The Third [& Fourth] Part of the Institutes of the Laws of England.

2 titles in 1 book. 6th eds. 1680, 1681. Rare 1680/81 Edward Coke Institutes - Sixth Edition Folios - High Treason & Court Jurisdiction. Coke, Sir Edward [1552-1643]. The Third Part of the Institutes of the Laws of England: Concerning High Treason, And Other Pleas of the Crown, And Criminal Causes. The Sixth Edition. London: Printed by W. Rawlins, For Thomas Basset, 1680. [vi], 243, [20] pp. Lacking portrait frontispiece. [Bound with] Coke, Sir Edward. The Fourth Part of the Institutes of the Laws of England: Concerning the Jurisdiction of Courts. The Sixth Edition. London: Printed by W. Rawlins, 1681. [x], 364, [36] pp. Engraved copperplate portrait frontispiece. Folio (12-1/4" x 7-3/4"; 31.1 x 19.7 cm). Contemporary calf, blind rules to boards, later tiny label (reading "62") to foot of front board, blind fillets along joints, gilt tooling to board edges, raised bands and gilt lettering piece to spine. Light rubbing and some gouges and scuffs to boards, which are beginning to separate but secure, gilding mostly rubbed away from board edges, moderate rubbing to extremities with wear to spine ends, corners bumped and somewhat worn. Moderate toning to interior, faint dampstaining and minor worming to foot of text block in a few places, later owner signature (Joseph White, Hereford) to verso of front free endpaper, earlier owner signature (Edward Allen, 1745) to head of title page. $950. * Sixth editions. While Sir Edward Coke's Institutes were first published between 1628 and 1644, these late 17th-century folios-printed by W. Rawlins-represent the work at the height of its authority during a pivotal era in English constitutional history. Published just years before the Glorious Revolution, these editions were the primary texts used by the lawyers and statesmen who helped shape the Bill of Rights 1689. The Third and Fourth Institutes are particularly prized for their "weight of authority". In the Third, Coke provides a definitive treatment of High Treason and criminal causes, famously establishing the Castle Doctrine with the maxim, "A man's home is his castle". The Fourth remains the foundational text for understanding the jurisdiction of English courts, serving as a vital link between medieval law and the modern common law system. From the American perspective, these specific late-17th-century edit.…