 |
7. Aelfred, King of Wessex [CE
871-899]. Turk, Milton Haight, Editor.
The Legal Code of Aelfred
the Great. Edited With an Introduction. Boston:
Published by Ginn and Company, 1893. Reprint. New York: AMS Press,
[1973]. viii, 147 pp. Cloth. Fine. $45.
* This edition contains the complete
text of the code with full scholarly apparatus and an extensive
introduction that discusses manuscripts of the code, philological
issues and the code’s legal and literary qualities.  
With Actuarial Tables for
Whites, Slaves and Free Blacks
8. Angell, Joseph K[innicutt]
[1794-1857].
A Treatise on the Law of Fire and
Life Insurance, With an Appendix, Containing Forms, Tables, &c.
Boston: Little, Brown, 1855. xxvi, [2], 511, cxviii,
[631]-644 pp. Recent period-style quarter calf over cloth, raised
bands, lettering piece, endpapers renewed. Light browning to outer
margins of title page and following two leaves, interior otherwise
clean. A very nice copy $500.
* Second edition, enlarged. With an
index of American cases, an index of British cases and fascinating
actuarial tables containing fees and mortality rates for whites,
slaves and free blacks. Angell was a Boston attorney and one of
America’s first significant legal writers. A prolific author, he
published treatises on the law of corporations, watercourses and
other topics. His works were esteemed highly. James Kent said they
were indispensable to the intelligent lawyer (DAB); several were
required reading at Harvard Law School. The present volume was the
last to be published during Angell’s lifetime. Cohen,
Bibliography of Early American Law 7049. DAB I:310.
1851 Guide for Citizens
of Ohio
9. Barber, G.M.
The People’s Ohio Hand
Book, Containing the New Constitution of Ohio, Interest Tables, at
Six Per Cent, Promissory Notes, Bills of Exchange, Insurance and
Banking, Also, Grain Tables, and Other Convenient and Useful
Information, Being a Valuable Assistant to Farmers, Merchants, and
the People of Ohio Generally. Sandusky City: C.L.
Derby & Co., 1851. xli, 122, [1] pp. Octavo (5" x 7-1/2"). Original
cloth, decorative blind stamping to boards, gilt title to front.
Some rubbing with some wear to corners and spine ends. Light foxing
throughout, interior otherwise clean. $125.
* “No citizen of Ohio can properly
discharge his duties as an elector, without a careful perusal of the
Constitution, and frequent reference to its provisions. (...) This
work also contains much useful and valuable information to
Merchants, Farmers, Mechanics and business men generally, who have
long been wanting reliable information in a cheaper form....”:
Preface [iii]. OCLC locates 9 copies. Not in Sabin.
Encyclopedic Law Dictionary
by an Important Canonist
10. Barbosum, Augustinum
(Barbosa, Agostino) [1589-1649], Compiler. [Rosener, Andreas
Christoph [1657-1719], Samuel Stryk [1640-1710], Johann Otto Tabor,
[1604-1674] and Tobias Otto Tabor [fl. 1670], Editors].
Thesaurus Locorum Communium
Iurisprudentiae, ex Axiomatibus Augustini Barbosae, et Analectis
Ioh. Ottonis Taboris, Aliorumque Concinnatus. Ed. Post Secundam
Tobiae Ottonis Taboris et per Axiomata Samuelis Strykii. Auctam
Tertiam, Quarta. Novis Axiomatibus ex Recentioribus Autoribus Magna
ex Parte Auctior Facta ab Andr. Christoph. Rosenero.
Leipzig: Apud Thomam Fritsch, 1707. Two volumes in one, [iv], 662;
421, [1] pp. Folio (8-3/4" x 13-3/4"). Contemporary paneled pigskin
with elaborate blind tooling, raised bands gilt ornaments and
lettering piece to colored spine, bronze clasps. Light soiling and a
few stains, light rubbing to spine and joints, minor wear to
corners. Title page with attractive large device printed in red and
black, woodcut head-pieces, tail-pieces and decorated initials.
Light foxing and browning throughout. “P. 35” in early hand to
spine, a few later annotations in pencil to front pastedown and
following endleaf, interior otherwise clean. A handsome volume.
$2,500.
