Report of the Trial of the Action, Bogle Versus Lawson, For a Libel.

Trial; Hughes, W. Hughes, Editor

Publication Date: 1841

About this Item

The Times Testimonial. London, 1841. Rare. Probably the Most Detailed Account of a Nineteenth-Century Financial Swindle [Trial]. Hughes, W. Hughes, Editor. "The Times" Testimonal: Report of the Trial of the Action, Bogle Versus Lawson, For a Libel Published in "The Times" London-Newspaper, Tried at the Summer Assizes for the Country of Surrey, Held at Croydon, Monday, August 16, 1841, Before the Right Honourable Sir Nicholas Conyngham Tindal, Knt. Lord Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas, And a Special Jury; Together with the Proceedings of a Public Meeting of Merchants, Bankers and Others, Held at the Mansion House, London, Friday, October 1, 1841, On the Subject of Such Action, And of the Committee then Appointed; And Also a List of Subscribers to "The Times" Testimonial. Published by the Committee. London: John Hatchard and Son, Henry Butterworth and Pelham Richardson, 1841. 179, [1] pp. Half-title lacking. Octavo (8-1/5" x 5-1/2"). Contemporary three-quarter calf over marbled boards, later lettering piece to spine, endpapers renewed. Light rubbing to boards, moderate rubbing to extremities, owner bookplate (Geoffrey G. Briggs) to front pastedown. Light browning to text, light foxing to a few leaves. $750. * First edition. A sensational case of a million-pound plot to defraud Continental bankers by forged letters of credit, or lettres circulaires, purporting to have been issued by the bankers Glyn, Hallifax, Mills, & Co. The plot was exposed by a Times of London correspondent in a letter published on 26th May 1840. This case was important because it exposed the largely unregulated banking practices associated with letters of credit, which were easy to forge and difficult to police. The naming of Allan George Bogle-who was almost certainly involved-triggered this libel action against John Joseph Lawson, the printer and publisher of the Times, and resulted in the award of one farthing damages for Bogle, but enormous expense and the considerable gratitude of bankers and investors for the Times. The present report is probably the most detailed account of a major financial swindle of this period, particularly one involving letters of credit. A second edition was published the same year as the first, the third and final edition in 1842. Our first edition was owned by Sir Geoffrey Briggs [1914-1993], an English lawyer and j.

Seller Inventory # 75715

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Report of the Trial of the Action, Bogle Versus Lawson, For a Libel.
• Publication Date: 1841
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: The Times Testimonial. London, 1841. Rare.
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Seller catalogs:
  • Antiquarian & Scholarly