containing schedules of prisoners, copies of decrees, pardons, and related documents concerning the flow of prisoners into and out of Maidstone jail, including the names of felons, their crimes ("...Attainted of a Robbery in the King's Highway...") and sentences ("...Hanged by the Neck untill they be dead..."), as well as lists of debtors, prisoners committed for trial, and convicts under sentence of death, with additional notes in red ink (mostly to the first half of the text) detailing convicts' fate including dates of execution, shipment to prison hulks, reprieves, pardons, and in 17 cases recording women convicts "shipt in Lady Juliana", in secretarial hands but with two signatures of J.W. Knapp, Deputy Clerk of the Kent Assize, 51 pages, with two additional pages written from the reverse giving an unused skeleton list of prisoners received into the gaol, plus blanks, large folio (415 x 275mm), 17 February 1788 to 20 July 1795, contemporary stiff vellum covers

Condition is described in the main body of the text, where appropriate
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

A remarkable and detailed insight into the harsh English criminal justice system of the late 18th century, from the Maidstone jail attached to Kent assizes. The notes added by a prison official in red ink are of particular interest as they tell us what happened to some of these individuals after their conviction. Many of the women convicts were transported to Australia on the Lady Juliana (or Lady Julian), the first convict ship to arrive at Port Jackson in New South Wales after the First Fleet, leaving Plymouth on 29 July 1789 (six months before the Second Fleet) and arriving at Port Jackson on 6 June 1790. All the convicts on board were women, many of them London prostitutes, and the ship has passed into history as the "floating brothel".

The Law Society of England and Wales was founded in 1825, with a library forming part of the original prospectus for the Society, and by 1832 it was housed in its present elegant building on Chancery Lane. The current selection of 22 lots all have library stamps reflecting their history and have been marked to indicate their deaccession from the Law Society’s holdings.