Handsome 1814 edition of the first and most enduring work of legal writer Richard Burn. The Justice of the Peace and Parish Officer, first published in two volumes in 1755, was quickly recognised as authoritative and remains a classic eighteenth century work. The last and thirtieth edition was published in 1869.

Handsome 1814 edition of the first and most enduring work of legal writer Richard Burn. The Justice of the Peace and Parish Officer, first published in two volumes in 1755, was quickly recognised as authoritative and remains a classic eighteenth century work. The last and thirtieth edition was published in 1869.

The clarity and coherent organisation of Burn's work distinguished it from other manuals: 'Burn … constructed coherent categories for the discussion of the matters subject to the powers of justices and parish officers; and within each category he presented, in the order in which they arose in the performance of the justice's or officer's duty, the steps a justice or officer would take in dealing with each matter, and the law relevant to each step.' (ODNB)

This is an attractive early copy of one of the most important eighteenth-century legal works, and a work, moreover, that was constantly being revised to reflect the latest legal decisions.