Commentaries on the Laws of England. In Four Books, in 2 books

Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott, 1875. Sharswood's American Edition of Blackstone's Commentaries Revised for the Late Nineteenth Century [Blackstone, Sir William (1723-1780)]. Field, Barron, (1786-1846). Sharswood, George, (1810-1883), Editor. Commentaries on the Laws of England. In Four Books. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott, 1875. 4 volumes in 2 books. Octavo (9-3/4" x 6-1/2"; 24.8 x 15.9 cm). xxxix, 811; xx, [739] pp. Complete with Table of Consanguinity and a fold-out Table of Descent. Contemporary buckram, red and black gilt lettering pieces to spine, endpapers renewed. Moderate rubbing and soiling to boards, extremities and lettering pieces. Bookseller's ticket "Geo. H. Dixon/ Philadelphia" and previous owner's inscription "Wm. N. Bower/ 6/16/41" to front pastedowns, otherwise internally clean, and tight. A very good, sound set. $750. * First published between 1765 and 1769, Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England became one of the most influential expositions of English common law and a foundational text in American legal education and jurisprudence. George Sharswood, a prominent Pennsylvania jurist, legal educator, and later chief justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, adapted the work for nineteenth-century American readers by incorporating annotations and supplementary commentary from earlier legal authorities. This Philadelphia edition reflects the enduring influence of Blackstone's work in the United States, where its synthesis of common-law principles shaped generations of lawyers, judges, and legal scholars. Its historical interest lies particularly in the continued adaptation and transmission of English legal thought within the developing American legal tradition. This specific printing also features the analytical tools and contributions of Barron Field, an English judge and scholar notable for establishing some of the earliest judicial frameworks in colonial Australia. Field's precise summaries were integrated to help students digest the dense, systemic layers of English common law. Furthermore, this copy retains a distinct regional provenance with the inclusion of a nineteenth-century bookseller ticket from George H. Dixon that anchors the physical history of these volumes directly to Philadelphia's historic legal and publishing district, the very city where Sharswood lived, taught, and compiled t.…