HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS OF PRIVATE PASSAGES OF STATE, WEIGHTY MATTERS IN LAW, Remarkable Proceedings in Five Parliaments. Beginning The Sixteenth Year of King James, Anno 1618. And Ending the Fifth Year of King Charles, Anno 1629. Digested in Order of Time. And Now Published By John Rushworth of Lincolns-Inn, Esq;

8 volumes. First Complete and Best Published Edition. With and engraved frontispiece of the author to Vol. I and Dedication to Richard {Cromwell] Lord Protector of the Common-wealth of England, Scotland, and Ireland, and the Dominions and Territories thereunto belonging. Folio, very handsomely bound in contemporary paneled calf, the spines with raised bands separating the compartments, panels within the compartments fully gilt with elaborate corner tooling and central ornamental devices, two compartments with contrasting red and green morocco lettering labels, the covers with double fillet rules at the borders surrounding a central panel tooled with fillet lines enclosing a roll tooled framework and a central panel of mottled calf, original plain paper endleaves. Vol. I with index and subscribers list. Vol. II The Second Part Containing the Principal Matters Which Happened from the Dissolution of the Parliament.Until the Summoning of Another Parliament which met at Westminster, April 13, 1640. Vol. III The Second Volume of The Second Part Containing the Principal Matters Which happened From March 26, 1639 until.April 13, 1640. Vol. IV The Third Part.Containing the Principal Matters Which happened from the Meeting of the Parliament, November the 3d, 1640 To the End of the Year 1644 Wherein is a particular Account of the Rise and Progress of the Civil War to that Period.Vol. V The Second Volume of The Third.Vol. VI The Fourth and Last Part in Two Volumes. Volume the First. Containing the Principal Matters Which Happen'd From the Beginning of the Year 1645, to the Death of Kng Charles the First, 1648. Wherein is a Particular Account of the Progress of the Civil War to that Period. Vol. VII The Fourth and Last Part. Vol. VIII The Tryal of Thomas Earl of Strafford. Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Upon an Impeachment of High Treason by The Commons then Assembled in Parliament, in the Name of Themselves and of the All the Commons of Englan: Begun in Westminster-Hall the 22th of March 1640. And Continued.until the 10th May 1641. Shewing the Form of Parliamentary Proceedings in an Impeachment of Treeason To which is Added A shor Account of some other Matters of Fact.With some Special Arguments in Law. A very handsome set in remarkably preserved and original binding, some hinges expertly refurbished, three covers detached, clean internally but for the usual browning to some leaves due to paper stock used in the printing, a large, wide margined copy of this important work.

Edizione: first complete and best edition. john rushworth, (born c. 1612, died may 12, 1690) was the english historian whose historical collections of private passages of state, 7 vol. (1659?1701; 8 vol., 1721), covering the period from 1618 to 1649, continues to be a valuable source of information on events leading up to and during the english civil wars.<br> rushworth studied law, and in 1638 was made solicitor to the town of berwick-upon-tweed. he was enrolled at lincoln?s inn in 1640 and called to the bar in 1647. rushworth was more interested in politics than in law, and during the intermission of parliaments (1629?40) he attended and made shorthand notes of all important political and judicial proceedings heard before the star chamber, the court of honour, and the king and council. in 1640?42 he was assistant clerk to the house of commons, and after the outbreak of war he acted as a messenger between parliament and its committees at oxford and york. he himself published a number of the newssheets that preceded the establishment of regular newspapers?e.g., the daily london post (1644?45; 1646?47), the kingdomes weekly post (1643?1644)?and also the parliamentary pamphlets opposed to the royalist mercurius aulicus.<br> following the execution of charles i in 1649, rushworth became personal secretary to oliver cromwell. he began drafting plans for the abolition of the monarchy and the house of lords, and the establishment of an english republic under the leadership of cromwell. as secretary (1645?50) to sir thomas fairfax, general of the new model army, rushworth had considerable importance, and thereafter he was employed by the council of state and parliament. when cromwell became lord protector in 1653, rushworth was promoted to registrar of the court of admiralty. in 1657 he was elected member of parliament for berwick in the second protectorate parliament. as a member of the cromwellian government he enjoyed the friendships of john milton (who served cromwell as the official state censor); john owen; john bunyan and many other well known people of that period. when oliver cromwell died on 3 september 1658, his son richard cromwell became lord protector.<br> at the restoration, rushworth made peace with charles ii and, although called to give information on the activities of the regicides, was not himself implicated. in 1667 he became secretary to the lord keeper and, later, agent to the colony of massachusetts. despite his many emoluments and an inherited estate, he fell into poverty and spent his last years in a lodging in the king?s bench prison, southwark, where he died.<br> rushworth?s historical collections was compiled from his own notes and from printed material, with the avowed intention of making it possible for a true history to be written of events that, in pamphlets and news sheets dating from the period before the control of the press, were liable to misrepresentation. it is most useful for its eyewitness accounts of the earl of strafford?s trial, the battle of naseby, and the parliamentary campaigns of 1644?45 and for its transmission of contemporary comment.<br> while rushworth was remembered as a person, his writings found favour in america where they served as a source of inspiration for thomas jefferson. jefferson bought a copy of rushworth's historical collections for use in his own library and he often quoted from them. rushworth was a contemporary of john lilburne whose writings had a profound impact on the history of the english civil wars of the 17th century. although his senior, he also shared much in common with oliver cromwell (born 1599), because they were evangelical christians who believed that the church of england should undergo a total reformation, contrary to the wishes of king charles i. his views of charles i as a king who had declared war on his own people, were later echoed in words by thomas jefferson and others when writing about the reign of george iii in the declaration of independence. britannica. wiki