Artist unknown. Size: 39 1/2 wide by 49 inches. Accession O0025.
Outstanding in many roles: lawyer, legal historian, law writer and editor, collector of antiquarian law books and manuscripts. In 1772 he was involved in a noteworthy habeas corpus case involving a member of a racial minority, subsequently publishing the case as an anti-slavery pamphlet. Other publications included eleven volumes of state trials, a scholarly, annotated edition of Coke upon Littleton, and important material on Matthew Hale. His library of law books and manuscripts was purchased by Parliament in appreciation of his "eminent services to the public, especially in his published works." The collection was deposited in the British Museum.