View source for Touch-Stone of Common Assurances

{{DISPLAYTITLE:''The Touch-Stone of Common Assurances''}}
<big>''The Touch-Stone of Common Assurances, or, A Plain and Familiar Treatise, Opening the Learning of the Common Assurances or Conveyances of the Kingdome''</big>
===by William Sheppard===
__NOTOC__
{{BookPageInfoBox
|imagename=SheppardTouch-Stone1648.jpg
|link=https://catalog.swem.wm.edu/law/Record/2080642
|shorttitle=The Touch-Stone of Common Assurances
|author=William Sheppard
|publoc=London
|publisher=Printed by M.F. for W. Lee, M. Walbancke, D. Pakeman, and G. Bedell
|year=1648
|edition=First
|lang=English
|pages=6 p. l., 529 (i.e. 525), [6] 
|desc=8vo (22 cm.)
}}William Sheppard (1595-1674) was a highly influential legal and religious reformer in England during the early and middle part of the 17th century.<ref>Nancy L. Matthews, [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/25349 "Sheppard, William (bap. 1595, d. 1674)"] in ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (Oxford University Press, 2004- ), accessed October 10, 2013.</ref> After being called to the bar in 1629, Sheppard became a very well-known lawyer in the rural part of England from 1631 until 1654. During this time period, Sheppard served as steward for several manors and was an attorney of Gloucester’s local court. In addition to his practical work in the field of law, Sheppard published several legal texts. Many of these were based upon his own observations of the cases involved in his local practice. He also wrote several religious texts on a variety of topics.<ref>Ibid.</ref><br />
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In 1653 Sheppard was called to London by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver_Cromwell Oliver Cromwell] to assist him in the creation of a law reform program.<ref>Nancy L. Matthews, ''William Sheppard, Cromwell's Law Reformer'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1984), 31.</ref> Some experts believe Sheppard’s religious publications, in addition to his legal works, were the ultimate reason for his selection by Cromwell.<ref>Matthews, “Sheppard, William."</ref> Sheppard served in the administration for approximately three years, during which time he published nine texts in support of the administration’s agenda.<ref>Ibid.</ref> Some of Sheppard’s best known works during this period included ''Precedent of Precedents'', which contained standardized forms to register land, and ''An Epitome of All the Common and Statute Laws of the Nation now in Force'', one of the earliest attempts at an abridged legal encyclopedia.<ref>[http://tarlton.law.utexas.edu/exhibits/dictionaries/common_law/sheppard.html "Tarlton Law Library - Law Dictionary Collection - online exhibit,"] Tarlton Law Library, The University of Texas at Austin, accessed October 10, 2013.</ref><br />
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''The Touchstone of Common Assurances'', Sheppard's "most enduring and best-known work"<ref>Matthews, ''William Sheppard, Cromwell's Law Reformer'', 77.</ref> was published as a collection of twenty-three essays focused on conveyancing.<ref>Ibid."</ref> Sheppard had developed an expertise in the subject during the time he spent serving as an attorney for several manors early in his career. In the work, Sheppard opened "[e]ach chapter ... with a definition of one type of conveyance ... followed by a description of the rules, principles and legal maxims that governed each conveyance."<ref>Matthews, ''William Sheppard, Cromwell's Law Reformer'', 78.</ref>  
[[File:SheppardTouchstoneOfCommonAssurances1648Headpiece.jpg|center|thumb|400px|<center>Headpiece, first page of text.</center>]]  
==Evidence for Inclusion in Wythe's Library==
Both [[Dean Bibliography|Dean's Memo]]<ref>[[Dean Bibliography|Memorandum from Barbara C. Dean]], Colonial Williamsburg Found., to Mrs. Stiverson, Colonial Williamsburg Found. (June 16, 1975), 14 (on file at Wolf Law Library, College of William & Mary).</ref> and the [https://digitalarchive.wm.edu/handle/10288/13433 Brown Bibliography]<ref> 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</ref> include the first edition (1648) of Sheppard's ''Touch-Stone'' based on Alan Smith's assertion that Jefferson cites the work in his commonplace book.<ref>Alan McKinley Smith "Virginia Lawyers, 1680-1776: The Birth of an American Profession" (PhD diss., The Johns Hopkins University, 1967), 263.</ref> Brown lists the title as questionable. His study of Jefferson's commonplace books revealed no references to the ''Touch-Stone''. Despite the inconclusive evidence, the Wolf Law Library added a copy of the first edition to the [[George Wythe Collection]].

==Description of the Wolf Law Library's copy==
Bound in full calf, contemporary boards with triple blind rules rebacked in period style. Spine features gilt-ruled, raised bands and original black morocco label with gilt lettering. Purchased from Meyer Boswell.

Find this book in [https://catalog.swem.wm.edu/law/Record/2080642 William & Mary's online catalog].
==References==
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[[Category:Commercial Law]]
[[Category:George Wythe Collection at William & Mary's Wolf Law Library]]
[[Category:Titles in Wythe's Library]]