A Layman’s Guide With a Dictionary

New-York: John S. Voorhies, 1842. xii, 356, 36 pp. Octavo (4-3/4" x 7-1/2"). Contemporary sheep, blind fillets and lettering piece to spine. Light rubbing to boards, some wear to extremities, chip to head of spine, joints starting. Light foxing to most of text. Early owner signatures in pencil to front endleaf and title page, interior otherwise clean.  $500.

* Only edition. With a 36-page dictionary of legal terms and phrases. “In preparing [this work] the earnest endeavor of the writer has been to produce a book which could be both read and studied, not merely by those destined for the legal profession, but by those also, who, without the stimulus of professional predilections, have simply the desire to give such attention to the leading topics of law as belong to general and business education.”: Preface [v]. OCLC locates 18 copies. Cohen 5395.

Pioneering Law-French Dictionary and Treatise on Early Anglo-Saxon Laws

London: Printed For Edward Brooke, 1779. viii, 259, [1]; xii, 88 [i.e. 90] pp. Two parts in one with individual title pages and paginations. Octavo (5" x 8-1/4"). Recent period-style quarter calf over cloth, raised bands and lettering piece to spine, speckled edges, endpapers renewed. Ex-library. Small stamps to top edge, heads of title pages and some text leaves, interior still quite fresh.  $850.

* First edition. This pioneering work was not superseded until the twentieth century. In 1843 it was reprinted and appended to Bouvier’s Law Dictionary. The second part containing the laws of William the Conqueror is printed in three columns containing the text in Norman, Latin translations by a Dr. Wilkins and English translations by Kelham. “Though far from complete, it is the best work of the Kind”: Marvin 435. Sweet & Maxwell 1:9 (35).

Attractive Copy of Kinney’s Law Dictionary

Chicago: Callaghan and Co., 1893. iv, 706 pp. Octavo (5-3/4" x 9"). Recent period-style quarter calf over cloth, gilt fillets and lettering pieces to spine, endpapers renewed. Some offsetting and minor chipping to margins of endleaves, interior otherwise fresh.  $350.

* First and only edition. In the preface Kinney mentions his indebtedness to Burrill and his inclusion of “modern words as well as the older words in whatever tongue, whether now a part of the living legal language or not, which have had legal use and function, and which thus mark the lines upon which the law has grown, and the salient points in history with which the student should become familiar.”: Preface, v. OCLC locates 85 copies. Marke, A Catalogue of the Law Collection at New York University (1953) 1202.

“No Commercial Lawyer Can Dispense With its Aid”

London: Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, Green, and Longman, 1835. xv, 1269, 58, 16, 8 pp. Tables. Maps, 6 fold-out. Octavo (5-1/2" x 8-3/4"). Contemporary quarter calf over marbled boards, blind rules and paper label to spine. A few small scuffs, some rubbing to boards with some wear to board edges and corners, front hinge repaired. A few minor tears and creases to maps. A few signatures loose but holding, several unopened, occasional light foxing. Early owner inscription to front free endpaper, interior otherwise clean.  $500.

* Second edition, with supplement, of a work first published in London in 1832. The appendix has a title page listing A. Jones as the compiler and the imprint New York: Published by George H. Bell, 1852. Intended for merchants engaged in international trade, this book contains a wealth of information about contemporary commercial and maritime law, international business practices, financial institutions, currencies, ports and the imports and exports of different nations. “The articles are condensed, and abound in such a variety of useful information, that no commercial lawyer can dispense with its aid.”: Warren, Law Studies cited in Marvin 489. OCLC locates 3 copies of this edition BMC 26:280.

First American Edition

Philadelphia: Thomas Wardle, 1840. Two volumes. Octavo (6" x 9"). Maps and charts. Contemporary cloth, decorative blind stamping to boards, Gilt title, blind stamping and large gilt image of sailing ships to spines. Rebacked retaining original spines, endpapers renewed. Light rubbing to boards, corners lightly bumped and rubbed. Early owner signatures to front free endpaper and title page of Volume I. Some discoloration to endleaves and outer edges of margins, interiors otherwise fresh. An appealing set.  $500.

* First American edition. OCLC locates 3 copies of this edition. BMC 26:280.

