Highmore, Anthony. A Treatise on the Law of Idiocy and Lunacy. First American from the Last London Edition. To which is Subjoined an Appendix, Comprising a Selection of American Cases; in which some Important Subjects of this Treatise Have Been Investigated and New Principles Settled. Exeter, N.H.: George Lamson, 1822. x, 194 pp. Reprint available 2003 by The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd. LCCN 2002024213. ISBN 1-58477-266-2. Cloth. $70. Anthony Highmore [1758-1829] was an English barrister and legal writer. A socially progressive individual, active opponent of the slave trade and a supporter of hospitals and other public improvements, his commitment to humane values is evident in this treatise. First published in London in 1807, it was one of the first studies devoted exclusively to the subject. It deals with legal definitions of lunacy, the disabilities of lunatics, asylums and their regulation by statute, the nature of criminal insanity, and precedents regarding the treatment of lunatics before the law for various crimes.