The Reports of Sir. George Croke Knight
London: R. Hodgkinsonne, 1657. [22], 669p. Contemporary calf with boards ruled in blind. Rebacked with a 20th century rebacking with a new spine and label. Frontispiece missing. First edition. Sir George Croke (c1560-1642) began reporting law cases in 1581. He is mentioned as an advocate in his own reports in 1588. After his death, his son-in-law Harbottle Grimston (1603-1685) translated the law reports from the law French. They soon occupied a considerable place in the authoritative literature of the common law. An important work that influenced the U.S. Founding Fathers. George Wythe (1726-1806) owned a copy of the 1683 edition which was inventoried by Thomas Jefferson after Wythe's death. Jefferson kept the copy for himself since he may well have used it while studying law under Wythe around 1762-65. He eventually sold it along with his library to the Library of Congress. From the Library of the Brighton Law Society with their stamp on the title page and the front board. Margins of the title page professional repaired and corners bumped otherwise internally a clean copy. Item #10445
Price: $500.00