Alexander Ireland, Manchester printer; Rt Hon. Russell Gurney, QC, MP] [women's suffrage; Victorian feminism]
Publication details: 
Manchester: A. Ireland & Co., Printers, Pall Mall. 1870.
£80.00

16pp., 8vo. In good condition, lightly-aged, no wraps, disbound. Several copies on COPAC, none of this edition on market currently.

[John Leslie Foster, Irish judge.] Autograph Letter Signed ('J Leslie Foster') to 'W. Wallich', thanking him for his attention to a request.

Author: 
John Leslie Foster (c.1781-1842), British Member of Parliament and Irish judge
Publication details: 
Rathescar, Dunleer [Ireland]. 19 January 1830.
£40.00

2pp., 4to. Bifolium. Docketed on reverse of second leaf. In fair condition, on lightly aged and worn paper, with one dog-eared corner. He has received Wallich's letter, and thanks him for his 'great kindness in attending so effectively to my request'. Docketed in a small contemporary hand at head of first page.

Seventeenth-century Vellum Manuscript indenture, a fine between Vincent Rolfe plaintiff and Gabriel Martin and Jane his wife defendants of two messuages in Inkpen, Berkshire.

Author: 
[Vincent Rolfe; Gabriel Martin; Jane Martin; Inkpen, Berkshire]
Publication details: 
Hilary Term 6 William III [1694/5].
£200.00

On one side of a piece of vellum (roughly 11 x 42 cm). In good condition, with light signs of age. In an attractive somewhat calligraphic hand. Scan on application.

Seventeenth-century Vellum Manuscript Indenture, a copyhold lease from Sir Arthur Haselrig to John Atkinson of half an acre of land in Bedburne, County Durham.

Author: 
[Sir Arthur Haselrig (1601-1661), parliamentarian soldier [Sir Arthur Hasilrige; Sir Arthur Hesilrige]; John Atkinson; Bedburne, County Durham]
Publication details: 
[Bedburne, County Durham.] 19 October 1653.
£220.00

On one side of a piece of vellum (roughly 7.5 x 32.5 cm). In fair condition, aged and worn. In English. Scan on application.

Early seventeenth-century Vellum Manuscript 'Terrier of lands in Humberston [Lincolnshire]', 'belonging to late Thoms. L<?> ff<?>'..

Author: 
[Humberston, Lincolnshire, seventeenth-century terrier of lands]
Publication details: 
[Humberston, Lincolnshire.] 20 May 1623.
£350.00

On one side of a long strip of vellum (circa 61 x 15 cm), made up of two pieces stitched together with green thread. In English, in an unusually close hand. In fair condition, aged and worn. Scan of part on application.

[Manuscript] The Court Book of the High Sheriff of Yorkshire

Author: 
[ Walter Hawkesworth, High Sheriff of Yorkshire ]
Publication details: 
1720 to 1721
£1,800.00

50pp. used, 41 x 16cm, poor condition, surviving front cover (title "High Sheriff's Book") detached, gatherings partly detached. Most in Latin. One page only (November 1721) interpreted by scholar seems to be a record of the civil cases (names, dates, etc.) coming before the Sheriff, almost all concerning debt of relatively minor claims of damages.

[Francis Jeffrey, Lord Jeffrey.] Autograph Letter Signed ('F. Jeffrey') to his nephew by marriage John Hunter, describing his anxiety on losing Hunter as his 'agent and adviser', on his appointment as Auditor of the Court of Sessions.

Author: 
Francis Jeffrey (1773-1850), Lord Jeffrey, editor of the 'Edinburgh Review' [John Hunter (1801-1869) of Craigcrook, son of Professor James Hunter (1745-1837), and nephew by marriage of Jeffrey]
Publication details: 
Craigcrook. 25 October 1849.
£150.00

4pp., 12mo. Bifolium. In fair condition, on aged paper, with closed tears unobtrusively repaired with archival tape. Addressed to 'John Hunter Esqre | Auditor of Court of Sn.' Written three months before Jeffrey's death, the letter begins: 'My dear Hunter - I hope you do not think that I have been forgetful of you - or indifferent to your fortunes - or ungrateful for your very kind expressions - and I firmly believe feelings - towards me - because I may appear to have been slow in offering you my congratulations on your late appointment [as Auditor of the Court of Sessions]'.