* Sixth and final edition. Covering the
whole of the ius commune from Abbate to Zelo, this dictionary
was compiled from Barbosa’s works by Johann Otto Tabor and published
in 1652. It was expanded in subsequent editions by Tobias Otto
Tabor, Stryk and Rosener. The final edition was later reissued in
1719 and 1737. This is an encyclopedic dictionary; most of the
definitions are remarkably long and detailed with numerous
citations; many are divided into complex sub-categories. Barbosa was
a notable Portuguese canonist who spent his professional career in
Rome and Madrid. A prolific author, his work is distinguished by a
close reading of sources and a taste for controverted questions.
Stryk was an important German jurist and a prolific author who
helped to develop German law from native sources rather than from
received Roman law. Johann Otto Tabor was a distinguished German
jurist and professor of law at the University of Giessen and the
brother of Tobias Otto. OCLC locates 5 copies, none of this edition.
The Karlsruhe Virtueller Katalog (KVK) locates 1 copy. Not in
the British Museum Catalogue. See illustration below.
Significant American Admiralty
Treatise
11. Benedict, Erastus C.
[1800-1880].
The American Admiralty: Its
Jurisdiction and Practice with Practical Forms and Directions.
New York: Banks, Gould & Co., 1850. xiii, 651 pp. Octavo (6" x 9").
Later (mid-nineteenth century) quarter sheep over buckram, raised
bands and red and black lettering pieces to spine. Light soiling to
boards, some rubbing to spine and joints. Offsetting to margins of
preliminaries, small faint dampstaining to top edges of a few leaves
at ends at beginning and end of text, interior otherwise fresh.
$750.
* First edition. With an appendix
containing rules and admiralty rules for the United States Supreme
Court and the United States District and Circuit Courts, as well as
fee schedules, statutes and forms. At the time of its publication
there were other popular treatises published on the subject, but the
particular American viewpoint and practicality of this work
qualified it to surpass the others. The work is today being
published in its seventh edition, and is still recognized as the
premier work on the subject. Benedict, a noted lawyer and educator,
was considered to be “one of the foremost admiralty lawyers of his
day”: DAB I:177. OCLC locates 45 copies of this edition.
Cohen 1568.
12. Benedict, Michael Les, and
John F. Winkler, Editors.
The History of Ohio Law.
Athens: Ohio University Press, 2004. 2 Volumes. Cloth
in slipcase. New. $75.
* Written by twenty-two leading lawyers
and historians, this is a complete sourcebook on the origin and
development of Ohio law and its relationship to society. A model for
work in this field, it covers topics ranging from Ohio’s
constitutional conventions, legal institutions and the development
of land law to the legal dimensions of race, gender and labor.
13. Billikopf, David Marshall.
The Exercise of Judicial Power 1789-1864. New York:
Vantage Press, [1973]. 438 pp. Cloth very good in worn dust jacket.
Author inscription to front free endpaper, interior otherwise clean.
$60.
* A study of the evolution of the
judicial power of the United States Supreme Court during its first
75 years.
Attractively Bound Twelfth
Edition of Blackstone
14. Blackstone, Sir William
[1723-1780]. Christian, Edward [d. 1823], Editor.
Commentaries on the Laws of
England, in Four Books. With the Last Corrections of the Author; and
With Notes and Additions by Edward Christian. London:
Printed by A. Strahan and W. Woodfall, 1793-1795. Four volumes.
Copperplate portrait frontispieces of Blackstone (Volume I),
Littleton (Volume II), Mansfield (Volume II) and Hale (Volume IV),
nine other portrait plates of important English jurists interspersed
throughout, “Table of Consanguinity” and fold-out “Table of
Descents” (Volume I). Octavo (5-1/4" x 8-1/4"). Contemporary tree
calf with calf spines, rebacked retaining original backstrips with
lettering pieces, gilt fillets and gilt and blind-stamped ornaments,
Volume IV has a later lettering piece. Gilt frames to boards.
Marbled endpapers. Some rubbing to boards with some wear to spine
ends and edges, corners bumped. Early armorial bookplate to each
pastedown. Very occasional light foxing; interiors notably fresh.
$1,500.
* Twelfth edition, and the first edition
with Christian’s notes. Blackstone’s paging retained in margins.
“This edition was originally published in numbers, each number
containing the portrait of a judge. (...) The editor is designated
on the title pages of this edition as ‘Edward Christian, esq.,
barrister at law, and professor of the Laws of England in the
University of Cambridge.’ His notes are printed as footnotes,
separated from those of Blackstone by a rule. A selection of
Christian’s notes is included in most American editions of the
Commentaries.”: Eller, The William Blackstone Collection at
Yale University 21. See illustration below.
