Printed 1701 Owned and signed by James Alexander of the famous Zenger Trial

Item #85

[Law – Conveyancing]. The Compleat Conveyancer: Being a Collection of Presidents, or Precedents, of All Sorts of Conveyances Now in Use. London: Printed by the Assigns of Richard and Edward Atkins for Isaac Cleave at Serjeants-Inn Gate in Chancery-Lane, and Abel Roper at the Black Boy in Fleetstreet, 1701.

8vo. [vi] 351 pp. + tables Later half calf over cloth, spine lettered in gilt, rebacked. Numerous institutional stamps of the New York Law Institute Library, including an edge-stamp visible on the fore-edge. Title-page and prelims somewhat soiled; occasional light foxing and toning, but overall a sound, crisp copy.

Provenance: Boldly signed at head of title by James Alexander (c.1691–1756), the eminent Scottish-born lawyer, mathematician, and colonial politician who became one of the most influential legal figures in colonial New York and New Jersey. Alexander was Attorney General of New Jersey, Surveyor General of both New York and New Jersey, a member of the colonial councils, and, most famously, counsel for John Peter Zenger in the landmark 1735 trial that established the principle of freedom of the press in America. His legal library was among the finest in the colonies, and extant examples of his books are exceedingly scarce. This volume later entered the holdings of the prestigious New York Law Institute, as evidenced by its 19th-century ownership stamps.

Price: $1,200.00