The Acts of Assembly, Now in Force, in the Colony of Virginia

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The Acts of Assembly, Now in Force, in the Colony of Virginia
ActsofAssemblyVirginia1769.jpg

Title page from The Acts of Assembly, Now in Force, in the Colony of Virginia, George Wythe Collection, Wolf Law Library, College of William & Mary.

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Published Williamsburg: Printed by W. Rind, A. Purdie, and J. Dixon
Date 1769
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Language English
Volumes {{{set}}} volume set
Pages 577
Desc. Folio (37 cm.)
Location Shelf M-5
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The Acts of Assembly, Now in Force, in the Colony of Virginia, printed in 1769, existed as the written set of laws for Virginia in Colonial America.[1] Printed by William Rind with financial aid from Thomas Jefferson, this volume displays the legal code of the colony beginning in 1661 and spanning over a century. The Acts of Assembly covers many issues pertinent to Virginians in this era, most notably laws regarding slavery and tobacco farming.

Inscription, first page of text.

Evidence for Inclusion in Wythe's Library

Dean's Memo[2] includes this particular compilation of Virginia laws in the section of titles Wythe wrote or collaborated on. The Brown Bibliography[3] suggests Wythe owned this compilation based on notes in John Marshall's commonplace book[4] and citations by Wythe in the case reports for Pendleton v. Lomax[5] and Ross v. Pleasants.[6] This may have been one of the items to which Thomas Jefferson referred in his inventory of Wythe's Library as "Laws of Virga. various edns." The Wolf Law Library moved a copy from its general rare books collection to the George Wythe Collection.

Description of the Wolf Law Library's copy

Bound in full contemporary calf, rebacked in period style. Includes previous owner's signature "John Abernethie" on the title page and "J. Abernethie, Ap. 1778." on the first page of text.

Images of the library's copy of this book are available on Flickr. View the record for this book in William & Mary's online catalog.

See also

References

  1. The Acts of Assembly, Now in Force, in the Colony of Virginia (Printed by W. Rind, A. Purdie, and J. Dixon in Williamsburg, 1769), available from Open Library, accessed October 30, 2013.
  2. Memorandum from Barbara C. Dean, Colonial Williamsburg Found., to Mrs. Stiverson, Colonial Williamsburg Found. (June 16, 1975), 16 (on file at Wolf Law Library, College of William & Mary).
  3. Bennie Brown, "The Library of George Wythe of Williamsburg and Richmond," (unpublished manuscript, May, 2012) Microsoft Word file. Earlier edition available at: https://digitalarchive.wm.edu/handle/10288/13433.
  4. The Papers of John Marshall, eds. Herbert A. Johnson, Charles T. Cullen, and Nancy G. Harris (Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, in association with the Institute of Early American History and Culture, 1974), 1:47-49.
  5. George Wythe, Decisions of Cases in Virginia by the High Court of Chancery, 2nd ed. (Richmond: J.W. Randolph, 1852), 6.
  6. George Wythe, Decisions of Cases in Virgina by the High Court of Chancery, 2nd ed. (Richmond: J.W. Randolph, 1852), 26.