Difference between revisions of "Blackstone's Commentaries"

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<div style="margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em;"><big>Tucker, St. George. ''Blackstone's Commentaries: with Notes of Reference to the Constitution and Laws, of the Federal Government of the United States and of the Commonwealth of Virginia.'' Philadelphia: William Young Birch, and Abraham Small; Robert Carr, Printer, 1803.</big></div>
 
<div style="margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em;"><big>Tucker, St. George. ''Blackstone's Commentaries: with Notes of Reference to the Constitution and Laws, of the Federal Government of the United States and of the Commonwealth of Virginia.'' Philadelphia: William Young Birch, and Abraham Small; Robert Carr, Printer, 1803.</big></div>
  
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When he was Professor of Law and Police at the College of William & Mary, St. George Tucker used [[Blackstone's Commentaries|William Blackstone's ''Commentaries on the Laws of England'']] as his primary text.<ref name=FinkelmanCobinBlackstoneIntropx>Finkelman, Paul and David Cobin.  ''An Introduction to St. George Tucker's'' Blackstone's Commentaries. In Tucker, St. George (1803). ''Blackstone's Commentaries.'' Philadelphia: William Young Birch and Abraham Small (Reprint 1996 Union, N.J.: Lawbook Exchange), Vol. 1, p.x {{cite book|isbn=1886363161}} Available on [http://www.heinonline.org/HOL/Index?index=beal/bctv&collection=beal Hein Online].</ref> While Tucker considered ''Blackstone'' the best treatise to use for learning the common law, he thought it had some important weaknesses as a teaching tool for American law.<ref name=FinkelmanCobinBlackstoneIntropx /> None of the editions of ''Blackstone'' published in the United States actually discussed new legal developments there; they just reprinted Blackstone's discussions of English law.<ref name=FinkelmanCobinBlackstoneIntropi>Finkelman, Paul and David Cobin.  ''An Introduction to St. George Tucker's'' Blackstone's Commentaries. In Tucker, St. George (1803). ''Blackstone's Commentaries.'' Philadelphia: William Young Birch and Abraham Small (Reprint 1996 Union, N.J.: Lawbook Exchange), Vol. 1, p.i {{cite book|isbn=1886363161}} Available on [http://www.heinonline.org/HOL/Index?index=beal/bctv&collection=beal Hein Online].</ref> Tucker also felt that Blackstone's sympathy with the power of the Crown over that of Parliament would be a poor influence for a student of American legal principles.<ref name=DouglasLegacyofTuckerp1113>{{cite journal|last=Douglas|first=Davison M.|title=Foreword: The Legacy of St. George Tucker|journal=William and Mary Law Review|year=2006|volume=47|page=1113|url=http://scholarship.law.wm.edu/wmlr/vol47/iss4/2/}}</ref> Therefore, Tucker wrote [[marginalia]] in his copy of ''Blackstone'' and read them to his classes, and added lectures on Virginian and United States federal law and comparing the American political system with its British counterpart.<ref name=CullenTuckerbiopp121,123-126>{{cite book|last=Cullen|first=Charles T.|title=St. George Tucker and Law in Virginia, 1772-1804|year=1987|publisher=Garland Publishing|location=New York|isbn=0824082567|pages=121,123-126}}</ref>  
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When he was Professor of Law and Police at the College of William & Mary, St. George Tucker used [[Blackstone's Commentaries|William Blackstone's ''Commentaries on the Laws of England'']] as his primary text.<ref>Paul Finkelman and David Cobin, "An Introduction to St. George Tucker's Blackstone's Commentaries," in St. George Tucker, ''Blackstone's Commentaries'' (1803; repr., Union, N.J.: Lawbook Exchange, 1996), 1:x.</ref> While Tucker considered ''Blackstone'' the best treatise to use for learning the common law, he thought it had some important weaknesses as a teaching tool for American law.<ref>Finkelman and Cobin, "Introduction to Tucker's Blackstone," 1:x. </ref> None of the editions of ''Blackstone'' published in the United States actually discussed new legal developments there; they just reprinted Blackstone's discussions of English law.<ref>Finkelman and Cobin, "Introduction to Tucker's Blackstone," 1:i. </ref> Tucker also felt that Blackstone's sympathy with the power of the Crown over that of Parliament would be a poor influence for a student of American legal principles.<ref>[http://scholarship.law.wm.edu/wmlr/vol47/iss4/2/ Davison M. Douglas,"Foreword: The Legacy of St. George Tucker," 47 ''William and Mary Law Review'' (2006), 1113.]</ref> Therefore, Tucker wrote [[marginalia]] in his copy of ''Blackstone'' and read them to his classes, and added lectures on Virginian and United States federal law and comparing the American political system with its British counterpart.<ref> Charles T. Cullen, ''St. George Tucker and Law in Virginia, 1772-1804'' (New York: Garland Publishing, 1987), 121,123-126.</ref>  
  
