Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 1969. 2 volumes in slipcase. Original cloth. Moderate shelfwear. Stamp of Edward Dumbauld to front free pastedown page, interior otherwise clean.    $25.

* Dumbauld [1905-1997] was an attorney, judge, legal historian and author of important studies of Thomas Jefferson and Hugo Grotius.

Volumes I-IV: Richmond: A. Morris, 1854-1860; Volumes V-VII: Richmond: Woodhouse & Parham, 1868-1874. (Title of Volumes VI-VII: Principles and Practice of Courts of Justice in England and the United States). Complete set. Octavo (5-1/2" x 9"). Contemporary sheep, red and black lettering pieces, early law-office labels to head of spine. Rubbing with some wear to spine ends, board edges, joints and corners, boards of Volume VII partially detached but secure, most hinges cracked or starting. Embossed bookseller stamp to front free endpaper of Volume I. Offsetting to margins of endleaves, occasional light foxing, interiors otherwise clean. A solid set. Complete sets are very uncommon.    $2,500.

* Only edition. Robinson was admitted to the Virginia Bar in 1827 and the Bar of the U.S. Supreme Court in 1839. One of the leading Virginia lawyers of his day, he was equally active as a legal scholar and historian of Virginia. As indicated by the publication dates of The Practice in Courts of Justice, his career continued after the Civil War. This remarkably comprehensive study compares actions and defenses, civil procedure, criminal procedure and equity pleading and procedure in the United States and Great Britain. OCLC locates 58 copies. Not in Cohen. HLC I:481.

Milan: Sumptibus Ioseph de Rossetis, 1688. [viii], 230, [1] pp. Quarto (5-1/2" x 7-1/2"). Contemporary calf, gilt spine with raised bands, early hand-lettered title to foot of text block. Rubbing with some wear to extremities and spine, minor spotting and a few small scuffs, boards slightly bowed, partial crack between front free endpaper and title page. Title page with small woodcut device printed in red and black, attractive woodcut head-pieces, tail-pieces and decorated initials. Occasional faint dampstaining to foot of text block, worming to top edge of about a dozen leaves with no loss to text. Two small early owner signatures to title page, minor smudges and spark burns to a few leaves, interior otherwise fresh. An attractive copy.    $1,500.

* Later edition, enlarged. With index. This is a treatise on forestry law and legislation in Roman law that discusses trees, roots, branches, flowers and fruit. An authoritative work, it went through several editions, the final appearing in 1824. KVK locates 2 copies of this edition, 12 of all editions. This edition not in the BMC.

London: Printed for Charles Rivington, 1724. [xx], 310 [i.e. 343], [5] pp. Octavo (4-3/4" x 7-3/4") Recent period-style quarter calf over marbled boards, raised bands and lettering piece to spine, endpapers renewed preserving early armorial bookplate (of William Frederick Webb) and annotated auction record of this copy on front free endpaper. Armorial bookplate (of George Wildman) to verso of title page. Early check marks in pencil to first chapter. Attractive woodcut head and tail-pieces. Light soiling to title page, toning to text, negligible foxing to a few leaves. A nice copy that may have an interesting provenance.    $1,500.

* First edition. Salmon was a prolific Scottish writer on legal, historical and geographical subjects. He spent many years abroad and later accompanied George Anson on his 1739-40 voyage around the world. His wide experiences as a traveler may have furnished the information used in the book’s section on marriage rites, which discusses the practices of Denmark, Livonia, Lapland, Germany, Greece, Armenia, Turkey, Persia, India, Ceylon, Siam, China, Japan, Morocco, Guinea, Ethiopia, Chili, Peru, Brazil, Paraguay, America, Mexico, Canada, Russia and Sweden. Whether he actually visited these places or not, Salmon’s book remains a fascinating document of English social values, anthropological views and legal philosophy in the immediate decades after the Civil War and Restoration. This book was published anonymously in 1724. The second edition, which states the author’s name, was published later that year. The auction record, which appears to be from the late nineteenth century, says this copy belonged to Lord Byron and adds “a few pencil marks by Lord Byron show that the first portion “Marriage Preferable to a Single Life” was carefully perused, and it is to be hoped was not responsible for his life of misery.” An annotation to this entry reads “From Lord Byron’s Newstead Abby Library.” DNB XVII:697-698. BMC 22:493.

Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1868. xvii, 535 pp. Octavo (5-1/2" x 8-1/2"). Recent buckram with red lettering piece, endpapers renewed. Browning and tiny chip to fore-edge of title page, interior otherwise fresh. An appealing copy of a scarce title.    $500.

* Only edition. “We welcome the appearance of this treatise upon telegraphy. It is the first upon an important branch of commercial law; and its authors may, indeed, be satisfied with the result of their labors in this comparatively new field. (...) It contains a careful and complete review of all the cases which have been adjudicated upon the various subjects relating to telegraphs.... And while it is for these reasons of great value to the profession, it is for many other reasons of no less value to business men who are engaged in the practical operation of telegraphs. This treatise presents a general history of telegraphic corporations; it specifies with much care the particular rules by which they are regulated and carried on; it intelligibly defines the duties of the operator, as well as the rights of the community with regard to the employment of these companies. The chapter upon organization is of special value to business men generally. And there are other chapters so full of sound practical ideas that we heartily recommend the book to all. The general style of this treatise is excellent.”: American Law Review 3 (1868) 151-152. OCLC locates 46 copies.

With an Introduction by James Brown Scott. Washington: Digest Press, American University Graduate School, 1934. xxi, 332 pp. Original textured cloth, light shelfwear. Owner stamp to front pastedown, author inscription to front free endpaper, interior otherwise clean. A nice copy.    $125.

