Trials for Adultery: or, the History of Divorces. Being Select Trials at Doctors Commons, for Adultery, Cruelty, Fornication, Impotence, &c. From the Year 1760, to the present Time.... (Vols 1-6 only)
by A Civilian
- Used
- first
- Condition
- See description
- Seller
-
Pasadena, California, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
London: Printed for S. Bladon, 1780. First edition. Contemporary full calf, covers decoratively bordered in blind, spines with four wide raised bands, decoratively tooled in gilt and blind in compartments, two green morocco labels lettered in gilt, blind-stamped board edges and turn-ins, all edges gilt. Some minor wear to a few corners, otherwise a near fine set. Volumes 1-6 only (of 7). Six octavo volumes (7 3/4 x 4 7/8 inches; 197 x 124 mm.). Collating 392; 392; 404, 384; 426 (of 428); 406. Twenty-one (of twenty-four) fine engraved plates. Volume I lacking two of the engraved plates (Daly, facing page 39, and Draper, facing page 20), and clean inner marginal tear on Q4 (pages 5/6); Volume II with light marginal stain on 3A4 (pages 59/50); Volume IV, Z3 (pages 87/88) trimmed at fore-margin; Volume V, Z3 (pages 55/56) trimmed at fore-margin and lacking last leaf 3H4 (pages. 305/306) Address to the Public (verso blank); Volume VI lacking one engraved plate (Grosvenor, facing pages 114). Armorial bookplate on front paste-down of each volume and early ink signature of Thos. Grant at top of title-pages.
Trials for Adultery was published over a period of two years and was completed in seven volumes with thirty engraved plates. Because of their 'pornographic' nature some or all of the plates are often not found. In our set three of the plates have been excised by a previous owner. "The genre of pornographic trial reports was fully developed in the late 1770s, a fact which is borne out by the publication in seven volumes of a special collection of interesting cases, Trials for Adultery: or, the History of Divorces. The editor remarks to the reader that 'conjugal infidelity is become so general that it is hardly considered as criminal; especially in the fashionable world'. In view of the many erotic and obscene prints contained in the seven volumes, the moral justifications offered in defence of the publication of the trial reports appear quite ridiculous, if not hypocritical. Mostly erotic, but occasionally also obscene, such pictorial material now became a standard feature of trial reports for the rest of the century" (Boucé).
Trials for Adultery was published over a period of two years and was completed in seven volumes with thirty engraved plates. Because of their 'pornographic' nature some or all of the plates are often not found. In our set three of the plates have been excised by a previous owner. "The genre of pornographic trial reports was fully developed in the late 1770s, a fact which is borne out by the publication in seven volumes of a special collection of interesting cases, Trials for Adultery: or, the History of Divorces. The editor remarks to the reader that 'conjugal infidelity is become so general that it is hardly considered as criminal; especially in the fashionable world'. In view of the many erotic and obscene prints contained in the seven volumes, the moral justifications offered in defence of the publication of the trial reports appear quite ridiculous, if not hypocritical. Mostly erotic, but occasionally also obscene, such pictorial material now became a standard feature of trial reports for the rest of the century" (Boucé).
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Details
- Bookseller
- Whitmore Rare Books (US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 3796
- Title
- Trials for Adultery: or, the History of Divorces. Being Select Trials at Doctors Commons, for Adultery, Cruelty, Fornication, Impotence, &c. From the Year 1760, to the present Time.... (Vols 1-6 only)
- Author
- A Civilian
- Book Condition
- Used
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- First edition
- Publisher
- Printed for S. Bladon
- Place of Publication
- London
- Date Published
- 1780
- Note
- May be a multi-volume set and require additional postage.
Terms of Sale
Whitmore Rare Books
15 day return guarantee, with full refund if an item arrives damaged or not matching the description.
About the Seller
Whitmore Rare Books
Biblio member since 2009
Pasadena, California
About Whitmore Rare Books
We operate a retail shop in "Old Town" Pasadena open normal business hours Tuesday through Saturday.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Morocco
- Morocco is a style of leather book binding that is usually made with goatskin, as it is durable and easy to dye. (see also...
- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
- Edges
- The collective of the top, fore and bottom edges of the text block of the book, being that part of the edges of the pages of a...
- Raised Band(s)
- Raised bands refer to the ridges that protrude slightly from the spine on leather bound books. The bands are created in the...
- Plate
- Full page illustration or photograph. Plates are printed separately from the text of the book, and bound in at production. I.e.,...
- Gilt
- The decorative application of gold or gold coloring to a portion of a book on the spine, edges of the text block, or an inlay in...
- Octavo
- Another of the terms referring to page or book size, octavo refers to a standard printer's sheet folded four times, producing...
- Calf
- Calf or calf hide is a common form of leather binding. Calf binding is naturally a light brown but there are ways to treat the...
- Paste-down
- The paste-down is the portion of the endpaper that is glued to the inner boards of a hardback book. The paste-down forms an...
- Fine
- A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...
- Bookplate
- Highly sought after by some collectors, a book plate is an inscribed or decorative device that identifies the owner, or former...