1852 Philadelphia Edition

Philadelphia: A. Hart, Late Carey and Hart, 1852. Two volumes. Tables. Maps. Octavo (5-1/2" x 9-1/4"). Contemporary three-quarter calf over marbled boards, raised bands, blind tooling and lettering pieces to spines. Rubbing with some wear to spine, joints and corners, hinges starting. Occasional light foxing. Early signatures and annotations to endleaves, interiors otherwise clean.  $450.

* Later American edition. The appendix has a title page listing A. Jones as the compiler and the imprint New York: Published by George H. Bell, 1852. This copy may have belonged to the U.S.S. Canandaigua, which was involved in the first successful submarine attack. An annotation on the rear free endpaper of Volume I states “U.S. Sloop War “Canandaigua”/ Navy Yard-Charlestown Mass. Sunday Nov 18th 1865/ Commander J.R. Goldsborough/ Vol Lt. E.J [illegible]/ Chief Engr Baliman.” This may be the U.S.S. Canandaigua that was involved in the sinking of the C.S.S. Hunley in Charleston harbor in 1864. The Hunley was an early submarine that attacked and sank the U.S.S. Housatonic. The Canandaigua fired upon the surfaced vessel, which may have caused it to sink. (Historians debate the cause).

Montefiore’s Fascinating Commercial Dictionary

Philadelphia: Printed and Sold by James Humphreys, 1804. Three volumes. Octavo (5-1/4" x 8-1/2"). Recent period-style quarter calf over cloth, gilt fillets and lettering pieces to spines, untrimmed edges. Most signatures unopened, corner from leaf carefully mended with archival tape, corner lacking from another with no loss to text. Faint dampstaining, light foxing and spark burns to a few leaves. Minor foxing to a few leaves, interiors otherwise fresh. An appealing copy of a very scarce title.  $4,500.

* First American edition, a greatly expanded version of the 1803 London edition, which is a single 690-page volume. With a subscriber list that includes Horace Binney, Alexander James Dallas, Peter S. Duponceau and William Rawle. Originally intended for merchants, this dictionary is a very important economic and legal source that offers a wealth of information about contemporary commercial and maritime law, international business practices and fascinating descriptions of commercial ports and their primary imports and exports. Montefiore also discusses the present state of banks and insurance companies in the United States, the laws of copyright and letters patent, the regulation of coastal trade, the funding system and state of the U.S. national debt and a very interesting entry on the production and qualities of Madeira wine. Montefiore was an English solicitor who moved to the United States after the War of 1812. He published several other works on commercial law. Cohen 2433. Kress Library of Business and Economics Catalogue 4827.

“A Commonplace Book of Judicial or Sometimes Extra-Judicial Dicta”

London: Sweet and Maxwell, 1904. xxi, 344 pp. Original gilt-stamped cloth, some shelfwear and soiling, internally clean. Ex-private law library. Stamps to endleaves. A nice copy.  $150.

* First edition. “This book is not an index of such formulas or phrases as are most commonly cited in English-speaking courts of law, but a commonplace book of judicial or sometimes extra-judicial dicta... Mr. Norton-Kyshe has brought together many interesting and amusing extracts, including passages from the reports of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, which deserve to be better known than they are.”: Law Quarterly Review 21 (1905) 95-96.HLC II:241.

First American Edition of Rastell’s Termes de la Ley

Faithfully Translated From the Norman French, With Many Great and Useful Additions and Corrections Throughout the Whole Book, Never Printed in Any Other Impression. Portland: Printed by J. Johnson, 1812. iv, 391 pp. Octavo (5-1/4" x 8-1/2"). Contemporary sheep, blind fillets to boards, lettering piece and blind fillets to spine. Rubbing with some wear to extremities, a few small scuffs to boards, corners lightly bumped, front hinge partially cracked but secure. Early owner signature to front free endpaper. Offsetting and some foxing to endleaves, negligible light foxing to a few text leaves, interior otherwise fresh. A nice copy.  $750.

* First American edition, from the 1721 London edition. The title was also the second law dictionary printed in America. (A Philadelphia edition of Jacob’s Law Dictionary was issued in 1811.) OCLC locates 45 copies of this edition. Cohen 5450.

Encyclopedia on Fire Insurance

London: Sir Isaac Pitman & Sons, Ltd., 1927. [vi], 480, [2] pp. Contemporary three-quarter calf over cloth, moderate rubbing, wear to joints, chipping to head of spine, front hinge cracked but secure, internally clean.  $200.