Well-Preserved 1830 New
York Edition of Blackstone
15. Blackstone, Sir William.
Commentaries on the Laws of
England: in Four Books by the Late Sir W. Blackstone. To Which is
Added an Analysis by Barron Field, Esq. A New Edition, with
Practical Notes, by Christian, Archbold, and Chitty: Together with
Additional Notes and References, by a Gentleman of the New-York Bar.
New York: Published by Collins & Hannay [et al.],
1830. Two volumes. Fold-out Table of Descents. Octavo (5-1/4" x
8-1/2"). Contemporary sheep, blind fillets to boards, red and black
lettering pieces to spine. Some rubbing with moderate wear to
corners, a few tiny scuffs, fine creases to spines, hinges cracked
but secure. Bookplate to front pastedown of Volume I, residue from
bookplate to front pastedown of Volume II. Faint dampstaining to
heads of text blocks, occasional faint foxing and light browning.
Some wear to edges of fold-out table. Early signatures in pencil and
ink to preliminaries, a few inkstains and annotations in pencil to
text. A well-preserved copy. $500.
* A corrected reissue of the 1827 New
York edition copyrighted by W.E. Dean and published by E. Duyckinck.
Blackstone’s paging retained in margins. The American editor is
unknown, as is the “Gentleman of the New-York Bar.” The longer
notes, which are from the 1803 and 1811 London editions, are signed,
but many notes taken from other editions are not. American
authorities are included in the notes. Unlike the 1827 edition, this
does not have a portrait frontispiece. OCLC locates 28 copies. Eller
94. Cohen 5324.
Handsome 1860 American
Edition Blackstone
16. Blackstone, Sir William.
Commentaries on the Laws of
England. In Four Books. With Notes Selected from the Editions of
Archbold, Christian, Coleridge, Chitty, Stewart, Kerr, and Others,
Barron Field’s Analysis, and Additional Notes, and a Life of the
Author, by George Sharswood. Philadelphia: Childs and
Peterson, 1860. Four books in two volumes. Fold-out Table of
Descents. Octavo (6" x 9"). Contemporary calf, blind rules frames to
boards, gilt dentelles to outer edges, blind inside dentelles,
gilt-edged raised bands and lettering pieces to spine, rouged edges
and endpapers. Light shelfwear, a few negligible scuffs and tiny
inkstains to boards. Occasional light foxing, interior otherwise
fresh. A handsome, well-preserved copy. $500.
* “This is a reprint of Shraswood’s 1859
Philadelphia edition was stereotyped by L. Johnson and printed by
Deacon & Peteron. Copyright date 1859. Preface dated June, 1859.
Notes of Sharswood, “professor of the institutes of law in the
University of Pennsylvania” are printed with those of the English
editors as footnotes; each note is signed with the name of the
editor from whom it was taken. Extracts from Blackstone’s
Analysis replace table of contents in each volume; Field’s
Analysis precedes index in vol. 2.”: Eller 115.
Handsome
Blackstone Edition of the Magna Carta
17. Blackstone,
Sir William. The Great Charter and Charter of the Forest, With Other Authentic
Instruments: to Which is Prefixed an Introductory Discourse,
Containing the History of the Charters.
Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1759. [iv], lxxvi, [iv], 86 pp. Half title
and table of contents (Tabula) bound between pages lxxvi and 1.
Folio (10-1/2" x 13-1/2"). Contemporary calf, rebacked in
period-style with maroon lettering piece, corners restored. Printed
on heavy wide-margined paper with engraved dedication leaf,
decorated initials and tail-pieces. Early signature in fine hand to
title page, light foxing to a few leaves, interior otherwise clean
and bright. Very handsome. $3,000.
* First
edition. Texts of documents in Latin, Blackstone’s essay in English.