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In 1795, at the urging of several friends, including former Virginia governor John Page, Tucker began investigating the possibility of publishing his written works, including an edition of ''Blackstone'' with his notes and with his lectures from William & Mary added as appendixes.<ref name=CullenTuckerbiop157>{{cite book|last=Cullen|first=Charles T.|title=St. George Tucker and Law in Virginia, 1772-1804|year=1987|publisher=Garland Publishing|location=New York|isbn=0824082567|page=157}}</ref> After a couple of unsuccessful attempts to find a printer, Tucker reached an agreement with the Philadelphia firm of Birch and Small, which paid Tucker $4000 for the book's copyright.<ref name=CullenTuckerbiopp157-160>{{cite book|last=Cullen|first=Charles T.|title=St. George Tucker and Law in Virginia, 1772-1804|year=1987|publisher=Garland Publishing|location=New York|isbn=0824082567|pages=157-160}}</ref> "Tucker's ''Blackstone''" was organized into five volumes.<ref name=CullenTuckerbiop161>{{cite book|last=Cullen|first=Charles T.|title=St. George Tucker and Law in Virginia, 1772-1804|year=1987|publisher=Garland Publishing|location=New York|isbn=0824082567|page=161}}</ref>  Each volume would begin with Blackstone's original text, with notes from Tucker added, followed by an appendix containing Tucker's lectures and writings on particular subjects.<ref name=CullenTuckerbiop161 /> Blackstone's text was mostly arranged the same way as in the original version, but Tucker organized the appendixes to show what he felt the most important developments in American law were.<ref name=CullenTuckerbiop161 />  
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In 1795, at the urging of several friends, including former Virginia governor John Page, Tucker began investigating the possibility of publishing his written works, including an edition of ''Blackstone'' with his notes and with his lectures from William & Mary added as appendixes.<ref> Cullen, "St. George Tucker and Law in Virginia," 157.</ref> After a couple of unsuccessful attempts to find a printer, Tucker reached an agreement with the Philadelphia firm of Birch and Small, which paid Tucker $4000 for the book's copyright.<ref> Cullen, "St. George Tucker and Law in Virginia," 157-160.</ref> "Tucker's ''Blackstone''" was organized into five volumes. Each volume would begin with Blackstone's original text, with notes from Tucker added, followed by an appendix containing Tucker's lectures and writings on particular subjects.<ref> Cullen, "St. George Tucker and Law in Virginia," 161. </ref> Blackstone's text was mostly arranged the same way as in the original version, but Tucker organized the appendixes to show what he felt the most important developments in American law were.<ref> Cullen, "St. George Tucker and Law in Virginia," 161. </ref>  
  
