A Pocket Dictionary of the Law of Bills of Exchange, Promissory Notes, Checks

Maxwell, John Irwing. A Pocket Dictionary of the Law of Bills of Exchange, Promissory Notes, Bank Notes, Checks, &c. With an Appendix, Containing Abstracts of Acts and Select Cases Relative to Negotiable Securities, Analysis of a Count in Assumpsit, Tables of Notarial Fees, Stamps, Postage, &c. With Many Additions for the Use of the American Merchant. Philadelphia: William P. Farrand and Co., 1808. xv, 251 pp. Reprint available 2003 by The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd. LCCN 2002044362. ISBN 1-58477-312-X. Cloth. $75. First published in London in 1802, this dictionary is an unusual alphabetical compendium dealing strictly with matters of commerce, such as bills of exchange and promissory notes. It was probably used by attorneys involved in the commerce generated by the Louisiana Purchase. Because of its scarcity, its publication during Thomas Jefferson's administration during the Federal era of pride and prosperity, and its unique concentration on commerce, the reprint of this dictionary will be of interest to dictionary and legal scholars alike. Maxwell was also the author of The Spirit of Marine Law (1808).