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This is a complete set of a especially treasured classic American edition of one of the great cornerstones of English law -- Blackstone's Commentaries. Portrait of Blackstone, with itssue guard -- (the thin guard sheet shows a couple of minor stains). This edition has notes by a number of well-regarded editors -- [Archibold, Christian, Coleridge, Chitty, Stewart, Kerr, and Others -- with Barron Field's Analysis]. The additional notes, with a life of Blackstone were written by George Sharswood [1810-83]. Judge Sharswood became a professor of law at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, in 1850, and was Dean of the Law School from 1852 to 1868. Sharswood was appointed in 1868 to the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania; he was named Chief Justice in the court in 1879. In 1851, he was elected a member to the American Philosophical Society. This set has an interesting provenance, and we think that it justifies the effort and cost necessary to repair the binding. The original boards are present -- old full calf -- [bindings like this used to be refered to as being in "law calf." The color is medium tan, rather than dark brown. There are inscriptions on the front free endpapers in ink: "This book is a gift / to John C[lagett] Proctor / From his Mother / December 25, 1891." Above these inscriptions are the ownership stamps of one of the major Washington DC law firms, in the version of its name reflecting that the original partners were jointed by Paul A. Porter, a former chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, -- "Arnold, Fortas, and Porter." The recipient of these volumes upon publication in 1891 from his mother, was John Clagett Proctor (1867-1956). He shared his name with his father, and the son followed the elder Proctor into two lines of endeavor -- journalism and the law. Initially, the younger John C. Proctor was a printer, working for the U.S. National Museum (later incorporated into the Smithsonian). Proctor worked at the National Museum until 1906, but he also enrolled in the National University Law School, graduating in 1894 with a degree of Master of Laws. While he passed the D.C. bar later that year, Proctor never practiced as a lawyer. He published writings on local history for thirty years, eventually undertaking a weekly column in the Washington 'Star.' In 1949, he published a selection of his columns as a book: "Proctor's Washington and Environs." There is a substantial life of Proctor by Milton Rubincam published, in 1963 in the Records of the 'Columbia Historical Society,' Washington, D.C. As for the original binding, the four boards are all now detached and only parts of the original spines remain. The sewing is sound, the text blocks are clean and unmarked. The two spine labels remain (one is attached to an upper spine, the other is loosely tucked inside the front cover. Considering that labels are one of the major aesthetic challenges of rebacking an old leather book, this may be quite useful in restoring these volumes to a useful, and even handsome, extended life.
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