The LIFE & TRIAL Of JOHN RANN, Alias Sixteen-String Jack, for Robbery; to Which is Added, A NARRATIVE Of The LIFE & TRIAL Of WILLIAM COX, for Robbery

[Street Literature / Crime Literature]. Rann, John [c. 1750 - 1774]; Cox, William - Subjects

Published by Printed for and Sold by J. Ker, No. 90, High Holborn. Gilbert and Reed, Printers, Finch Lane. Sold also by T. and R. Hughes, Ludgate Hill; Willmott and HIll, 50, Borough; Perks, Stationer, 21, St. Martins Lane; S. Elliott, High Street, Shadwell; Barfoot, Norton Falgate; Dixon, Rochester; T. Evans, 79, Long Lane; Howard & Evans, 42, Long Lane; Kemmish, 17, King Street, Borough; Neil, 448, Strand; and Champante & Whitrow, Jewry Street, Aldgate (n. d.), [London]

About this Item

[3] - 38 pp. Untrimmed. "Life & trial of William Cox, &c.," p. [20] - 38. Hand-colored copperplate engraving of Rann as frontispiece. 12mo: B-D6. 7-1/2" x 4-3/4" Born near Bath in Somerset, England, Rann served as a postillion to a local woman and during his teenage years worked as a coachman in London. He soon became accustomed to living beyond his means, such as wearing expensive costumes in which to attend balls and galas of the city's social circles, and was constantly in debt as a result. He began pick-pocketing with some success, eventually stealing watches and other valuables along Hounslow Road. Soon he became a highwayman and, although he was arrested several times on charges of highway robbery, six of his cases were dismissed due to lack of evidence as witnesses were unable to identify Rann. During one trial at Bow Street, while wearing an unusually large number of flowers in his coat and his irons decorated with blue ribbons, Rann reportedly addressed the presiding magistrate Sir John Fielding, saying 'I know no more of the matter than you do or half as much' when he was asked if he had anything to say in his defence. He was finally apprehended after robbing the chaplain of Princess Amelia near Brentford in 1774 and held in custody at Newgate Gaol, where he supposedly entertained seven women at a farewell dinner before his execution on 30 November. Shortly before he was to be hanged, appearing in a specially made pea-green suit adorned with a large nosegay, he enjoyed cheerful banter with both the hangman and the crowd, then danced a jig, before being publicly executed at Tyburn at the age of 24." [Wiki] OCLC records just a sole holding institution of this publication, that being Edinburgh. Wrappers worn & soiled with inked sums to front wrapper; rear wrapper lacking upper corner. Color offset from frontispiece to t.p. An Abt VG copy of this rare survivor. Period [original?] blue paper covers, stitched. Now housed in a clear archival mylar sleeve.

Seller Inventory # 52216

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The LIFE & TRIAL Of JOHN RANN, Alias Sixteen-String Jack, for Robbery; to Which is Added, A NARRATIVE Of The LIFE & TRIAL Of WILLIAM COX, for Robbery
• Publisher: Printed for and Sold by J. Ker, No. 90, High Holborn. Gilbert and Reed, Printers, Finch Lane. Sold also by T. and R. Hughes, Ludgate Hill; Willmott and HIll, 50, Borough; Perks, Stationer, 21, St. Martins Lane; S. Elliott, High Street, Shadwell; Barfoot, Norton Falgate; Dixon, Rochester; T. Evans, 79, Long Lane; Howard & Evans, 42, Long Lane; Kemmish, 17, King Street, Borough; Neil, 448, Strand; and Champante & Whitrow, Jewry Street, Aldgate (n. d.), [London]
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: Ca early 1800s.
• Seller catalogs:
  • Literature
  • Ephemera