Full Description: BLACKSTONE, Sir William. The Great Charter and Charter of the Forest with other Authentic Instruments. To Which is Prefixed an Introductory Discourse, Containing the History of the Charters. Oxford: At the Clarendon Press, 1759. First edition. Folio (12 3/4 x 9 1/4 inches; 322 x 235 mm). [4], lxxvi, [4], 86 pp. With engraved dedication page and numerous engraved vignette tail-pieces and engraved historiated initials illustrating buildings at Oxford. With a separate half-title for the "Magna Carta" and table of contents (Tabula) bound between pp lxxvi and 1. Full 19th Century tan paneled calf. Boards ruled in blind. Spine with red morocco spine label, lettered in gilt. Board edges tooled in blind. Marbled endpapers. Edges speckled red. Some rubbing to extremities and corners a bit bumped. Free endpapers reinforced at the front and back. Some light toning to a few pages. The first seven leaves (title, dedication and pages i-x) with repairs to the inner margin and the fore-edges reinforced. Fore-edge of leaf h2 also reinforced. Some small short closed tears to some fore-edges throughout, not touching text. A few cases of marginal worming, again not touching text. Some of the leaves are a bit fragile and torn at the fore-edge, but still a very good copy. "A work of the highest importance for the historian and constitutional lawyer" (David Walker, Oxford Companion to Law). "This work was immediately embraced not only for its scholarship, but also for the highly aesthetic printing. The introductory essay, which represents about half of the volume, is influenced by Lord Coke's interpretation of Magna Carta as the foundation of English liberties. Blackstone's original contributions includes a close examination of the versions of Magna Carta, and represents the first demonstration that all subsequent versions of the charter were based on the 1225 re-issue of Henry III, rather than the original endorsed by King John in 1215. His approach was highly influential and it established the textual focus that has governed subsequent study of the charter. Blackstone also created the numbering system that is still in use" (Utexas dot edu) ESTC T143723. Rothschild 406. HBS 69093. $2,500.
