No place or publisher, (1732). 32 x 20 cm. 3 parts in 2 vols. Rebound including 18th century marbled wrappers in 20th-century cloth-backed marbled boards. (12), 72; 180, (6); 78 p. Stains of the rebinding process visible on flyleaves. A little foxing, but both books in excellent condition. 'Criminal Procedures by the Justice of Oosterdeel Langewold (a rural area in the western part of the province of Groningen) against 24 Sodomites, acted on Monday Sept. 24, 1731. With the addition of applicable testimonials. And brief comments on the legal appendices regarding the many persons accused, arrested, convicted and executed by Squire De Mepsche van Faan for the crime of sodomy. A heart-rending account of the trial against two dozen men who were accused of sodomy with each other, including detailed 'how, when and where's'. Almost all of them were to be executed on one single day; the youngest was sentenced to lifelong prison, which in his case took more than thirty years. This was a political process, for local squire Rudolph de Mepsche (1695-1754) had discovered the newly rediscovered crime of sodomy as a means to literally eliminate some of his opponents, farmers and freeholders and their sons of the same district where he exercised his power. Probably the most notorious and glaringly unjust Dutch sodomy trial, resulting in the execution, after cruel torture and subsequent "confessions" of 21 accused men. These two volumes contain the voluminous official documents by the instigator of the trial, 'grietman' (rural judge and mayor) Rudolf de Mepsche of Groningen, the summing up of the sodomitical acts of the accused, and a lot of testimonies by a variety of people. Partly written in De Mepsche's defence, by his clergymen Van Byler and Metelerkamp, partly emotional letters and protests by the accused and their family, who were generally inexperienced as writers. Followed by complaints of wives and mothers about De Mepsche's violent handling of the case. Apart from judicial tormenting, several soldiers and officials testified (see second and third volume) as to the blood, the knocks and the blows by De Mepsche and his helpers, an accused's back 'as blue as a curtain', all to press them to confess. The violence was to be hidden for others, but seen and heard nevertheless. In 1734, De Mepsche was forced to lay down his office on suspicion of having started proceedings for personal profit. But that was three years after the death of the victims he had accused of sodomy.