Poll Books, 1696, 1872: A Directory of Holdings in Great Britain

Third edition.  56pp, with two maps in text.  Laminated, illustrated stiff card covers.  8vo.  Mild edge wear to card covers, two small stickers on the upper panel and a rather gaudy but not too large ownership stamp on the title page, else neat, clean, bright and tight. Poll books are simply lists of voter's names, recording the candidates for whom they voted (polled) in English elections.  Until the introduction of the secret ballot in 1872, voters had to attend in person and publicly state their vote and, increasingly over time, those records - the poll books - became a matter of public record.