James Iredell. LAWS OF THE STATE OF NORTH-CAROLINA. PUBLISHED, ACCORDING TO ACT OF ASSEMBLY, BY JAMES IREDELL, NOW ONE OF THE ASSOCIATE JUSTICES OF THE SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES. Edenton, NC: Printed by Hodge & Wills, Printers to the state of North-Carolina, 1791. First edition. Full leather with raised bands and gilt-titled green morocco label on the spine. Folio; iv, [2 contents, blank], [1]-712, [i]-xxi, [3]pp. With the Constitution of the United States, appendix, index, errata and (3)-page list of subscribers at the end; printed marginalia and head- and tail-pieces. Evans 23641; Sabin 55637.

13 1/8 x 8 1/8 in.

James Iredell (North Carolina, 1751-1799) was born in England and came to the colonies when he was a teenager, settling in Edenton, N.C. He was a lawyer, writer, supporter of the American Revolution, and one of the earliest Supreme Court Justices. He served for 9 years after being nominated by George Washington. In the late 1780s, just a few years before his appointment began, he was asked to compile the laws of North Carolina, finishing them for first publication in 1791.

Boards with scuffing and scratching, light edgewear, corners heavily rubbed and bumped, with burn damage on spine and upper board also impacting endpapers through first few quires, rear joint creased and lightly rubbed with cracking at tail, front joint cracked with upper board and first free endpaper separating at tail, spine ends chipped with small loss at tail; bookplate remnants on front paste-down, old ownership signature on title; pages with light to heavy toning, foxing, and spotting, and with frequent damp staining and occasional light grime or small edge/corner chip or fraying; scattered minor wormholes with significant insect damage on pgs. 275-322, one leaf with small burn hole, (2) pages with old offsetting; lacking final free endpaper. Considering its age, a good minus copy.