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"Out of Purse" and Out of Patience: Candid Reflections from the Court of Common Pleas [Manuscript]. Rokeby, Sir Thomas [1631-1699]. [Autograph Diary]. England, c.1687/8-August 1697. [iv], 180 pp. (pp. 175-180 blank, in addition to a few intermittent blank pages). Index to first 20 pp. Octavo (6-1/4" x 4"; 15.8 x 10.1 cm). Contemporary gilt-paneled calf, "1688" and "A A" blindstamped on central panel, rebacked retaining existing backstrip with gilt-edged raised bands and gilt fillets, blind tooling to board edges, metal catches (from former clasps) at fore-edges, pastedowns retained, free endpapers renewed. Moderate rubbing, some gatoring to outer panel where former mottling has worn away, light wear to board edges and corners, which are bumped. Manuscript text in single neat hand, autograph signature of Rokeby and annotation to front pastedown. Light toning to interior, negligible light soiling or smudges in a few places, internally fresh and well-preserved. [With] Rokeby, Sir Thomas. Boyd, William, Editor. The Diary of Mr. Justice Rokeby. Printed from a MS. in the Possession of Sir Henry Peek, Bart. [London]: Privately Printed [by Wyman and Sons, Printers], [1887]. iv, 58, [1] pp. Folio (10-1/2" x 8-3/4"; 27 x 22 cm). Publisher's vellum-covered thick cardstock boards, printed title to front board, edges untrimmed. Externally worn, some soiling and faint dampstaining, wear to extremities, vellum splitting along spine, which has a small vertical crack at its foot. Light toning to interior, negligible light foxing and soiling to a few leaves, internally clean. Together two items, each housed in individual cloth clamshell boxes. $17,500. * This fascinating manuscript provides a rare glimpse into the intimate details of judicial life in seventeenth-century England. We could find no comparable manuscripts sold at auction on Rare Book Hub. More than a docket or account book (although at times serving those functions), it reveals the mechanics of the judicial process at a higher level than many other surviving manuscripts of its kind and provides many interesting personal insights into its compiler. It is a compelling artifact of a judge's work at an eventful time in English history. Rokeby, a barrister of Gray's Inn, had a successful career as a lawyer and was appointed to several local offices in Yorkshire. After.
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