Pleas of the Crown
Pleas of the Crown, or, A Methodical Summary of the Principal Matters Relating to that Subject
by Sir Matthew Hale
| Pleas of the Crown | |
 Title page from Pleas of the Crown, George Wythe Collection, Wolf Law Library, College of William & Mary. | |
| Published | [London] In the Savoy: Printed by J.N., assignee of Edw. Sayer, Esq;, for J. Walthoe ... and J. Walthoe junr. |
| Date | 1716 |
| Edition | Fifth |
| Language | English |
| Pages | [18], 272, [8], 1-143, [1] p. |
| Desc. | 8vo. (20 cm.) |
Sir Matthew Hale (1609- 1676) attended Lincoln’s Inn to study the law in the footsteps of his father, who had died when Hale was a very young age.[1] While studying at Lincoln’s Inn, Hale became very close with the attorney general, William Noy (d. 1634).[2] Noy is believed to have helped shape Hale’s love for medieval transcripts.[3] This would later lead to Hale’s work on a large amount of legal literature. Hale entered the bar in 1636 after the normal seven years of schooling.[4] In 1671, Sir Matthew Hale became the chief justice of the Court of King’s Bench, a well-deserved role considering the amount of writing he was doing on criminal law as well as the common law.[5]
Evidence for Inclusion in Wythe's Library
Dean's Memo[6] suggests Wythe owned the sixth edition (1759) of this title based on notes in John Marshall's commonplace book.[7] While The Papers of John Marshall does list the 1759 edition, no evidence exists which ties that particular edition to George Wythe. Thus, the Wolf Law Library moved a copy of the fifth edition (1716) from the existing rare books collection to the George Wythe Collection.
Description of the Wolf Law Library's copy
Bound in contemporary blind calf with recent reback. Spine features a red leather label with gold tooling. Inscribed "Thomas Hill" on the front cover, "Andrew (name scratched out)" on the back cover, with "Hor. Binney from G. Schetky" and "E. R. Potter, R. I." written on the front flyleaf. Title paged stamped "William Bingham" and "William Binney," with "Carr & Schetky" written below. First page of preface signed "E. R. Potter, R. I." (perhaps statesman and jurist Elisha R. Potter) and "Hamilton." Purchased through the generosity of Daniel W. Baran and Lena Stratton Baran, Class of 1936.
View this book in William & Mary's online catalog.
References
- ↑ A. Cromartie, "Hale, Sir Mathew (b.c 1609 d. in 1676)" in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (Oxford University Press, 2004- ), accessed October 9, 2013.
- ↑ H. Flander, "Sir Matthew Hale," University of Pennsylvania Law Review and American Law Register 56 (1908), 6.
- ↑ Ibid.
- ↑ Cromartie, "Hale, Sir Mathew."
- ↑ Ibid.
- ↑ Memorandum from Barbara C. Dean, Colonial Williamsburg Found., to Mrs. Stiverson, Colonial Williamsburg Found. (June 16, 1975), 11 (on file at Wolf Law Library, College of William & Mary).
- ↑ Herbert A. Johnson, Charles T. Cullen, and Nancy G. Harris, eds., The Papers of John Marshall, (Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, in association with the Institute of Early American History and Culture, 1974), 1:43.
External Links
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