In Northamptonshire and Shropshire. The estate in question wits claimed
by Shuckburgh Chapman, a currier of Lutterworth, heir-at- law of Wodhull, on the plea that Wodhull was imbecile, and incapable of making a will. The case of the plaintiff, Chapman, seems to have been supported by gross perjury. Several parties of great respectabi- lity were implicated; but the particulars are not interesting. The result is entirely to the credit of Mr. Severne, a most respectable gen- tleman, and rich independently of the property in question, which is worth betwen 2,000/. and 3,000/. a year. Sir Launcelot Shades& advised Mr. Severne to bring some of the perjured witnesses to trial.
On Thursday, Mr. Knight applied to the Vice-Chancellor, on behalf of Messrs. Chapman and Hall, for an injunction to restrain Lloyd, a bookseller, from publishing a work called the "Penny Pickwick." The counsel described the offence for which remedy was asked as one of fraudulent imitation, not exactly piracy. The Penny Pickwick owed its origin to that very popular work the Pickwick Papers.
The affidavit of Mr. Chapman stated, that be and Mr. Hall, his partoer,were the publishers of the Pickwick Papers, with engravings, the former purport- ing to be edited by "Boz," and the latter to be engraved by "Phis; " which names were merely imaginary, and adopted for the put pose of characterizing the work, which was, in fact, a detail of the characters and adventures of certaitz imaginary persons, and among others of Samuel Pickwick, Esq., Tracy Tup- man, Augustus Snodgrass, and Nathaniel Pickwick, members of the Pickwick Club. It then stated that the defendant had lately published a work, called " The Penny Pickwick, edited by Bus, with engravings by Phis," purporting to contain the characters and adventures of certain members of the Pickwick Club, and among others of Christopher Pickwick, Percy Tupnall, Arthur Snodgreen, and Matthew Winkletop; and that he had caused placards and advertisements to be circulated of his publication, in some of which he had copied or imitated the style and folio of the letters in which the word "Pick- wick" is printed on the cover of the plaintiffs' publication. 'f he spectacles, stomach, and short gaiters of Mr. Pickwick were imitated in the engraving of the spurious work. Mr. Pickwick was standing on a chair in the original; and the only distinction was, that, whilst he was there represented in his favou- rite attitude, holding back the skirts of his coat with his left band, in the copy he had one hand down, and with the other was sawing the air—a more appro. priate attitude, perhaps, for oratorical display. The chairman in each sketch, it should be observed, was smoking.
Sir Launcelot Shad well did not see how he could grant the injunc- tion, unless the plaintiffs could prove, by bringing an action, that them bad been an infringement of their rights— It appeared to him, that the two works were so exceedingly dissimilar, that nothing but the grossest ignorance could allow itself to finey that when a party meant to have that work which for nearly a year bad delighted the world, h, would purchase the other.
The motion was ordered to stand over for the present.
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