The Trial of Lawrence, Earl Ferrers, For the Murder of John Johnson

1760. Copy of an Account of the Last Peer Hanged as a Common Criminal with an Interesting Provenance [Trial]. Ferrers, Lawrence (Laurence) Shirley, Earl [1720-1760], Defendant. The Trial of Lawrence, Earl Ferrers, For the Murder of John Johnson, Before the Right Honourable the House of Peers, In Westminster-Hall, In Full Parliament, On Wednesday the 16th, Thursday the 17th, And Friday the 18th of April, 1760: On the Last of Which Days, Judgment for Murder was Given Against Him. Published by Order of the House of Peers. London: Printed for Samuel Billingsley, 1760. [iv], 55 pp. With initial imprimatur leaf. Folio (11-1/2" x 7-1/4"). Stab-stitched pamphlet bound in nineteenth-century quarter speckled calf over marbled boards, gilt fillets to calf edges, gilt title to spine, gilt morocco armorial bookplate (of Edward Hailstone) to front pastedown. Moderate rubbing to extremities, boards partially detached but secure. Moderate toning to interior, text block trimmed closely with loss to page numbers and catch-words in places, no loss to main text, early annotation ("Right Honoble/ Welbore Ellis/ Council Office") to recto of imprimatur leaf. $300. * Only edition, one of two issues from the same year (the other published in Dublin by Faulkner). Lord Ferrers was apparently a pleasant man, if arrogant, when sober, but prone to violent rages and brutality while drunk. After six years of abuse, his wife left him and returned to her family. She applied to Parliament for, and received, an order for maintenance. This came from a separate trust administered by Ferrers's steward, John Johnson. The Earl eventually convinced himself that Johnson was plotting against him, stealing his money and having an affair with his estranged wife. During a meeting he ordered Johnson to kneel and to beg pardon. Ferrers shot Johnson when he complied with this order. As established at trial, Ferrers had been sober when he shot Johnson, but quickly took to the bottle and assaulted the wounded man again. Johnson eventually died. Ferrers employed an insanity defense but was unsuccessful. He was sentenced to be hanged and anatomized, the last peer to be executed in this manner. Welbore Ellis [1713-1802] was an English politician and civil servant who served as Secretary of State for the Colonies during the American Revolution. At the time of the trial, he was M.