ALEXANDER HAMILTON SIGNED BOOK FROM HIS LAW LIBRARY

Exceedingly rare Alexander Hamilton signed book: A Treatise of Testaments and Last Wills; Compiled Out of the
Laws, Ecclesiastical, Civil, and Cannon by Henry Swinburne, Volumes 1-3 . London: W. Clarke and Sons, 1803. Period leather bound hardcover, 5.25 x 8.5, 412 pages.

Boldly signed by Alexander Hamilton at the top of the title page of Volume I, most likely an ownership signature as a practicing attorney in New York City.

Hamilton became a lawyer without graduating law school. He asked his friend, James Duane, for access to Duane’s extensive law library and, in July 1782, Hamilton was admitted to the bar without having fulfilled the usual requirement of three years’ study in a law office and,  because of his experience as an aide to Washington, the New York Supreme Court allowed Hamilton to take the bar exam after just over six months of study. Hamilton passed the exam in July 1782. Hamilton was admitted to the bar in 1782 — after just six months of self-study, an exercise that he described in a letter to Marquis de Lafayette as “studying the art of fleecing my neighbors.” An instant leader of the bar, Hamilton took an occasional criminal case pro bono, but it was his civil practice that proved especially rewarding and lucrative. He represented merchants, wealthy testators, and maritime insurance companies and proved to be particularly talented in the courtroom.

Hamilton had an extensive law practice until his death in 1804, just one year after our book was published. Alexander Hamilton’s experience as a lawyer most likely impacted his political career by equipping him with skills in argumentation, debate, and a thorough understanding of the law which were essential in his role as a statesman.It is uncertain when Hamilton and Burr met for the first time, but they were in similar social and professional circles for many years, beginning in the 1770’s. They may have been aware of each other at that point, but by 1784, they became involved in law practice together.Hamilton represented the plaintiff in the case, a man named James Leonard. Leonard sought to recover a New York City property that he purchased but that the state of New York had confiscated under that state’s Forfeiture Act of 1779.

Books signed by Alexander Hamilton, especially from his law practice, seldom come to market.