The Law of Actions on the Case for Torts and Wrongs: Being a Methodical Collection of All the Cases Concerning Such Actions ... to Which are Added, Several Select Precedents of Declarations and Pleas in Such Actions, and References to All that are Extant in the Books of Entries
| The Law of Actions on the Case for Torts and Wrongs | ||
 at the College of William & Mary. |
||
| Published | London, In the Savoy: Printed for Thomas Try | |
| Date | 1741 | |
This is a collection of, what was at the time, an up to date collection of the common law of torts from England.[1] This case book likely would have resembled modern casebooks which collect tort cases for the purpose of establishing the common law. This book was likely useful for the education Wythe provided though it would obviously be dated now. [2]
Evidence for Inclusion in Wythe's Library
There is no doubt that George Wythe owned The Law of Actions on the Case for Torts and Wrongs—a copy of the third edition (1741) at the Library of Congress includes Wythe's bookplate and the spine label "Law of Trover."[3] Thomas Jefferson listed "Trover. 8vo." in his inventory of Wythe's Library, noting that he kept the title himself. He later sold it to the Library of Congress. Not surprisingly, all four of the Wythe Collection sources (Goodwin's pamphlet[4], Dean's Memo[5], Brown's Bibliography[6] and George Wythe's Library[7] on LibraryThing) list the third edition of The Law of Actions on the Case for Torts and Wrongs.
As yet, the Wolf Law Library has not been able to purchase a copy of this title.
See also
References
- ↑ [1]
- ↑ Ibid.
- ↑ E. Millicent Sowerby, Catalogue of the Library of Thomas Jefferson, (Washington, D.C.: The Library of Congress, 1952-1959), 2:308-398, no.1980. Sowerby includes the note "In the edition of 1721 the title as above is preceded by the words: A Treatise of Trover and Conversion.
- ↑ Mary R. M. Goodwin, The George Wythe House: Its Furniture and Furnishings (Williamsburg, Virginia: Colonial Williamsburg Foundation Library, 1958), XLVIII.
- ↑ Memorandum from Barbara C. Dean, Colonial Williamsburg Found., to Mrs. Stiverson, Colonial Williamsburg Found. (June 16, 1975), 4 (on file at the Wolf Law Library, William & Mary Law ).
- ↑ Bennie Brown, "The Library of George Wythe of Williamsburg and Richmond," (unpublished manuscript, 2009, rev. 2023) Microsoft Word document (on file at the Wolf Law Library, William & Mary Law School).
- ↑ LibraryThing, s.v. "Member: George Wythe," accessed on July 11, 2025.