[4], ii, [8], 485; [8], 520, xix; [8], 455, xxvii; [8], 443, [1], vii, [1], [53] pp. Copper-engraved frontispiece portrait in Vol. I; 2 copper-engraved plates (1 folding) in Vol. II. 21x13 cm. (8¼x5¼"), 19th century polished tan calf, morocco lettering pieces.

Seminal foundation work for English law. "Blackstone’s great work on the laws of England is the extreme example of justification of an existing state of affairs by virtue of its history... Until the Commentaries, the ordinary Englishman had viewed the law as a vast, unintelligible and unfriendly machine; nothing but trouble, even danger, was to be expected from contact with it. Blackstone’s great achievement was to popularize the law and the traditions which had influenced its formation..." (PMM). Grolier English 52; PMM 212; Rothschild 407 (all for first edition). Each volume with the armorial bookplate of Rich. Col Hopton, and the modern bookplate of Lois & Landon Raymond.