New York: D. Appleton-Century Co., [1939]. Reprint. New York: DaCapo Press, 1969. xi, 354 pp. Original cloth, some shelfwear, internally clean.    $65.

* “This volume was originally printed in 1939 and is one of the outstanding biographies.... This book is well balanced and is a pleasure to read. It is well that this volume is now in print.”: American Journal of Legal History 14 (1970) 277.

London: [n.p], 1757-1758. Two volumes. Octavo (5" x 7-1/2"). Contemporary limp paper boards with hand-lettered titles to spine, untrimmed edges, some signatures unopened. Some soiling, extremities bumped, chip to front joint of Volume II. Light foxing in a few places, interiors otherwise fresh. A well-preserved copy.    $2,000.

* Only edition. This is an important essay on the development of natural law from antiquity to the mid-eighteenth century with an emphasis on Grotius, Hobbes, Pufendorf, Burlamaqui and Wolff. The sections of the latter three jurists are especially interesting because they are the observations of a near-contemporary. KVK locates 14 copies, 9 in the U.S. BMC 12:814.

London: Edward Portwine, 1836. iv, 28 pp. 12mo. (3" x 4-1/2"). Contemporary three-quarter calf over marbled boards, rebacked, gilt title to spine, marbled endpapers, hinges mended. Light rubbing to extremities, later owner bookplate to front pastedown, residue from bookplate to verso of front free endpaper. Light foxing to title page and following leaf, internally clean. A nice copy of a rare title.    $300.

* Third edition. This book reprints a paper to the Medical Society of London on July 14, 1783 by the leading English Obstetrician of the day, who was also the Queen’s personal physician. An influential work, it was originally published in 1783 in Volume VI of the Medical Society’s journal Medical Observations and Inquiries with the title “On the Uncertainty of the Signs of Murder in Bastard Children.” In addition to the book offered here, it was also reprinted in the third edition of Samuel Farr’s Elements of Medical Jurisprudence (1815). No copies of the 1836 or other editions on OCLC. DNB X:303.

[The Hague]: International Commission of Jurists, 1955. 535 pp. Softbound, some shelfwear and a few faint stains. Light browning to text, internally clean.    $45.

Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, [1983]. xxx, 536 pp. Original cloth very good in moderately worn dust jacket. Ex-library. Location label, security tag and stamps to dust jacket, bookplate to front pastedown, stamp to rear pastedown.    $125.

* “This long-awaited book is a notable addition to the Cambridge Studies in English Legal History and to the literature on the history of the legal profession. It has already won an accolade from the Regius Professor of Modern History (Times Literary Supplement, 1 July 1983, p. 694) and must now be required reading for all historians of the Tudor period.”: J.H. Baker, Cambridge Law Journal 43 (1984) 180.

London: Andrew Strahan, Law Printer to the King’s Most Excellent Majesty, 1797. Two volumes. Quarto (8-1/2" x 11"). Contemporary half calf over marbled boards, worn, hinges cracked but secure. Original gilt-decorated spine lettering piece. A handsome set in an unrestored state.    $1,000.

* The first Tomlins edition. “A reference to Jacob’s Law Dictionary is a useful step in any enquiry into eighteenth century law.” 19 Camb., L.J. cited in Marvin 325. Sweet & Maxwell 1:9.

Collected and Edited by William H. Terry. London: Grant Richards and Humphrey Toulmin, 1929. 176 pp. Frontispiece. Original cloth, some shelfwear and soiling, boards slightly bowed, internally clean.    $65.

London: The Saint Catherine Press, 1924. xxx, 250 pp. Original cloth, gilt titles to front board and spine. Light shelfwear, a few tiny finger smudges, some fading to spine, rear hinge just starting, internally clean.    $250.

* First and only edition. Limited to 250 copies, this copy unnumbered. Useful biographical history of prominent Americans who were members of the Inns of Court. The arrangement is alphabetical and chronological. At the time of publication Taft was Chief Justice of the United States (and an Honorary Bencher of the Middle Temple).