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Tucker's ''Blackstone'' sold well from the beginning,<ref name=CullenTuckerbiopp160-161>{{cite book|last=Cullen|first=Charles T.|title=St. George Tucker and Law in Virginia, 1772-1804|year=1987|publisher=Garland Publishing|location=New York|isbn=0824082567|pages=160-161}}</ref> and it quickly became the major treatise on American law in the early 19th century.<ref name=DouglasLegacyofTuckerp1114>{{cite journal|last=Douglas|first=Davison M.|title=Foreword: The Legacy of St. George Tucker|journal=William and Mary Law Review|year=2006|volume=47|page=1114|url=http://scholarship.law.wm.edu/wmlr/vol47/iss4/2/}}</ref> Law reporter Daniel Call described it as "necessary to every student and practitioner of law in Virginia".<ref>8 Va. (4 Call) xxviii (1833)</ref> Lawyers arguing before the [[Supreme Court of the United States]] would frequently cite to Tucker's ''Blackstone'' - more often than any other commentator until 1827.<ref name=CullenTuckerbiopp162-163>{{cite book|last=Cullen|first=Charles T.|title=St. George Tucker and Law in Virginia, 1772-1804|year=1987|publisher=Garland Publishing|location=New York|isbn=0824082567|pages=162-163}}</ref> The U.S. Supreme Court itself cited Tucker's ''Blackstone'' frequently, referring to it in over forty cases, many of them significant.<ref name=FinkelmanCobinBlackstoneIntroppv-vi>Finkelman, Paul and David Cobin.  ''An Introduction to St. George Tucker's'' Blackstone's Commentaries. In Tucker, St. George (1803). ''Blackstone's Commentaries.'' Philadelphia: William Young Birch and Abraham Small (Reprint 1996 Union, N.J.: Lawbook Exchange), Vol. 1, pp.v-vi {{cite book|isbn=1886363161}} Available on [http://www.heinonline.org/HOL/Index?index=beal/bctv&collection=beal Hein Online].</ref> Modern lawyers, legal scholars, and judges still refer to this work as an important tool for determining how Americans understood both English and American law in the early days after the United States's independence.<ref name=FinkelmanCobinBlackstoneIntroppi-ii,v-vi>Finkelman, Paul and David Cobin.  ''An Introduction to St. George Tucker's'' Blackstone's Commentaries. In Tucker, St. George (1803). ''Blackstone's Commentaries.'' Philadelphia: William Young Birch and Abraham Small (Reprint 1996 Union, N.J.: Lawbook Exchange), Vol. 1, pp.i-ii,v-vi {{cite book|isbn=1886363161}} Available on [http://www.heinonline.org/HOL/Index?index=beal/bctv&collection=beal Hein Online].</ref>
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Tucker's ''Blackstone'' sold well from the beginning,<ref> Cullen, "St. George Tucker and Law in Virginia," 160-161.</ref> and it quickly became the major treatise on American law in the early 19th century.<ref>Douglas, "Legacy of St. George Tucker," 1114.</ref> Law reporter Daniel Call described it as "necessary to every student and practitioner of law in Virginia".<ref>8 Va. (4 Call) xxviii (1833)</ref> Lawyers arguing before the Supreme Court of the United States would frequently cite to Tucker's ''Blackstone'' - more often than any other commentator until 1827.<ref> Cullen, "St. George Tucker and Law in Virginia," 162-163.</ref> The U.S. Supreme Court itself cited Tucker's ''Blackstone'' frequently, referring to it in over forty cases, many of them significant.<ref>Finkelman and Cobin, "Introduction to Tucker's Blackstone," 1:v-vi.</ref> Modern lawyers, legal scholars, and judges still refer to this work as an important tool for determining how Americans understood both English and American law in the early days after the United States's independence.<ref> Finkelman and Cobin, "Introduction to Tucker's Blackstone," 1:i-ii, v-vi.</ref>
 
==Description of The Wolf Law Library's Copy==
 
==Description of The Wolf Law Library's Copy==
 
Five Volumes, with errata leaf in volume 1 and volume 3, and four plates, collated as issued. Bound in contemporary calf, rebacked in matching period style, retaining original red and black morocco gilt-lettered spine labels, gilt ruling on spine. Light blindstamp on front free endpapers. Text with light to moderate foxing, light wear, contemporary marginalia. Fore-edges with some ink marks. The front free endpaper of the first volume has the signature of the well-known North Carolina author, lawyer, and historian 'F.A. Sondley, Asheville, N.C., Sept. 28, 1887.' The upper margin of the first volume's title page states, 'Commenced the study of Law, the night of the 22nd March 1848.'
 
Five Volumes, with errata leaf in volume 1 and volume 3, and four plates, collated as issued. Bound in contemporary calf, rebacked in matching period style, retaining original red and black morocco gilt-lettered spine labels, gilt ruling on spine. Light blindstamp on front free endpapers. Text with light to moderate foxing, light wear, contemporary marginalia. Fore-edges with some ink marks. The front free endpaper of the first volume has the signature of the well-known North Carolina author, lawyer, and historian 'F.A. Sondley, Asheville, N.C., Sept. 28, 1887.' The upper margin of the first volume's title page states, 'Commenced the study of Law, the night of the 22nd March 1848.'

Revision as of 21:49, 30 March 2013

Tucker, St. George. Blackstone's Commentaries: with Notes of Reference to the Constitution and Laws, of the Federal Government of the United States and of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Philadelphia: William Young Birch, and Abraham Small; Robert Carr, Printer, 1803.

