Bidspirit auction | Comstock, George F. Reports of

Comstock, George F. Reports of Cases Argued and Determined in the Court of Appeals of the State of New York, Vol. IV. Little & Company, 1852. - A mid-19th-century American legal volume titled Reports of Cases Argued and Determined in the Court of Appeals of the State of New York; with Notes, References, and an Index. This is Volume IV of the series, authored by George F. Comstock, Counsellor at Law. The work was published in Albany by Little & Company, Law Booksellers, located at 53 State-Street, in 1852. The volume is an octavo bound in full antique sheep or calf leather, featuring a decorative calligraphic name reading E. Howell stamped or inked onto the upper right corner of the front board. The internal text block includes legal reports from October 1850 through April 1851, covering diverse cases such as The Albany Fire Insurance Company vs. Bay and others regarding the property rights of married women, and Leavitt v. Le Launy concerning usury and exchange contracts. The title page and copyright page both bear the date MDCCCLII. This antique volume is in fair to poor condition. The leather binding shows heavy scuffing, surface staining, and significant loss to the leather at the head and tail of the spine (photos 1, 2, and 3). The original spine labels are missing, leaving behind rectangular adhesive residue and paper remnants (photo 3). Both the front and rear boards are detached from the text block due to cracked hinges (photos 4, 15). Internally, the paper exhibits heavy and consistent foxing, particularly visible on the title page and throughout the margins of the text (photos 5, 6, 7). There is a small red adhesive remnant on the front inner board (photo 4). As this is an antique item, these age-related characteristics are typical for the period and binding style.