Charge of the Lord Chief Justice of England in the Case of the Queen against Thomas Castro, otherwise Arthur Orton, otherwise Sir Roger Tichborne.
London: Henry Sweet, 1874. First edition. Hardcover. A Victorian fraud case with Australian connections which fascinated England in the 1870s. The individual was sometimes referred to as Thomas Castro or as Arthur Orton, but usually was called "the Claimant". He claimed to be the missing heir to the Tichborne baronetcy.
This was one of the longest trials at an English court, lasting 188 days. The verdict declared that the Claimant was not Roger Tichborne, that he had not seduced Katherine Doughty, and that he was indeed Arthur Orton. Orton was convicted of perjury and was sentenced to two consecutive terms of seven years' imprisonment.
The two volumes contain the transcript of the Lord Chief Justice's summing up, the Jury's verdict and the Judge's sentence.
Tall, thick 4to, 2 volumes: 821pp; 821pp; Appendix, 25pp. Vol II with errata slip tipped in. Canvas library cloth binding, leather title and content tabs. Spines sunned, covers marked; first 2 blank leaves of Vol I detached but present. Deaccessed by the NY Association of the Bar Library, with their stamp on the title page. Trove 4857809 (3 copies), NLA, SL NSW and Law Library of Victoria. Ferguson 17156. OCLC: 155537160. Very good condition. Item #23960
Price: $150.00