Francis, Lord Bacon: or, the case of private and national corruption, and bribery, impartially consider'd Address'd to all South-Sea directors, ... By an Englishman The second ed by Thomas Gordon - 2010-08-06

Gale ECCO, Print Editions, 2010-05-27. Paperback. Good.

Paperback. New.

Paperback. New.

Hardback. New.

London, Printed for J. Roberts, near the Oxford-Arms in Warwick-Lane, M.DCC.XXI., [1721]. 1721 xvi, 62p. Engraved portrait of Bacon (not called for by ESTC). Later paper covered boards titled on the spine. Title page dusty, otherwise a very good copy. ESTC T99351.

London: Printed for J. Roberts,, 1721. First edition. The writer Thomas Gordon (died 1750) along with his colleague John Trenchard "worked on various anti-clerical, anti-papist, and anti-corruption old and independent Whig publications which were immensely influential in Britain and America" (ODNB). In the present pamphlet Gordon investigates the case of the charges of corruption levelled at Francis Bacon, which resulted in his disgrace and removal from office. Gordon defends the public disgrace of corrupt officials, an argument levelled in part, as the title shows, against the hated South Sea Directors. The popularity of the work - this was the first of seven editions that year - indicates the public mood was firmly against such officials, in the aftermath of the Bubble's burst and the ongoing legal recriminations against the directors for corruption. Octavo (218 x 134 mm). Extracted from pamphlet volume with residue of spine, uncut (unusually thus for a formerly-bound pamphlet). Notation "8" to… Read More