Institutio Legalis, Or, An Introduction to the Study and Practice.

Bohun, William

Publication Date: 1708

About this Item

First Edition of Bohun's Well-Regarded Handbook on Pleading Bohun, William. Institutio Legalis: Or, An Introduction to the Study and Practice of the Laws of England, As Now Regulated and Amended by Several Late Statutes. Divided Into Four Parts, Viz. I. The Practice of the Court of King's Bench. II. The Practice of the Court of Common Pleas. III. The Nature of All Actions Usually Brought in Either of the Said Courts. IV. The Order and Method of Pleading. With Useful Presidents Throughout; And a Compleat Table to the Whole. London: Printed by the Assigns of Richard and Edward Atkyns, Esqs; for Isaac Cleave, and Barnard Lintott, 1708. [xvi], 160, viii, 161-568, [18] pp. Pagination irregular, text complete. Octavo (7-1/2" x 4-3/4"). Contemporary calf, blind rules to boards, blind fillets along joints, raised bands and fragment of lettering piece to spine. Light rubbing and a few shallow scuffs to boards, moderate rubbing to board edges, spine abraded and worn at ends, front board beginning to separate, corner bumped and somewhat worn, rear joints starting at head, early armorial bookplate ("William Franks, Lincoln's Inn") to front pastedown, "B. King" in early hand to front free endpaper, rear pastedown loose. Moderate toning to interior, offsetting to margins of endleaves, faint dampspotting to title page and a few other leaves. Ink underlining and brief annotations to a few leaves. $950. * First edition. This book was written to guide students and practitioners at the beginning of their careers. Useful for its insights into the practice of the period, it is a practical guide for the courts of King's Bench and common pleas that gives detailed instructions about the steps to take in an action and in making up a record. The main rules of pleading are set out as bare principles. Well-received, this work went through three more editions in 1713, 1724 and 1732. The manuscript annotations in our copy are summaries, clarifications or additional points. William Franks [c.1755-1797] was educated at Cambridge and called to the bar at Lincoln's Inn in 1779. This title is rare in commerce, with this the second copy of any edition that we have owned. Our copy's collation differs slightly from that indicated by the ESTC, but it matches several copies listed on OCLC, which locates 10 copies in North America, 2 in law libraries (S. Seller Inventory # 75561

Bibliographic Details

Title: Institutio Legalis, Or, An Introduction to ...

Publication Date: 1708

Binding: Hardcover

Edition: 1st Edition