The Duke of Norfolk's Case: or The Doctrine of Perpetuities Fully Set Forth and Explain'd

Henry Howard Norfolk

Published by s.n., 1688

About this Item

1688 s.n. [London), 7 7/8 x 12 inches tall hardcover marbled paper-covered boards over cloth spine and tips, gilt lettering to spine, refreshed endpapers, title with engraved publisher's device, [4], 31, [1], 32, [2] pp. Slight soiling, rubbing and edgewear to covers. A former Los Angeles County Law Library copy, with stamps to front and rear boards and blank front and rear endpapers, with a bookplate to the front pastedown and a perforated stamp to the top of the title page. Half inch closed tear and a couple of small holes along the gutter of the title page, which has a bit of soiling. Half-inch edge tears to the fore edge of the last two leaves. Otherwise, apart from some pages with light staining or a couple of instances of period marginalia, a very good copy - clean, bright and unmarked - of this rare and important common law treatise. References: Wing, Early English Books, 1641-1700 (2nd ed., 1994), D2513; English Short Title Catalog No. R17683; OCLC No. 1000691145. ~S~ [1.5P] The first widely published version of the 1682 legal judgment of the British House of Lords that established the common law rule against perpetuities, a rule which prevents a person from putting qualifications and criteria in a deed or a will that would continue to affect the ownership of property long after he or she has died, a concept often referred to as control by the 'dead hand' or 'mortmain.' Though the Duke of Norfolk's case (relating to inheritance of the grandchildren of the sixth Duke of Norfolk) was the subject of a brief pamphlet in 1685, this 1688 folio was the first publication naming this the 'rule against perpetuities,' the moniker by which the rule is still known, and includes a preliminary statement, the arguments of counsel, the opinions of the judges and the opinion of the Lord Chancellor, and some interlocutory matter as well as the decretal order of the House of Lords.

Seller Inventory # S-0542-14478

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Duke of Norfolk's Case: or The Doctrine of Perpetuities Fully Set Forth and Explain'd
• Publisher: s.n.
• Publication Date: 1688
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: First Edition.
• Condition: Good
• Weight: 24 ounces