The engraved dedication to the Earl of Westmoreland is surmounted
with his armorial ensigns; initials in the text are ornamented with
engravings of various buildings at Oxford University. The tail
pieces on pages lxxvi and 73 are historical vignettes; the other ten
tail-pieces are facsimiles of the royal seals that are attached to
the original documents. This remarkable work is highly esteemed for
its production and scholarship. Its physical appeal was recognized
as early as 1829 in Richard Thompson’s An Historical Essay on the
Magna Charta of King John, which described it as a “beautiful
and rare edition.” Blackstone’s essay, which is based on a great
deal of original research, argued that the charter was the
foundation of English liberties. This idea, first proposed by Coke,
was a central tenet of Whig ideology. More important, Blackstone’s
research into the original texts demonstrated that all earlier
editions of the charter were based on Henry III’s significantly
different reissue of 1225 rather than the original one endorsed at
Runnymede. His philological focus was highly influential; it set the
tone for subsequent study of the charter. Scarce. (Eller notes that
Worrall’s Bibliotheca Legum Angliae (1788) lists an edition
from 1758 with the title Magna Charta and Charta de Foresta.
She was not able to locate any copies, however. Later research
indicates that this edition is a ghost.) Eller, The William
Blackstone Collection in the Yale Law Library 237. Catalogue
of the Library of the Harvard Law School I:191. British
Museum Catalogue (Compact Edition) 3:562.
18. Bourinot,
J.G., Sir.
A Manual of the Constitutional
History of Canada From the Earliest Period to 1901 Including the
British North America Act of 1867, a Digest of Judicial Decisions on
Important Questions of Legislative Jurisdiction, and Observations on
the Working of Parliamentary Government. New Edition,
Revised and Enlarged. Toronto: The Copp, Clark Company, Limited.
1901. xii, 246 pp. Original cloth, black-stamped titles to boards
and spine. Some shelfwear, corners bumped, some fading to spine and
rear board. Signatures near center of text reattached and secure.
Light toning to preliminary leaves and margins, interior otherwise
fresh. $75.
* “[This book] has been thoroughly
revised in order to make it as useful as possible to those students
in our universities and colleges who are now required to consult it
in their studies of our constitutional history. I have completed to
date a summary of those judicial decisions which have so far laid
down important principles for the interpretation of a constitution
which has evoked much learned arguments in our courts and
legislatures.”: Preface.
Handsome 1860 Edition of
Bouvier’s Law Dictionary
19. Bouvier, John [1787-1851].
A Law Dictionary, Adapted to the Constitution and Laws of the United
States of America, and of the Several States of the American Union;
with References to the Civil and Other Systems of Foreign Law. To
Which is Added Kelham’s Dictionary of the Norman and Old French
Language. Revised, Improved, and Greatly Enlarged.
Philadelphia: Childs and Peterson, 1860. Two volumes. Octavo (6" x
9"). Contemporary calf, blind ruled frames to boards and dentelles
to outer edges, raised bands, gilt ornaments and lettering piece to
spine, rouged edges and endpapers. Light shelfwear, a few negligible
scuffs and tiny inkstains to boards. Light toning to endleaves and
margins of text block, interior otherwise fresh. A handsome,
well-preserved copy. $850.
* Tenth edition. The first American law
dictionary, it went through eighteen editions, the final appearing
in 1914. “During his years of study [Bouvier] had discovered the
handicap under which the student and lawyer labored at that time due
to the lack of a dictionary containing legal information logically
and conveniently compiled. He began work on a great dictionary and
indefatigably applied himself to it, in spite of increasing
duties... Nevertheless, in 1839, he was able to give his completed
dictionary to fill the need of the profession. [In it] he sought to
cover all legal subjects and terms arising under such a title,
giving citations from federal and state courts.”: DAB I: 490.
Catalogue of the Library of the Harvard Law School (1909) (HLC)
I:213 (citing other editions). See illustration below.
Final Rawle Edition of
Bouvier
20. Bouvier, John. Rawle,
Francis [1846-1930], Editor.
Bouvier’s Law Dictionary
and Concise Encyclopedia.
Third Revision (Being the Eighth
Edition) by Francis Rawle of the Philadelphia Bar.
St. Paul: West Publishing Company, 1914. Two volumes. Original
textured cloth, some shelfwear, corners bumped, internally clean.
$200.
* Twelfth reprint, 1975. First published
in 1839, this venerable American dictionary was thoroughly revised
and enlarged by Rawle, who added over four thousand new words and
titles, enhanced its encyclopedic style and incorporated new
scholarship concerning the early history of English law and its
relation to Roman law.
Incomparable Edition of
Colonial Documents Relating to New York
21. Brodhead, John Romeyn
[1814-1873], Berthold Fernow (1837-1908), E.B. O’Callaghan
[1797-1880], Editors.