[Manuscript] The Notes of a Court Clerk of cases heard at the Easter Sessions probably at Devizes Magistrates Court (Wiltshire), given that Devizes House of Correction is the prison of choice..

Author: 
[Court Clerk]
Publication details: 
"Easter Sessions", 9 April 1823.
£580.00

24 pp, folio, some leaves detached, interleaved with blotting paper, not bound, fair condition; a scrawl of a handwriting, difficult to read. It starts with the date, 9 April 1823, Easter Sessions, two names of people who "qualified as magistrates", "The Revd R.P.B.

[British Hong Kong, judicial system.] Duplicated document titled 'The Judges' Rules (Revised)'

Author: 
['The Judges' Rules', British Hong Kong, 'F. T. O.'; judicial system; judiciary; law legal]
Publication details: 
'F. T. O. May 1965'.
£100.00

17 + [2]pp., foolscap 8vo. Stapled. Duplicated typescript on pink paper. In good condition, lightly aged and worn, with punch hole at top margin. Divided into two main sections: 'Interrogations' (pp.1-11) and 'Taking statements from accused persons' (pp.12-17). Each of the two sections is subdivided, the first into 32 numbered paragraphs, and the second into 22. Headings include: Recording; "Comfort and Refreshment"; "Interrogation of Foreigners"; Charge Procedure; Persons who cannot read etc.

[Printed item.] The Revised School Law, Part II. Official Regulations and nearly two hundred Decisions of the Supreme Courts, relating to school matters [...].

Author: 
J. George Hodgins, LL.D., Barrister-at-Law, Deputy Minister of Education for Ontario [nineteenth-century Canadian schools]
Publication details: 
Toronto: Copp, Clark & Co., 47 Front Street East. 1878.
£80.00

Full title: 'The Revised School Law, Part II. Official Regulations and nearly two hundred Decisions of the Supreme Courts, relating to school matters affecting Township, County, City, Town and Incorporated Village Municipal Councils; School Section Boundaries; City, Town and Village Public School Boards; Arbitrations and Awards; Public School Inspectors; Boards of Examiners; Also, the Acts relating to Roman Catholic, Protestant and Coloured Separate Schools. With a copious analytical Index to Parts I. and II.' viii + 171pp. (paginated 111-281).

[William Beatty Kingston, author and Daily Telegraph journalist.] Autograph Letter Signed ('Wm: Beatty Kingston') to the solicitor Edward Draper, asking his advice regarding a claim against him by London bootmakers Noguez & Wasselin.

Author: 
William Beatty Kingston (1837-1900), English author and Daily Telegraph journalist [Edward Draper, solicitor of Vincent Square; Noguez & Wasselin, bootmakers, 11 Great Portland Street]
Publication details: 
On letterhead of the Daily Telegraph, Fleet Street, London. 2 December 1884.
£30.00

3pp., 12mo. Bifolium. Good, on lightly aged and worn paper, with traces of mount on blank reverse of second leaf. The letter begins: 'My dear Edward Draper | In the name of "The Trombone" I solicit your advice & aid in the following matter. | Twelve or thirteen years ago a London bootmaking firm, hight Noguez & Wasselin, did work for me or my wife (I disremember which) to the tune of three pounds odd shillings. | I have no doubt that I paid for what I had - and having been my unbroken custom ever sincce I became a legally responsible person.

[Richard Almack, Suffolk solicitor and antiquary.] Autograph Letter Signed ('Rd Almack') to 'Dear Edwd:' [Edward Shepherd] discussing in detail the points in a contested Victorian will, and the 'contumely of the disappointed'.

Author: 
Richard Almack (1799-1875) of Long Melford, Suffolk, solicitor and antiquary
Publication details: 
Melford [Long Melford, Suffolk]. 14 October 1856.
£150.00

3pp., 12mo. Bifolium. A well-written and oddly-entertaining letter, and an evocative piece of Victorian social history. From the context it is clear that the recipient and his wife have been accused of overstepping the terms of a will, and on this matter Almack begins: 'Furniture is very comprehensive, and would I think include Work boxes, Chests, & plated Goods. It has even been decided that plate would so pass! - Also plated would. | Under "bed linen," Blankets & Quilts pass. Under "Household Linen", Coloured Table Cloths & Doyleys would pass.