Basel: Apud Nenrichum Petrum, [March 1544]. [xvi], 927, [1] pp. Latina and Greek in parallel columns. Octavo (4" x 6"). Contemporary calf, traces of gilt ornaments to boards, raised bands and later hand-lettered paper title label to spine, head of spine reinforced with cloth tape. Rubbing to extremities with wear to spine ends and corners, a few small scuffs to boards, joints cracked but secure, front free endpaper lacking. Large attractive woodcut printer device to verso of final leaf. Early crossed-out signature to foot of title page, manuscript notes in Greek to rear endleaves. Faint dampstaining in a few places, interior otherwise fresh. A solid copy.    $3,000.

* Dedicated to the city of Ulm, this is an uncommon abridged version of the “Institutiones” with the facing Greek paraphrase by Antecessor. Compiled around 161 CE, the Institutes is an elementary treatise on Roman private law that served as a standard text for 300 years. After its rediscovery during the medieval era it became a staple of European legal education. Along with the Code, Novels and Digest it is one of the four works known collectively as the Corpus Juris Civilis. Not in Hollis or the Library of Congress Online Catalogue. No copies on OCLC. KVK locates 2 copies, neither in North America. Adams J627.

Indianapolis: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, [1946]. xxxii, 1367 pp. Original textured cloth, light shelfwear, internally clean.    $65.

* Third edition. The first edition is titled The Law of Marriage and Divorce, the second is titled A Treatise on the Law of Marriage and Divorce.

Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 1944. xii, 155 pp. Cloth very good in lightly worn dust jacket.    $250.

* First edition. Kelsen departs from his theories on pure law to propose a formula for international peace. He offers “peace guaranteed by compulsory adjudication of international disputes,” (Part I): the formation of a world court with the authority to resolve international conflicts, and “peace guaranteed by individual responsibility for violations of international law,” (Part II): that individual statesmen take personal moral and legal responsibility for war crimes and other acts of violation committed by their country.

New York: Banks & Brothers, 1891. lxii, 650 pp. Octavo (6" x 9"). Recent period-style quarter calf over cloth, raised bands and lettering pieces to spine, endpapers renewed. Faint finger smudges to a few leaves, interior otherwise clean. Uncommon.    $500.

* Only edition. “A work on this subject was very much needed.... Mr. Kerr seems to have raked together all the applicatory cases with the laborious skill which he acquired in his practice as one of the principal workers upon the American and English Encyclopedia of Law. (...) While he is a consummate carpenter of ideas, it is evident that he has in this work branched out into legal doctrines, legal theories and legal reasonings. He has treated many principles in a truly lawyer-like way. But we apprehend that the greatest merit of this work remains in the fact that it affords an accurate key to a very great mass of adjudications; and this is the greatest merit of any legal text-book. It will be a boon to prosecuting attorneys and to criminal lawyers.”: American Law Review 25 (1891) 340.

Florence: [s.n.], 1788. Two volumes. Octavo (4-3/4" x 7"). Original limp paper boards with printed spine labels, untrimmed edges. Light wear to extremities, light soiling and a few tiny stains. Interior notable fresh. A remarkably well-preserved copy.    $2,000.

* First edition. Text in Italian, French and Latin. This important treatise on the rights of neutral merchant vessels went through several editions in Italy, France and Germany. Lampredi is distinguished for its clarity and humane tone, this is one the most important treatises on international law. It argues that except in cases involving legitimate defense on the part of the belligerents, neutrals should be allowed to trade freely with belligerents on the sole condition of impartiality, as they would in times of peace. “Lampredi has treated this subject in a wise and impartial manner, and though strongly in favor of the freedom of neutrals, he has laid down no doctrine in contravention of the legitimate interest of belligerent powers.”: Preface to first French edition (1802) cited in Marvin, Legal Bibliography (1847) 445. KVK locates 19 copies of this edition, 35 of all editions. Lampredi was a professor of canon and public law at the University of Pisa. A renowned scholar in his day and ours, his works are second only to those of Grotius, Pufendorf, Burlamaqui and Mably. Kress S.5182.