Documents Relative to the
Colonial History of the State of New York: Procured in Holland,
England, and France. Albany: Weed, Parsons,
1853-1887. Reprint. New York: AMS, 1969. 15 folio-sized volumes (8-
1/2" x 11"). Illustrated, plates, maps (some folded). Softbound.
Fine. $450.
* Contents: v. 1-10. Documents relating
to the colonial history of the state of New-York; procured in
Holland, England and France / by John Romeyn Brodhead, agent, under
an act of the Legislature, passed May 2, 1839. With a general
introduction by the agent: v. 1-2. Holland documents. 1856-1858. v.
3-8. London documents. 1853-1857. v. 9-10, Paris documents. 1855-58.
— v. [11].General index to the documents [v. 1-10] / prepared by
E.B. O’Callaghan. 1861 — v. 12 [new ser., v. 1]. Documents relating
to the history of the Dutch and Swedish settlements on the Delaware
River, 1877 — v. 13 [new ser., v. 2]. Documents relating to the
history and settlements of the towns along the Hudson and Mohawk
rivers (with the exception of Albany), from 1630 to 1684, 1881 — v.
14 [new ser., v. 3]. Documents relating to the history of the early
colonial settlements principally on Long Island, 1883 — v. 15. New
York state archives [v. 1] New York in the revolution / prepared
under the direction of the Board of Regents by Berthold Fernow.
The First American Treatise
on Commercial Law
22. [Caines, George
(1771-1825)].
An Enquiry into the Law Merchant of the United States; Or, Lex Mercatoria
Americana, on Several Heads of Commercial Importance. Dedicated by
Permission to Thomas Jefferson, President of the United States. In
Two Volumes. Vol. 1 [all published]. New York:
Printed by Isaac Collins & Son, For Abraham and Arthur Stansbury,
1802. xxxviii, [2], 648; clxvii, [1] pp. Contemporary sheep, gilt
fillets and lettering piece to spine. Moderate rubbing with some
wear to extremities, corners bumped, hinges cracked but secure.
Early owner bookplate to front pastedown. Light toning to text,
occasional light foxing, otherwise a fine, attractive
unsophisticated copy. $1,500.
* First and only edition. With an
appendix of forms. As Horwitz has pointed out, this is “the first
American treatise on commercial law.” Surrency notes that it was
also the first to deal with admiralty law. It focused on shipping
and maritime commerce, with substantial sections on insurance and
bankruptcy. Reflecting the tension that existed between arbitrators
and courts of law, Caines insisted that “in what appertains to
trade, let it be constantly remembered, that custom alone is law”
(220). Caines was the official reporter of the New York Supreme
Court. OCLC locates 58 copies. Surrency, A History of American
Law Publishing 141. Horwitz, The Transformation of American
Law 1780-1860 150. Cohen 1570. See illustration below.
Important
Seventeenth-Century Law Dictionary
23. Calvinus,
Johannes (Kahl, Johannis). [c.1550-c.1610].
Magnum Lexicon Juridicum:
Juris Nimirum Caesarei Simul, & Canonici, Feudalis Item, Civilis,
Criminalis, Theoretici ac Practici: & in Schola, & in Foro
Usitatarum, ac Tum ex Ifso Juris Utriusque Corpore, Tum ex
Doctoribus & Glossis, Tam Veteribus, Quam Recentioribus Collectarum
Vocum Penus: Simul & Locorum Communium, & Dictionarii Vicem
Sustinens. Feudale Lexicon; Leges ac Magistratus Romanos, & Caetera
Huic Operi Adjecta Vide in Complemento, Post Sinum Operis Ipsius.
Collectum Vero est Hoc Opus ex Collatis Inter Sese Juridicus,
Quotquot Hactenus Fere Prodierunt, & Antiquioribus & Recentioribus
Lexicis. Auctum Deind, Expolitum et Emendatum, ex Hactenus Editis
Accuratissimis Locubrationibus.... Cum Praefationibus Clar. & Emin.
Juris-Consultorum Dion. Gothofredi & Herm. Vulteii. Editio Postrema,
Auctior, & ab Innumeris Mendis Expurgata. Geneva:
Sumptibus Fratrum Cramer, 1759. Two volumes. Folio (9" x 14").