[William Beckford.] Manuscript copy by Fownes & White of 'Points stipulated for & agreed to with Messrs. Thompson Hankey & Co. on their taking the Consignments of the West India Estates of Wm. Beckford Esq: in succession to Messrs. Plummer & Wilson.

Author: 
[William Beckford (1760-1844), author and 'England's wealthiest son'; his London solicitors James Fownes and Richard Samuel White; Messrs Thompson Hankey & Co. and Messrs. Plummer & Wilson, bankers]
Publication details: 
[Messrs. Thompson Hankey & Co., 'at a meeting held at their Counting House in Fenchurch St. on the 24th Decr. 1830.' 27 January 1831.
£600.00

The connection between the two firms of London bankers Thompson Hankey & Co., and Plummer & Wilson & Co. is unclear, but after the bankruptcy of John Plummer and William Wilson of Fenchurch Street 1831, a new firm named Hankey, Plummer & Wilson was formed, Plummer & Wilson bringing to it a number of clients including Beckford. The source of Beckford's vast wealth was of course the family's sugar plantations in the West Indies, and this document dates from before the abolition of slavery. 3pp., foolscap 8vo. Bifolium. Very good, on laid paper with Britannia watermark of 'E SMITH | 1828'.

[Samuel Warren, lawyer, writer and Bencher of the Inner Temple.] Autograph Note Signed ('Samuel Warren | Bencher') 'To the Verger of the New Temple', authorising admittance to the Temple Church.

Author: 
Samuel Warren (1807-1877), lawyer and writer, Bencher of the Inner Temple
Publication details: 
[The Inner Temple, London.] 7 November 1852.
£90.00

On one side of a piece of 9 x 14.5 cm paper. Laid down on 11 x 23 cm piece of pink paper cut from an album. The note reads: 'Admit one Gentleman & one Lady to the Temple Church on Sunday the 7th. Novr. 1852 - | Samuel Warren. | Bencher. | To the Verger of the New Temple.'

[Thomas Clark.] Autograph Letter Signed to Sir William Horne, threatening to 'Impeach Sir John Nicholl' over his 'Judgment in Dern & Clark'

Author: 
Thomas Clark [Sir William Horne (1774-1860), barrister and politician; Sir John Nicholl (1759-1838), Welsh judge]
Publication details: 
5 Farringdon Street, London. 12 April 1834.
£120.00

3pp., 8vo. 72 lines. Bifolium. In good condition, on lightly aged and worn paper. Clark is writing again 'at the instigation of Friends', and hopes that 'in a Case of such vast public as well as private Importance, involving the Rights the Liberty & the Property of the Subject, you will extend to me your generous & powerful aid, at the Bar, or in the Senate'. His petition to the king (regarding 'Slotts Well'), certified by Horne, was suppressed, and he 'applied to Lord Eldon to present a Petition for me to the House of Peers'.

[Offprint.] English Law Reporting, A Paper read by Sir Frederick Pollock of London, England, at the Twenty-sixth Annual Meeting of The American Bar Association held at Hot Springs, Virginia, August 26, 1903.

Author: 
Sir Frederick Pollock [The American Bar Association]
Publication details: 
'Reprinted from the Transactions of the Association.' [Philadelphia: Dando Printing and Publishing Company, 34, South Third Street. 1903.]
£150.00

13pp., 8vo. Stitched, in grey printed card wraps. In very good condition. Originally printed as an appendix to the 'Report of the Twenty-Sixth Annual Meeting of the American Bar Association held at Hot Springs, Virginia, August 26, 27 and 28, 1903.' Scarce: no copy on COPAC or OCLC WorldCat.

[John Bell of Lincoln's Inn.] Part of document giving his legal opinion in a cause, written out by a clerk, and signed and dated by him.

