The Countrey Justice, Containing the Practice of the Justices of..

1682. Sawbridge, S. Roycroft, And W. Rawlins, 1682. Sawbridge, S. Roycroft, And W. Rawlins, 1682. A Landmark Treatise on Justices of the Peace Dalton, Michael. The Countrey Justice: Containing the Practice of the Justices of the Peace Out of Their Sessions. Gathered for the Better Help of Such Justices of Peace, As Have Not Been Much Conversant in the Study of the Laws of This Realm. To Which is Now Added, The Duty and Power of Justices of Peace in Their Sessions; An Abridgment (Under Proper Titles) of All Statutes, Relating Thereunto. A Large Table of the Principal Matters Herein Contained. With Two Other Tables, One of the Chapters in This Book; And the Other of Such Acts of Parliament, As Concern the Office of a Justice of Peace. London: Printed by H. Sawbridge, S. Roycroft, And W. Rawlins, 1682. [xvi], 535, [31] pp. Folio (12-1/4" x 7-3/4"). Contemporary calf, rebacked and recornered in sheep with raised bands, blind fillets, blind ornaments, lettering piece and gilt institutional name and date to spine, endpapers renewed. Rubbing and scuffing to boards, small library stamp to front board, moderate rubbing to extremities, light wear to board edges, small chip to bottom edge of front board, corners bumped and lightly worn, library bookplate and circular sticker to front pastedown. Light toning to interior, light foxing, soiling and tiny spark burns in a few places, tears to edges of a few leaves (mended on leaf N5, pp. 141-142) without loss to text, later ownership signatures ("Clemt. Ingleby" and "Jos. Ankers") to head of title page, later pencil annotations to pp. 516-517. $300. * Later edition. This venerable justice of the peace manual went through some twenty editions between 1618 and 1746. This work is also significant because it firmly established the alphabetical topical structure adopted in later texts. Rooted in Crompton, Fitzherbert and Lambard, The Countrey Justice offers advice on such matters as buggery, customs, highways, prisons, riots, soldiers, murder, felonies, rogues and vagabonds, wool, and high treason. One of the owners of this book was likely Clement Ingleby [1786-1859], a successful Birmingham solicitor and the father of Shakespeare scholar Clement Mansfield Ingleby. English Short-Title Catalogue R27851.