Contemporary vellum, gilt titles in decorative frames to spines,
speckled edges. Light soiling and dampstaining to binding, repair to
front joint and backstrip of Volume I, small chip to foot of Volume
II, endpapers of Volume I renewed. Woodcut printer device to title
pages, woodcut head-pieces, tail-pieces and decorated initials.
Minor tears to fore-edges of a few leaves with no loss to text.
Occasional browning, light foxing and spark burns, interior
otherwise clean. $1,200.
* Reissue
of the enlarged and corrected 1670 edition. With prefaces by Denis
Godefroy [1549-1622] and Hermann Vulteius [1565-1634]. Calvinus was
a German jurist and professor of law at the University of Heidelberg
who wrote several books on politics, Jewish law and Roman law. The
Lexicon Juridicum proved to be his most honored and durable
publication. First published in 1600, it went through numerous
editions during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. It draws
on several authors, including Albericus, Brisson, Cicero, Hotoman
and Tacitus. A scholarly work, it contains an extensive list of
sources. The definitions are admirably clear and concise; each one
includes a list of citations. Walker, Oxford Companion to Law
170. This edition not listed in the British Museum Catalogue.
24. Cardozo,
Benjamin N. [1870-1938].
The Nature of the Judicial
Process. New Haven: Yale University Press, [1937].
180 pp. Cloth very good in worn dust jacket. Inscription and owner
initials to front free endpaper, interior otherwise clean. $65.
* First edition, ninth printing. The
Storrs Lectures delivered at Yale University Law School in 1921. One
of the most important legal works of the twentieth century, The
Nature of the Judicial Process argued that judges create law.
Along with Holmes’ The Common Law, this book is one of the
seminal works that helped the American bar to move beyond the
formalism of nineteenth-century jurisprudence.
Cardozo’s Most Influential
Work, Inscribed by the Author
25. Cardozo, Benjamin N.
The Nature of the Judicial
Process. New Haven: Yale University Press, [1932].
180 pp. Cloth very good in moderately worn dust jacket. “To Francis
R. Kirkham/ With the high regard/ and great good will/ of/ Benjamin
N. Cardozo/ April, 1936” in large hand to front free endpaper.
$1,000.
* First edition, eighth printing. The
Storrs Lectures delivered at Yale University Law School in 1921. One
of the most important legal works of the twentieth century, The
Nature of the Judicial Process argued that judges create law.
Along with Holmes’ The Common Law, this book is one of the
seminal works that helped the American bar to move beyond the
formalism of nineteenth-century jurisprudence. See illustration
below.
26. Carmody, Francis X.
A Treatise on New York
Practice with Forms. Second Compact Edition. Revised
by Edward Q Carr and John F.X. Finn. New York: Clark Boardman Co.,
Ltd., 1934. xxxi, 1086 pp. Original textured cloth, light shelfwear,
internally clean. $65.
* “This book should be of great value
particularly to the student beginning the study of New York
practice, and to the young attorney whose early steps through the
still intricate procedure of our courts it will help to direct.”:
S.I. Rosenman, Harvard Law Review 53:161-162 cited in Marke
301.
Important
Treatise by the Founder of German Jurisprudence
27. Carpzovii,
Benedicti (Karpzov, Benedikt) [1595-1666].
Jurisprudentia
Ecclesiastica Seu Consistorialis Rerum & Quaestionum in Serenissimi
ac Potentissimi Principis Electoris Saxon....Definitiones
Succinctas, Jure Divini, Canonico, Civili, Constitutionibus et
Ordinationibus Ecclesiasticis Probatas, Rescriptis, Decretis et
Responsis Electoralibus Corroboratas Exhibens Libr. III. Quorum I.
Materiae de Juribus Episcopalibus: Ministris Ecclesiae; Eorumq
Vocatione ac Confirmatione: Salariis, Proventibus, Accidentiis,
Successione & Divisione Legitima. II. Causes Matrimonialibus:
Ritibus, Ceremoniis: Bonis, Aliisq Rebus Ecclesiasticis: Jure
Sepulturae & Academiarum. III. Judicio & Foro Ecclesiastico, Poenis
ac Coercitione Clericorum &c. Pertractatae Visuntur. His ob Materiae
Convenientium Accessit Usus Arboris Consanguinitatis & Affinitatis
in Foro Saxon. Practicus Circa Nuptias Successionem, Tutelas,
Processum Judiciarium & Irrigationem Poenarum.