Strassburg: Verlag von Karl J. Trubner, 1879. Reprint. [Ridgewood: The Gregg Press, Incorporated, 1966]. vi, 359 pp. Original cloth, some shelfwear, internally clean. Ex-library. Location label to spine, stamps to verso of title page. Uncommon.    $150.

* With notes and indexes. Texts in Latin and other original languages, commentary in German. This collection of seventeen sources includes the complete text of the Saxon Chronicles. Liebermann was an authority on Anglo-Saxon and early English legal history. His publications include Die Gesetze der Angelsachsen, On the Instituta Cnuta Aliorumque Regum Anglorum and Ueber die Leges Edwardi Confessoris. OCLC locates eighteen copies.

Edinburgh: Printed and Published by James Watson, 1716, 1722. Two volumes. Copperplate portrait frontispiece, division title page and 30 plates. Folio (9-1/2" x 15"). Contemporary calf, blind rules to boards, recently rebacked in period style with raised bands, gilt ornaments and lettering pieces, marbled endpapers, hinges mended. Moderate rubbing and edgewear to boards, bookplate of Robert Maxton Graham to front pastedown of Volume I, later bookseller ticket to verso of front endleaf, early bookplate of the Court of Arches to verso of title page. Attractive woodcut head-pieces, tail-pieces and decorated initials. Occasional light foxing and browning. Contemporary and later signatures and annotations to preliminaries and some text leaves, including the signature and notes of Thomas Mackay Cooper. An impressive set.    $2,200.

* Only edition. Mackenzie was Lord Advocate during the reigns of Charles II and James II. He is best known for his leading role in the persecution of Scottish Presbyterians, which earned him the nickname “Bloody MacKenzie.” (In many cases, he bent the law to secure a conviction.) He was in important jurist, scholar and author, and the founder of the Advocates Library, which is now part of the National Library of Scotland. This set collects all of his legal, historical and literary works except Aretina and The Discovery of the Fanatical Plot. The Science of Heraldry is preceded by a copperplate pictorial title page and is embellished with 30 copperplates illustrating heraldic devices.
     The Court of Arches was an ecclesiastical court in London under the jurisdiction of the Archbishop of Canterbury. Cooper [1892-1955] was Lord President of Scotland. The outstanding Scottish judge of his day and a keen student of history, he was the chairman of the Stair Society and Scottish Historical Society. Also a scholar, he wrote The Scottish Legal Tradition and edited Stair’s Regiam Majestatem for the Stair Society. Robert Maxtone Graham was a notable Scottish Book Collector. Sweet & Maxwell 5:74.

[Student Notebook, New York City, c. 1870-80].

150 leaves. Quarter. (8" x 10"). Notebook with ruled leaves bound in limp vellum, marbled endpapers. Light soiling and shelfwear. Content in neat hand to recto and verso of all but a few leaves. Unique.    $350.

* According to a note on the first leaf, Dixon was a law student who lived on 21 Madison Avenue, an address roughly equidistant from the law schools of NYU and Columbia University (then located at 5th Ave. and 50th St.) His notebook contains material copied during lectures. The topics covered in this book are personal rights, municipal law, statute law and family law, which is the most extensive section. There is also a section on “The Proper Method of Studying a Case and Preparing It for Argument.” A fascinating item, it gives us an opportunity to “audit” a series of law lectures from the late nineteenth century.

London: n.p, c.1857. [iv], 110, [2] pp. Recent period-style quarter calf over cloth, gilt title to spine, endpapers renewed, internally clean. A handsome copy of a scarce title.    $350.