[HAMILTON, ALEXANDER]
COKE, EDWARD. The fourth part of the Institutes of the lawes of England; concerning the jurisdiction of courts. London: A. Cooke et al, 1669. The fourth edition, the title page signed "Alexander Hamilton" below that of "Middleton." 20th century cloth. 11 1/2 x 7 inches (30x 18 cm); [10], 364, [36] pp., retains rear blank. Text block detached from the binding which is defective, title with chips to edges and inked numerals to verso, toning, thumbsoiling and some stains.
This volume likely belonged to Dr. Peter Middleton, who in 1767 opened the medical college affiliated with King's College, now Columbia, where Alexander Hamilton was a student from 1774-1776 and a trustee for much of his life. As a lawyer, Hamilton would uphold Middleton's will in 1780. A legal text such as this would have been appropriate to Hamilton's education and he has been described as "this peerless undergraduate ... [who] was combing the superb law library at King's College, steeping himself in the works of William Blackstone and Sir Edward Coke." See Chernow, Ron. Alexander Hamilton, p. 71; Hamilton, Allan McLane. The Intimate Life of Alexander Hamilton, p. 22.