Bibliotheca Legum, Or, A Catlogue of the Common and Statute Law Books

1776. London: J. Worrall, 1776.. London: J. Worrall, 1776. Rare Edition, The First by Brooke, And the First With "A List of the Principal Scotch Law Books, And Some Relating to Ireland" Worrall, John [d. 1771], Compiler. [Brooke, Edward, Editor]. Bibliotheca Legum: Or, A Catalogue of the Common and Statute Law Books of this Realm, And Some Others Relating Thereto, From Their First Publication, To Michaelmas Term, 1775, Giving an Account of Their Several Editions, Ancient Printers, Dates, And Prices, And Wherein They Differ. Corrected and Improved: To Which is Added, A List of the Principal Scotch Law Books, And Some Relating to Ireland. London: Printed for Edward Brooke (Successor to J. Worrall and B. Tovey) at the Dove, In Bell-Yard, Near Temple-Bar, 1776. [xv], 150, [2] pp. Publisher advertisements before title page, p. [ii] and after p. 150. 12mo. (5-7/8" x 3-1/4"). Contemporary calf, blind rules to boards, blind tooling along joints, raised bands and lettering piece to spine, blind tooling to board edges. Moderate rubbing to boards and extremities, light chipping to spine, front joint cracked, rear joint starting, corners bumped and somewhat worn. Light toning to interior, offsetting to margins of preliminaries and rear endleaves. $500. * First edition by Brooke and the first with lists of Scotch and Irish titles. The first English annotated legal bibliography, Worrall's remains an important reference due to its excellent annotations, many gathered from leading authorities of the time, and comparative bibliographical information. The first edition was published in 1731. It was followed by several later editions by Worrall through 1768. The 1788 edition is in two books, the second entirely by Brooke. It was followed by supplementary volumes by Brooke, John Rider and John Clarke through 1808. This is a rare edition. OCLC locates 2 copies (Lancaster History, University of Illinois). Library Hub adds 3 more (Manchester Public Library, Bodleian Library, University of Oxford). Friend, Anglo-American Legal Bibliographies 138. This edition not in the English Short-Title Catalogue. Sweet & Maxwell, A Legal Bibliography of the British Commonwealth 1:5. (Inventory #: 82086)