Description
[004349] [Palmer, William] Illustrated Life and Career of William Palmer of Rugeley WITH The Queen V. Palmer – Verbatim Report of the Trial of William Palmer WITH The Times Report of the Trial of William Palmer WITH The Great Convent Case WITH Another Copy of the First Mentioned. London: Ward and Lock, 1856. First Edition. 8vo. Hardback. Good+. Five works bound in three volumes – First Volume – Illustrated Life and Career of William Palmer, of Rugeley: Containing Details of His Conduct as School-Boy, Medical Student, Racing-Man, and Poisoner; With Original Letters of William and Anne Palmer, and Other Authentic Documents. Together With the Whole of His Private Diary up to the Hour of His Arrest, and the Fullest Particulars Respecting His Execution at Stafford, [5], 6-136pp, facsimile; WITH The Queen v. Palmer. Verbatim Report of the Trial of William Palmer at the Central Criminal Court, Old Bailey, London, May 14, and Following Days, 1856 Etc. Etc., published by J. Allen, [3], 4-326pp: Second Volume – Illustrated and Unabridged Edition of The Times Report of the Trial of William Palmer, for Poisoning John Parsons Cook, at Rugeley, [5], 6-184pp WITH The Great Convent Case Saurin v. Star & Kennedy, published by Ward, Lock & Tyler, n.d. c.1867, plates bound before text, [1]-2, [1], 6-174pp, [2]; Third Volume – Another copy of the first mentioned, here with the original wrappers bound in, [5], 6-136pp, facsimile. Uniformly bound by Sangorski and Sutcliffe in modern morocco, raised bands, spines in five panels, titles to second and third panels to first two volumes, just second panel to third volume, dated to foot (incorrectly in the case of the first volume), remaining panels with central device and volute corner pieces, non-pareil marbled endpapers
Externally very good indeed, internally some occasional light browning (especially to third volume), a few spots of foxing, the first mentioned in the second volume has some staining from petals to pages 81, 100, 106, and 197 (on text, but not affecting sense), the original wrappers in the third volume with old lot sticker to head, small amount of loss to corners, a few corners and page edges have also been repaired in this volume, but generally fairly clean
Folding frontispiece to The Times Report of the Trial, four plates of nuns and a priest bound before text in the Great Convent Case.
Palmer was tried and found guilty of the poisoning of Cook (and probably poisoned others); the Great Convent Case, was the case of a nun, Mary Suarin, which found that she was mistreated by her convent, and that the church had failed to give her justice
