Description
Original 1860 revised and enlarged edition of Wells’ Every Man His Own Lawyer and United States Form Book, published by Bamford & Baldwin of Chicago and Milwaukee. This compact antebellum reference was created for merchants, property owners, tradesmen, farmers, and other Americans who needed practical legal guidance and ready-to-use forms.
The book provides a fascinating view of American law, business, property rights, and everyday life immediately before the Civil War. Subjects include contracts, debts, mortgages, deeds, wills, estates, marriage and divorce, landlord and tenant law, naturalization, court procedures, patents, public lands, voting qualifications, state exemption laws, and the United States Constitution.
Notable features include:
* Original 1860 title page with the Bamford & Baldwin imprint
* Original black leather spine with readable gilt “Wells’ Lawyer” title
* Printed front board displaying the book’s extensive contents
* Patriotic rear-board illustration featuring Columbia or Liberty, an American eagle, and a large United States flag
* Contemporary Ellenville, New York ownership inscription dated October 22, 1860
* Ownership provenance dating from the book’s year of publication
* Highly visual original binding rarely encountered on modern reprints or rebound copies
The dated Ellenville inscription gives this volume an especially appealing period association. It was inscribed less than six months before the beginning of the Civil War, making it an evocative artifact of antebellum American legal and commercial life.
The book shows substantial age and use, including rubbing and wear to the leather and printed boards, worn corners and edges, foxing, toning, staining, moisture marks, page waviness, and small edge defects. The cover designs, gilt spine title, title page, ownership inscription, and interior printing remain clearly recognizable and display well.
A compelling addition to a collection of early American law books, legal ephemera, Civil War-era material, patriotic bindings, New York history, or 19th-century business references. Please view all the photos carefully for the binding, inscription, interior pages, and overall condition.