When he was Professor of Law and Police at the College of William & Mary, St. George Tucker used William Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England as his primary text.[1] While Tucker considered Blackstone the best treatise to use for learning the common law, he thought it had some important weaknesses as a teaching tool for American law.[2] None of the editions of Blackstone published in the United States actually discussed new legal developments there; they just reprinted Blackstone's discussions of English law.[3] Tucker also felt that Blackstone's sympathy with the power of the Crown over that of Parliament would be a poor influence for a student of American legal principles.[4] Therefore, Tucker wrote marginalia in his copy of Blackstone and read them to his classes, and added lectures on Virginian and United States federal law and comparing the American political system with its British counterpart.[5]

In 1795, at the urging of several friends, including former Virginia governor John Page, Tucker began investigating the possibility of publishing his written works, including an edition of Blackstone with his notes and with his lectures from William & Mary added as appendixes.[6] After a couple of unsuccessful attempts to find a printer, Tucker reached an agreement with the Philadelphia firm of Birch and Small, which paid Tucker $4000 for the book's copyright.[7] "Tucker's Blackstone" was organized into five volumes. Each volume would begin with Blackstone's original text, with notes from Tucker added, followed by an appendix containing Tucker's lectures and writings on particular subjects.[8] Blackstone's text was mostly arranged the same way as in the original version, but Tucker organized the appendixes to show what he felt the most important developments in American law were.[9]

Tucker's Blackstone sold well from the beginning,[10] and it quickly became the major treatise on American law in the early 19th century.[11] Law reporter Daniel Call described it as "necessary to every student and practitioner of law in Virginia".[12] Lawyers arguing before the Supreme Court of the United States would frequently cite to Tucker's Blackstone - more often than any other commentator until 1827.[13] The U.S. Supreme Court itself cited Tucker's Blackstone frequently, referring to it in over forty cases, many of them significant.[14] Modern lawyers, legal scholars, and judges still refer to this work as an important tool for determining how Americans understood both English and American law in the early days after the United States's independence.[15]

Description of The Wolf Law Library's Copy

Five Volumes, with errata leaf in volume 1 and volume 3, and four plates, collated as issued. Bound in contemporary calf, rebacked in matching period style, retaining original red and black morocco gilt-lettered spine labels, gilt ruling on spine. Light blindstamp on front free endpapers. Text with light to moderate foxing, light wear, contemporary marginalia. Fore-edges with some ink marks. The front free endpaper of the first volume has the signature of the well-known North Carolina author, lawyer, and historian 'F.A. Sondley, Asheville, N.C., Sept. 28, 1887.' The upper margin of the first volume's title page states, 'Commenced the study of Law, the night of the 22nd March 1848.'

References

  1. ↑ Paul Finkelman and David Cobin, "An Introduction to St. George Tucker's Blackstone's Commentaries," in St. George Tucker, Blackstone's Commentaries (1803; repr., Union, N.J.: Lawbook Exchange, 1996), 1:x.
  2. ↑ Finkelman and Cobin, "Introduction to Tucker's Blackstone," 1:x.
  3. ↑ Finkelman and Cobin, "Introduction to Tucker's Blackstone," 1:i.
  4. ↑ Davison M. Douglas,"Foreword: The Legacy of St. George Tucker," 47 William and Mary Law Review (2006), 1113.
  5. ↑ Charles T. Cullen, St. George Tucker and Law in Virginia, 1772-1804 (New York: Garland Publishing, 1987), 121,123-126.
  6. ↑ Cullen, "St. George Tucker and Law in Virginia," 157.
  7. ↑ Cullen, "St. George Tucker and Law in Virginia," 157-160.
  8. ↑ Cullen, "St. George Tucker and Law in Virginia," 161.
  9. ↑ Cullen, "St. George Tucker and Law in Virginia," 161.
  10. ↑ Cullen, "St. George Tucker and Law in Virginia," 160-161.
  11. ↑ Douglas, "Legacy of St. George Tucker," 1114.
  12. ↑ 8 Va. (4 Call) xxviii (1833)
  13. ↑ Cullen, "St. George Tucker and Law in Virginia," 162-163.
  14. ↑ Finkelman and Cobin, "Introduction to Tucker's Blackstone," 1:v-vi.
  15. ↑ Finkelman and Cobin, "Introduction to Tucker's Blackstone," 1:i-ii, v-vi.
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