Bibliotheca Legum Angliae, Or, a Catalogue of the Common and Statute Law Books of This Realm, and Some Others Relating Thereto: Giving an Account of Their ... Dates, and Prices, and Wherein They Differ

Worrall, John and Edward Brooke. Bibliotheca Legum Angliae. Or, a Catalogue of the Common and Statute Law Books of This Realm, and Some Others Relating Thereto: Giving an Account of Their Several Editions, Ancient Printers, Dates, and Prices, and Wherein They Differ. [With a Supplement to 1800]. Part I Compiled by John Worrall, Part II and Supplement Compiled by Edward Brooke. Parts I, II and Supplement bound in one volume. London: Printed for Edward Brooke, 1788-1800. [15], 272, [26]; viii, 40, 49-255, [1]; [3], 45, [2] pp. 1788-1800. Reprinted 1997 by The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd. LCCN 97-12962. ISBN 1-886363-29-3. Cloth. $110. First annotated English legal bibliography. John Worrall, believed to be the first law bookseller, issued the first edition in 1732, and published numerous editions during his lifetime. Part I is organized by topic and then alphabetically. Topics include abridgments, indexes, tables; civil, ecclesiastical, and universal law; common law, crown law; constitution, crown and Parliament; courts; dictionaries; trade, navigation; reports; statutes; and Irish and Scottish law books. Part II is prefaced by a historical account of English legal literature from the earliest times to the reign of George III. This edition consists of a reprint of Parts I and II of the 1788 edition, and includes the uncommon supplement published in 1800. This edition continues Worrall's experiment begun in the 1782 edition of including observations by learned law writers in the annotation to some entries. This last development marked a positive step of the bare Bassett style of catalogue, which Worrall had originally followed and which was to influence future bibliographies. With an index to each Part. An important, indispensable reference.