Le Court Leete et Court Baron Collect per Iohn Kitchin de Greis Inne.

1598. London, 1598. Enlarged ed. Beale T374. London, 1598. Enlarged ed. Beale T374. Copy of Kitchin's Court Leete, Et Court Baron from the Library of Thomas Parker, First Earl of Macclesfield Kitchin, John [c.1520-c.1590]. Le Court Leete et Court Baron Collect per Iohn Kitchin de Greies Inne un Apprentice in Ley. Et les Cases & Matters Necessaries pur Seneschals de Ceux Courts a Scier, & Pur les Students de les Measons del Chauncerie. Ore Novelment Imprimee, & Per le Author Mesme Corrigee, Ouesque Divers Novel Additions, Come Court de Marshalsey; Auncient Demesne, Court de Pipowders, Essoines, Imparlance, View, Actions, Contracts, Pleadings, Maintenance, & Divers Auter Matters. [London]: In Aedibius Thomae Wight, & Bonhami Norton, 1598. [xii], 289, [3] pp. Octavo (6" x 4"). Contemporary calf, blind rules and small blind-stamped initials "GW" to boards, raised bands and later lettering piece and small hand-lettered shelf labels to spine. Light rubbing to extremities, a few minor scuffs to boards, corners bumped small tears to head of spine, pastedowns loose, later armorial bookplate of the Earl of Macclesfield to verso of front board, small embossed Macclesfield stamp to head of title page. Moderate toning to text, faint dampstaining and soiling to preliminaries, light foxing in a few places. Early owner signature of Thomas Parker to head of title page, markings and brief annotations (mostly manicules) in his hand to the margins of several leaves. A nice copy with an interesting association. $1,000. * This copy belonged to Thomas Parker [1666-1732], 1st Earl of Macclesfield, chief baron of the Court of Exchequer and Lord Chancellor from 1718 to 1725. His markings are mostly pointing hands (manicules). Housed in Shirbirn Castle, the library of the Earls of Macclesfield was one of the finest private libraries in Great Britain. First published in 1579, Kitchin's work is an important source of information on local courts and government. By outlining the differences between the previously undivided court, Kitchin, along with Coke, helped lay the foundations of modern legal theory. "In fact Kitchin was doing on a small scale what Coke was doing on a grand scale. Both were representatives of that school of literate Elizabethan lawyers...whose great and enduring work was the adaptation of medieval law and institutions to modern needs. Imagination necessarily played some part in th.