Hetley Sir Thomas (2 results)

"The Fruit of Bacon's Wise Design" Hetley, Sir Thomas. Reports and Cases Taken in the Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Years of the Late King Charles. As They were Argued by Most of the Kings Sergeants at the Common-pleas Barre. Collected and Reported, By that Eminent Lawyer, Sir Thomas Hetley Knight, Sergeant at Law, Sometimes of the Honourable Society of Grayes-Inne, And Appointed by the King and Judges for One of the Reporters of the Law. Now Englished, With an Exact Table of the Principal Matter Therein Contained, And Likewise of the Cases, Both Alphabetical. London: Printed by F.L. for Matthew Walbancke at Grayes-Inne Gate, And Thomas Firby, Near Grayes-Inne in Holborne, 1657. [xii], 177, [4] pp. Main text followed by 4 pp. publisher catalogue. Folio (11-3/4" x 7-1/2"). Contemporary calf, blind rules to boards, raised bands and lettering piece to spine, "Hetley" in early hand to fore-edge of text block. Shallow scuffing to boards, rubbing to extremities with wear to spine ends and corners, joints starting, rear endleaves and pastedown lacking, front pastedown loose and moderately edgeworn, front free endpaper mostly removed, armorial bookplate of the Earls of Macclesfield to verso of front board, small embossed Macclesfield crest to preliminaries. Moderate toning to interior, faint dampstaining to head and foot of text block in a few places, offsetting to preliminaries and publisher catalogue, brief annotations in contemporary hand to a few leaves. $250. * Only edition. "It is a well-known historical fact, that in the reign of James I, Lord Bacon endeavored to procure the revival of the ancient office of Reporter, which had been dropped by Henry VIII. The title page of Hetley informs us that the author was appointed 'by the King and Judges for one of the reporters of the law.' This volume is the only one that can be so much as referred to as the fruit of Bacon's wise design; though we must note that it is in the time of Charles I., not in that of James I" (Wallace). Our copy of this title belonged to the Earls of Macclesfield. Housed in Shirburn Castle, near Watlington, Oxfordshire, it was one of the finest private libraries in Great Britain. Wallace, The Reporters 270-271. English Short-Title Catalogue R10743.

Annotated Throughout in a Contemporary Hand (illustrator). First Edition. Annotated Throughout in a Contemporary Hand. Annotated Throughout in a Contemporary Hand Lane, Richard [1584-1650]. Reports in the Court of Exchequer, Beginning in the Third, And Ending in the Ninth Year of the Raign of the Late King James. London: Printed for W. Lee, D. Pakeman, and G. Bedell, 1657. [iv], 119, [5] pp. [Bound with] Hetley, Sir Thomas [c.1570-1637]. Reports and Cases Taken in the Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Years of the Late King Charles. London: Printed by F.L. for Matthew Walbancke.and Thomas Firby, near Grayes-Inne 1657. 177, [1], [xii] pp. Table of cases, pp. [i-xii], which includes a one-page publisher catalogue, misbound at end of text. [And] Winch, Sir Humphrey [1555?-1625]. Reports of that Reverend and Learned Judge, Sir Humphry Winch Knight; Sometimes One of the Judges of the Court of Common Pleas. London: Printed for W. Lee, D. Pakeman, and G. Bedell, 1657. [viii], 125, [9] pp. Lacking final blank leaf. Folio (11" x 7"; 28 x 17.8 cm). Recent period-style quarter calf over marbled boards, raised bands and lettering piece to spine, endpapers renewed. Light browning and damp-crinkling to interior, light foxing in places, light soiling to first title page, which has two early owner signatures (one, of Henry Ridgely, struck-through, the other of Francis Dade) and an early owner stamp (H. Ridgely). All three titles annotated throughout in a single contemporary hand, several passages underlined. $1,500. * Lane, Hetley: first editions; Winch: only edition. Published in 1657 during the English Commonwealth, this compendium reflects the sudden legal demand for authoritative English-language reports by respected, politically stable judges who practiced prior to the Civil War. Lane's work holds distinct historical value as the very first reporter devoted exclusively to the Court of Exchequer, heavily featuring critical arguments regarding the royal prerogative. The consistent marginalia and cross-references suggest close study by a mid-17th-century practitioner or law student navigating the shifting legal landscape of the Interregnum. Wallace, The Reporters 237-241, 270-171, 262. English Short-Title Catalogue R6274, R10743, R8405.