A New Law Dictionary, Containing a Concise Exposition. London, 1829

London, 1829. First & only edition. Whishaw's New Law Dictionary (1829): A Scarce First Edition with Notable Provenance Whishaw, James [1808-1879]. A New Law Dictionary: Containing a Concise Exposition of the Mere Terms of Art, and Such Obsolete Words as Occur in Old Legal, Historical and Antiquarian Writers. London: J. & W.T. Clarke, 1829. Octavo. (8-1/2" x 5-1/4"; 21.6 x 13.3 cm). viii, 342 pp. Main text in parallel columns. Contemporary three-quarter calf over cloth, raised bands, spine lettered in gilt, marbled endpapers, speckled edges; small binder's ticket of "Martin, Binder, Calcutta" to front pastedown. A little rubbed, with minor nicks to boards; extremities worn, joints starting at ends, hinges cracked but holding. Light toning, occasional foxing; penultimate signature partially detached yet secure. Early ownership signature of "A. H. Trevor" to front free endpaper; later institutional stamps and shelfmarks of the German Reichsgericht to title and front endpaper verso. Scattered early annotations in Trevor's hand to nine pages. A very good copy. $1,250. * First and only edition. An instructive legal dictionary, conceived in the tradition of Rastell yet deliberately concise, offering a practical exposition of legal terminology at a time when the prevailing lexicographical works had grown increasingly expansive. James Whishaw, a member of Gray's Inn, here sought to provide both the student and the practitioner with a portable and judicious compendium of "the common terms and phrases of the Law" (Preface, p. vi), while also admitting obsolete expressions drawn from earlier legal, historical, and antiquarian authorities. Entries encompass English, French, and Latin terms, with frequent citation to standard sources such as Cowell, Blount, and Hale. Though intended in part for the younger lawyer, the work is of wider utility, notable for its engagement with early legal literature and its preservation of archaisms otherwise dispersed across difficult sources. Our copy is of particular interest for its associations. The early owner, "A. H. Trevor," is almost certainly Arthur Hill Trevor (1858-1924), Inner Temple barrister, Commissioner in Lunacy (1907-1914), and later a Commissioner on the India Board; he is also remembered for his parallel career as a first-class cricketer with Sussex. The later institutional stamps record the v. …