The Exact Pleader, A Book of Entries of Choice, Select and Special.

London: Rawlins, S. Roycroft & H. Sawbridge, 1684. "Nulli Secundus in his Draughts" Vidian, Andrew. The Exact Pleader: A Book of Entries of Choice, Select and Special Pleadings in the Court of Kings-Bench in the Reign of His Present Majesty King Charles II. With the Method of Proceeding in All Manner of Actions in the Same Court. By Andrew Vidian Gent. Late One of the Clerks of the Papers in the Said Court. London: Printed by W. Rawlins, S. Roycroft, And H. Sawbridge, 1684. [xx], 266, [24] pp. Folio (12-1/4" x 7-3/4"). Contemporary calf, blind rules to boards, raised bands, blind fillets lettering piece and small early paper shelf labels to spine, gilt tooling to board edges. Light rubbing and a few minor nicks, scuffs and stains to boards, moderate rubbing to extremities, corners bumped and somewhat worn, rear hinge cracked, front hinge starting, armorial bookplate of the Earls of Macclesfield to front pastedown, small embossed Macclesfield stamps to preliminaries, armorial bookplate of Thomas Parker, 1st Earl of Macclesfield to verso of title page, early marking (shelf location?) to rear pastedown. Moderate toning to interior, light foxing in places, soiling and spark burns to a few leaves, early repair to small tear on leaf B1 (pp. 1-2) with minor loss to text. $450. * Only edition. With a taxonomic table illustrating the rules of pleading. "You have here Published the Draughts and Collections of the late Incomparable Clerk Andrew Vidian. A Person whose Knowledge in Clerkship was so Eminent, that it may truly be said of him, quatenus an Attorney, that He was Nulli Secundus in his Draughts" [iii]. Our copy of this title belonged to the Earls of Macclesfield. Housed in Shirburn Castle, near Watlington, Oxfordshire, it was one of the finest private libraries in Great Britain. Thomas Parker [1666-1732], the first Earl of Macclesfield was a hugely successful lawyer and Whig MP. He became Lord Chief Justice of England in 1710 and, in 1718, Lord Chancellor. Unfortunately, his meteoric rise was countered by an equally rapid fall in 1725 when he was impeached and found guilty of financial irregularities as Lord Chancellor. English Short-Title Catalogue R30179.…