Hume David Compiler (2 results)

4to. pp. 2 p.l., [vii]-xxxiii, 951. with half-title. modern cloth. First Edition. "This collection consists, with one or two exceptions, entirely of Cases hitherto unreported. It will be found to contain decisions on almost every subject of the law of Scotland, during the long period that the learned Author filled the situation of Professor of that Law in the University of Edinburgh". (Editor's Preface) Sweet & Maxwell V 52.

Compiled by an Important Scottish Legal Figure Hume, David, Baron Hume [1757-1838], Compiler. Scotch Law Pamphlets [Spine Title]. Edinburgh: Various imprints, 1809-1815. 12 pamphlets. Octavo (8" x 5"; 20 x 12.5 cm). Contemporary three-quarter calf over marbled boards, gilt fillets and lettering piece to spine, armorial bookplate of David Hume to front pastedown. Moderate rubbing to boards, front board separated but secured by cords, rear board starting at foot, rubbing and light wear to extremities, vertical crack to spine through lettering piece and text block, which is secured by cords, faint offsetting to endleaves. Moderate toning to interior, pamphlets numbered 1-[11], 13 at head of first pages, presentation inscriptions to two items. Housed in an archival box. $1,500. * Hume was the beloved nephew of the philosopher David Hume; his education at the University of Glasgow was paid for by his uncle, whose library he subsequently inherited. (This inheritance likely included the copperplate used to produce the elder Hume's personal bookplate, which is nearly identical to the bookplate present on this volume.) He went on to an impressive career as an advocate and jurist, and his scholarship remains highly influential in Scots criminal and private law. This volume includes 12 pamphlets on various practical aspects of early nineteenth-century Scots law. It was almost certainly a working reference for Hume, created for its content rather than its form: several of the items lack title pages. Several are reports to the commissioners for inquiring into the administration of justice in Scotland. Others deal with day-to-day legal practice, such as the office of constable. Some, such as a letter on a proposed bill regulating trial by jury, are inscribed to Hume. In all, the volume is an interesting look at Scottish legal practice at the close of the Scottish Enlightenment and the mind and work of an important Scottish legal scholar. See Hillyard and Norton, "The David Hume Bookplate: A Cautionary Note" in The Book Collector 40 (1991): 539-544.