* “[T]his volume on statelessness—not only the first in time but in importance, with special reference to the United States, but of equal importance to every other member of the international community—is indispensable to the teachers of international law, to officials charged with its administration and to foreign offices of each and every civilized country. It is especially indispensable in these United States, which have been since their independence the refuge and the hope of the distressed of well-high every nationality.”: Introduction by James Brown Scott xiii.

St. Paul: West Publishing, Co, 1923. xxii, 644 pp. Original textured cloth, some shelfwear. Owner name to front pastedown and free endpaper, interior otherwise clean.    $150.

* Third edition. A title in West’s Hornbook Series. “[Ballantine] has greatly improved upon the earlier editions. The subject matter has been commendably rearranged. He has discarded the pseudo-history of the original text, and has inserted many references in foot-notes and text to the work of Pollock, Maitland, Ames, Street, Holdsworth and other historical scholars. He emphasizes the dependence of rights upon remedies and the significance of the common law forms of action as categories of legal liability. He has pruned away much of Stephen’s complacent rationalization of the technical common law rules, without losing the best of that author’s critical observations. Finally, he has given, in an introductory chapter, a sympathetic epitome of the larger aspects of pleading reform. The ‘editor’ evidently believes that common law pleading is not what it used to be, and never was. In this he is well qualified to write on the subject.”: Edwin W. Patterson, Columbia Law Review 213 (1924) 24.

Corrected and Enlarged. London: Printed by A. Strahan, 1795. xx, 210, cxxvii, [13] pp. Octavo (5" x 8"). Contemporary tree calf, gilt ornaments and lettering piece to spine, gauffered board edges, marbled endpapers. Negligible rubbing and a few minor scuffs to boards, some rubbing to extremities, corners bumped. Early armorial bookplate to front pastedown. Light foxing to endleaves, rest of interior remarkably fresh. A handsome copy of an uncommon book.    $750.

* Second and final edition. With extensive index containing extracts from election cases. “We have seen that Douglas, the reporter in the court of King’s Bench, had also made reports of election cases, which he published in 1775-177, and that other reports of election cases began to appear about the same time. The publication of these reports gave an opportunity for a more logical treatment of the subject, which was provided by Simeon’s [book]...”: Holdsworth, History of English Law XII:346. The first edition, which has less content, was published in 1789. OCLC locates 7 copies of this edition, 17 copies of all editions. Sweet & Maxwell 1:152 (32).

Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, [1984]. Original cloth, light shelfwear. Owner signatures to front free endpaper, internally clean.  $45.

* First edition. Historical account of the famous leading case Regina v. Dudley and Stephens.

Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, [1966]. 121 pp. Cloth very good in somewhat worn price-clipped dust jacket. $45.

Boston: Charles C. Little & James Brown, 1845. xxviii, 675 pp. Octavo (6" x 9-1/2"). Recent period-style calf, lettering piece and gilt fillets to spine. Negligible light foxing to a few leaves, interior otherwise fresh. An appealing copy.    $750.

* First edition of the last treatise published by Story. “Joseph Story’s work on promissory notes was the last of his great treatises. (...) Unlike many of his predecessors, Story treated each aspect of commercial law separately in a series of works which included his treatises on agency (1839), partnership (1841), bills of exchange (1843) and finally the one on promissory notes. The inclusion of comparative sources from the commercial law of other countries reflects Story’s view, expressed in his opinion for the Supreme Court in Swift v. Tyson (1842) that commercial law was international, not the ‘law of a single country only, but of the commercial world.”: Cohen 2561.

Frankfurt: Apud Matthaeum Bircknerum, 1696. [viii], 157 pp. Quarto (6" x 8"). Contemporary panel-stamped pigskin, gilt arms to center of front board, bronze clasps, raised bands, hand-lettered title to spine, green edges. Some soiling, a few minor stains and tiny worm holes, worming to pastedowns, preliminaries and rear endleaves. Attractive woodcut head and tail-pieces. Occasional light foxing, interior otherwise fresh. A remarkably well-preserved copy.    $1,200.
* Fifth edition, corrected. With author, title and subject indexes. Struve was a privy councilor to the prince of Saxony and a professor at the University of Jena. A leading jurist, he helped to develop a practical law for Germany derived from native sources rather than from Roman materials. He wrote three influential studies: Iurisprudentia Romano-Germano Forensis (1670), Syntagma Juris Feudalis (1659) and Syntagma Juris Civilis Universi (1658-83), which was reissued with the title Syntagma Jurisprudentia Secundum Ordinem Pandectarum. First published in Jena in 1669, Evolutiones Controversarum develops aspects of this latter work and responds to its critics. OCLC locates two copies, none of this edition. Not in the BMC. Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie 36:677-681. Kleinheyer and Schroder, 338.

New York: Simon and Schuster, 1954. Reprint The Legal Classics Library, 2007. xiii, 306 pp. Full calf extra gilt spine and covers. Fine.    $95.

* Reprint of the sole edition. “This is an exciting book; and I hope it will stir up many a controversy.”: from the introduction by Harold R. Medina, ix.

Nuova Edizione Ricorretta, e Illustrata. Livorno: Nella Stamperia di Gio. Paolo Fantechi e Compagni, 1755. [vi], vi-xii, 368, [2], iii-vi, 38, [2], 39-59 pp. Three works with one, each with title page. Quarto (6-1/2" x 8-3/4"). Contemporary vellum, “Targa” in early hand to head of spine, speckled edges. Corners lightly bumped, tiny scuff to front board, a few tiny worm holes to joints and hinges. Attractive copperplate vignettes to title pages, handsome woodcut head-pieces, tail-pieces and decorated initials. Early owner signature to front endleaf, interior notably fresh. A desirable copy of an uncommon title.    $1,850.