Reports and Cases of Practice in the Court of Common Pleas, in the Reigns of Queen Anne, King George I, and King George II
by Sir George Cooke
| Cooke's Reports | |
 Title page from Reports and Cases of Practice in the Court of Common Pleas, George Wythe Collection, Wolf Law Library, College of William & Mary. | |
| Author | Sir George Cooke |
| Published | London, In the Savoy: Printed by Henry Lintot (assignee of Edward Sayer, Esq;) for J. Stephens ... and 5 others |
| Date | 1742 |
| Edition | First |
| Language | English |
| Pages | [6], 142, [6] |
| Desc. | Folio (29 cm.) |
| Location | Shelf L-5 |
Information about the life of Sir George Cooke (c.1705 – 1768) is limited. Hailing from a family of well-respected barristers, Cooke, his father and his grandfather all held the office of Chief Prothonotary in the Court of Common Pleas. Cooke began his legal education at the Inner Temple in 1717, became a bencher in 1733, a reader in 1742, and treasurer in 1743. He also served in Parliament representing Tregony from 1742 to 1747, and Middlesex from 1750 until his death in 1768.[1]
Cooke's tenure as Chief Prothonotary, a position he held from 1732 until his death, led to several publications, including two rule books: Rules, Orders, and Notices in the Court of King's Bench, and Rules, Orders, and Notices in the Court of Common Pleas. In 1742, Cooke published Reports and Cases of Practice in the Court of Common Pleas. Of good reputation, the decisions focused "on points of practice" and were "cited not unfrequently in the Reports of Sir William Blackstone and in Wilson."[2] The three titles appear to have frequently been bound together in one volume.
Evidence for Inclusion in Wythe's Library
Brown's Bibliography[3] includes the first edition (1742) of Cooke's Reports and Cases of Practice in the Court of Common Pleas based on quotations in the manuscript copy of John Marshall's law notes. The Wolf Law Library moved a copy of the same edition from the general rare books collection to the George Wythe Collection.
Description of the Wolf Law Library's copy
Copy lacks covers. Bound with two other titles by George Cooke, Rules, Orders and Notices, in the Court of King's Bench: From the Second of King James I to Michaelmas term the 14th of King George II. (London, In the Savoy: Printed by E. and R. Nutt, and R. Gosling, 1740), and Rules, Orders and Notices, in the Court of Common Pleas at Westminster: from the 35th of King Henry VI to Hilary term the 15th of King George II. (London, In the Savoy : H. Lintot, 1742).
View the record for this book in William & Mary's online catalog.
See also
References
- ↑ The History of Parliament: British Political, Social & Local History, s.v. "COOKE, George (c.1705-68), of Bellamond, or Bellacketts, in Harefield, Mdx." (London: The History of Parliament Trust 1964-2015), accessed May 13, 2015.
- ↑ John William Wallace, The Reporters, Arranged and Characterized with Incidental Remarks, 4th ed., rev. and enl. (Boston: Soule and Bugbee, 1882), 416. "Wilson" refers to George Wilson author of Reports of Cases in the King's Bench and Common Pleas, from Hil. Term, 16 Geo. II. to East. Term, 14 Geo. III.
- ↑ Bennie Brown, "The Library of George Wythe of Williamsburg and Richmond," (unpublished manuscript, May, 2012, rev. May, 2014) Microsoft Word file. Earlier edition available at: https://digitalarchive.wm.edu/handle/10288/13433.