Author: 
John Bell (1764-1836) of Lincoln's Inn, English barrister
Publication details: 
Lincoln's Inn. 14 March 1828.
£120.00

Bell's entry in the Oxford DNB records that 'In conversation with the prince regent (later George IV), Lord Chancellor Eldon was said to have described Bell as the best lawyer then at the equity bar, though he could "neither read, write, walk, nor talk": Bell was lame, spoke with a broad Westmorland accent, the effect of which was heightened by a confirmed stammer, and wrote in a hand never more than barely legible.

[Extradition 1880; Pamphlet] Official Copy. The Practice and Procedure in the Extradition of Criminals between Her Majesty's Government and Foreign States.

Author: 
[Extradition, 1880]
Publication details: 
London (HMSO), 1880.
£175.00

22pp., 8vo, blue wraps, sl. crumpled, small amount of foxing, mainly good. Eleven copies listed on COPAC, only British copies listed on WorldCat (no USA).

[Sir George Bramwell, Baron in the Court of Exchequer.] Autograph Certificate, on vellum, regarding an indenture shown to him by Catherine Stein, wife of Peter Stein. With a signed affidavit, also on vellum, signed by Charles Harris Hodgson.

Author: 
George Bramwell, 1st Baron Bramwell [George William Wilshere Bramwell, 1st Baron Bramwell] (1808-1892), English judge [Charles Harris Hodgson]
Publication details: 
Bramwell's certificate: 28 March 1861. Hodgson's affidavit: Rolls Garden, Chancery Lane. 28 March 1861, on vellum document 'Sold by J. Sullivan, Printer and Stationer, 22, Chancery Lane.'
£45.00

The two documents are on 33 x 24 cm pieces of vellum, and are pinned together. Both in very good condition. Both are printed forms, made out by the signatory. Bramwell's certificate begins (with the manuscript portions in square brackets): 'These are to Certify that on the [Twenty eighth] day of [March] in the year one thousand eight hundred and sixty-[one] before me the undersigned [Sir George William Wilshere Bramwell Knight one of the Barons of Her Majestys Court of Exchequer] Appeared personally [Catherine Stein] the Wife of [Peter Stein] and produced a certain Indenture marked [A]'.

[Sir Henry Maine.] Autograph Letter Signed ('H. S. Maine') to the Rev. Dr Campion, expressing support for his 'cause', but explaining that his attendance at a Lord Mayor's dinner for Sir Frederick Roberts means he cannot go to a Cambridge meeting.

Author: 
Sir Henry Maine [Sir Henry James Sumner Maine] (1822-1888), jurist [William Magan Campion (c.1820-1896), President of Queen's College, Cambridge]
Publication details: 
27 Cornwall Gardens, London, SW. 6 October 1885.
£80.00

2pp., 12mo. In fair condition, on aged paper with small closed tear along fold line. He is not sure whether, 'as a Permanent Official', he could attend Campion's meeting in Cambridge on 24 October, 'though I very sincerely wish well to your cause'. He has in any case 'accepted an invitation to a great dinner which the Lord Mayor gives on that day to Sir F. Roberts who goes to India as Commander in Chief.' He is not a great attender of public dinners, 'but this will be a large gathering ofr Indian soldiers and civilians, and I could not decline'.

['The Overseers of the Poor of Leeds' (near Maidstone, Kent).] Itemised manuscript bill to the Overseer Mr Bottle from Burr, Hoar & Burr, attornies, King Street, Maidstone

Author: 
Burr, Hoar & Burr, attornies, King Street, Maidstone, Kent [Mr Bottle, Overseer of the Poor of Leeds, near Maidstone, Kent]
Publication details: 
[Burr, Hoar & Burr, attornies, Maidstone, Kent.] Undated, but covering the period April 1817 to July 1821.
£220.00

3pp., folio. Bifolium. Addressed on reverse of second leaf to 'Mr. Bottle | Overseer | Leeds', with Maidstone postmark, and docketted 'Burr's Bill | £24 14s 8d'. In good condition, on lightly aged and creased paper. Headed 'The Overseers of the Poor of Leeds'. Closely and neatly written, with the forty itemised entries going into unusual detail. The first entry, for 6s 8d, reads: '[April 1817] Att[endin]g. you on Stonham's Son in law hav[in]g. applied to a Magistrate for an Order for relief of his Grandchildren & aftwds upon the Magistrate with you & him & advis[in]g.

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