* “This book is an attempt to condense the principles and practice of modern fire insurance into reference form for the company’s official, the agent, and the student. It embodies many items of information not previously published, and of these it is hoped that the compendium of law cases and the articles on foreign methods and requirements will be especially useful.”: Preface [iv].

Shumaker’s “Cyclopedic” Dictionary

Chicago: Callahan and Company, 1940. lv, 1188 pp. Original cloth, gilt title to spine. Some shelfwear, spine cracked but secure, internally clean.  $150.

* Third edition. “Following the plan and purpose of the first edition of this work, the present edition has been confined strictly to the meaning of law terms; that is, words having some legal signification, and, therefore, is in every sense a law dictionary” (Preface).

First Edition of Stroud’s Dictionary

London: Sweet & Maxwell, Limited, 1890. cxvi, 916 pp. Octavo (6" x 9"). Original cloth, rebacked retaining original backstrip, hinges repaired, internally clean. A handsome copy.  $250.
* First edition. This fascinating dictionary contains legal definitions of such commonplace words and phrases as “but,” “foundation,” “reason,” “taxes,” “as far as,” “usual and customary manner” and “incorrigible rogue.” Each entry is illustrated with citations drawn from briefs, decisions and other legal documents. Considered the most authoritative English dictionary well into the twentieth century, it is currently in its sixth edition. Sweet & Maxwell 2:345.

 Early American Law Glossary

New York: John S. Voorhies, 1843. 482 pp. Octavo (6" x 9"). Contemporary calf, original red lettering piece, black owner label at foot. Exterior rubbed and scuffed, hinges cracked but secure, edges foxed, else very good.  $250.

* Second edition. This early glossary offers a unique historical perspective on the interpretation of American legal concepts in the mid-eighteenth century. Cohen 5453.

First Edition of Notable Eighteenth-Century Dictionary

[Lausanne]: Ex Officina Bousquetiana, 1759. Three volumes. Volumes I and II have copperplate pictorial frontispieces. Dedication has attractive copperplate vignette. Octavo (4-3/4" x 7-1/2"). Recent period-style quarter calf over cloth, raised bands and lettering pieces to spines, endpapers renewed. Title pages printed in red and black. Small later institution inkstamps to title pages. Light soiling to title pages, light foxing and toning to some leaves, interior otherwise clean. An appealing set.  $1,500.

* First edition. As Vicat explains in his preface, he compiled this dictionary from those of Francois Hotoman, Barnabe Brisson, Johannes Calvinus (Kahl), Johann Gottlieb Heineccius and, especially, Alexander Scotus to bring their “excellent” work to a wider audience. More important, by combining these works and filling the gaps with original entries he was able to create a dictionary that covered the whole language of the law. Vicat’s definitions are brief, but they contain comprehensive reference to authorities and texts, as well as conjugations, common phrases using the words, metaphors, alternate definitions and antonyms. Vicat was a jurist and the director of the University of Lausanne’s library from 1749 to 1762. A pioneer in library science, he was the first to issue a printed catalogue. OCLC locates 27 copies, 13 of this edition. BMC 26:118. See illustration below.

Handsome Copy of Notable Eighteenth-Century Dictionary

Naples: Sumptibus Joannis Gravier, 1760. Four volumes. Copperplate pictorial frontispiece. Octavo (4-3/4" x 7-1/2"). Contemporary calf, recently rebacked in period style with raised bands and lettering pieces. Some minor scuffs to boards, corners bumped and moderately worn, some hinges starting or cracked. Early owner bookplates to each front pastedown. Light foxing in a few places, interiors otherwise fresh. A handsome set.  $1,500.

Classic Encyclopedia of Scottish Law

Edinburgh: Bell & Bradfute, 1890. vii, 1138 pp. Octavo (6" x 9-3/4"). Original cloth, some shelfwear, fading to front board, joints cracked but secure. Crack between title page and following leaf, internally clean.  $500.

* Seventh and final edition. This classic work was first published in 1807. The seventh edition updates the work with new entries on such topics as bankruptcy, insolvency, joint stock companies, marriage and sequestration. OCLC locates 20 copies of this edition. Sweet & Maxwell 5:12.

An Uncommon Nineteenth-Century Dictionary

London: Printed for Gale and Fenner, 1816. Unpaginated [1022] pp. Octavo (6" x 9"). Recent period-style quarter calf over cloth, raised bands and lettering piece to spine, deckle edges. Light browning to title page and a few other places, interior otherwise fresh. A handsome copy of a scarce title.  $1,250.