A Brief History of the Succession, Collected Out of the Records.

Parliament's Right to Participate in the Succession [Somers, John Somers, Baron (1651-1716), Attributed]. A Brief History of the Succession, Collected Out of the Records, And the Most Authentick Historians. Written for the Satisfaction of the Earl of H. [Caption Title]. [London?: S.n., 1680?]. 19, [1] pp. Folio (11-3/4" x 7"). Stab-stitched pamphlet in recent plain wrappers. Pencil annotation to front wrapper, light toning to interior, light soiling and small faint spots to a few leaves, chipping and tears to gutter of first two leaves affecting a few words of text without loss to legibility, later pencil annotations to p. 8, small early ink manicule to p. 19. $350. * First edition, one of two issues. A historically grounded defense of Parliament's right to participate in the succession written during the Exclusion Crisis, which saw an attempt by Whigs to exclude Charles II's brother James, Duke of York from the throne on the basis of his Catholic faith. Published anonymously, this work is attributed in most sources to Somers. A barrister of the Middle Temple and an important Whig statesman, he was Lord Chancellor of England during the reigns of William and Mary and Queen Anne and presided over the framing of the Bill of Rights (1689). English Short-Title Catalogue R11938.…