Leipzig: Sumptibus J.T.R. Prostatapud Georgium Heinricum Frommannum,
1685. [xliv], 253; [2], 884, [8]; 100, [125] pp. Two books in one
volume, the first in three parts. Both books have title pages, the
first preceded by copperplate pictorial general title page. Folio
(8-1/4" x 13"). Contemporary vellum, lapped edges, hand-lettered
title and small paper location label to spine, “C.E.W” and “1714” in
small gilt type to front board, rouged edges, marbled endpapers.
Light shelfwear and soiling. Title page of first work printed in red
and black, handsome woodcut head-pieces, tail-pieces and decorated
initials. Private library stamp to half-title, interior remarkably
fresh. An excellent copy of an uncommon title. $1,500.
* With
indexes. Benedikt Karpzov (the younger), a jurist and Professor of
Law at Leipzig and a privy counselor to the Saxon court, is
considered the founder of German jurisprudence. He did much to
systematize German law and his work helped to secure European
recognition of German law and custom. First published in 1649, his
Jurisprudentia Eccesiastica was the earliest complete system
of Protestant ecclesiastical law. He distinguished carefully between
ecclesiastical and canon law, and was the first to use the
ordinances of the Lutheran Church, the rescripts of the sovereigns
and the decisions of the consistories to summarize the legal
development of Protestantism since the Reformation. British
Museum Catalogue (Compact Edition) 5:26.
First American
Edition of Coke Upon Littleton
28. Coke, Sir Edward.
[1552-1634].
The First Part of the Institutes
of the Laws of England; Or, a Commentary upon Littleton: Not the
Name of the Author Only, But of the Law Itself. Revised and
Corrected, With Additions of Notes, References, and Proper Tables by
Francis Hargrave and Charles Butler, Including Also the Notes of
Lord Chief Justice Hale and Lord Chancellor Nottingham: And an
Analysis of Littleton, Written by an Unknown Hand, 1658-1659. To
Which Are Now Added, Considerable Improvements, by Thomas Day.
Philadelphia: Published by Johnson and Warner, and Samuel R. Fisher,
1812. Three volumes. Octavo (5-1/2" x 9"). Contemporary calf,
lettering pieces, title lettered to center of backstrips in early
hand. Some wear to edges and joints, a few minor scuffs to boards
and backstrip, residue from owner label to foot of each spine. Owner
signatures to each front free endpaper, occasional foxing. A
well-preserved unrestored set. $750.
* First American edition, from the
sixteenth European edition, 1809. Text is unpaged with English and
French (or Latin) texts in parallel columns. Sweet & Maxwell, A
Legal Bibliography of the British Commonwealth of Nations I:451
(7). Cohen 9451.
Only 600 Copies Printed-With
Franklin’s Notes
29. [Constitutions].
Constitutions des Treize
Etats-Unis de l’Amérique. A Philadelphie; et se
trouve à Paris..., 1783. [ii], 540 pp. Collation: x2; A-Z8; Aa-Kk8;
Ll6. Octavo (4-3/4" x 7-3/4"). Early mottled calf, rebacked with
black label and green ink. Tiny number in red ink to top of front
pastedown, minor rubbing where a signature or bookplate may have
been removed. A very nice, tight fresh copy. $3,250.
* First French edition. Only 600 copies
were printed of this, of which 100 were on large paper. “The French
translation was made by the Duc de la Rochefoucault, at Franklin’s
suggestion, with over fifty footnotes by the latter, and shows on
the title the United States seal [eagle and stars and stripes], its
first appearance in a book” (Howes). Streeter notes, “Franklin’s
grand gesture in publishing and distributing these constitutions
about which there was an intense interest and curiosity among
statesmen, was one of his chief achievements as propagandist for the
new American republic.” Streeter II:1035. Howes C716. Howes Hartley
C720. See illustration below.
Cowell’s Dictionary in
an Attractive Clamshell Box
30. Cowell, John [1554-1611].
The Interpreter: Or Booke Containing the Signification of Words: Wherein
is Set Foorth the True Meaning of All, or the Most Part of Such
Words and Termes, as are Mentioned in the Lawe Writers, or Statutes
of This Victorious and Renowned Kingdome, Requiring Any Exposition
or Interpretation. A Worke not Onely Profitable, but Necessary for
Such as Desire Throughly to be Instructed in the Knowledge of Our
Lawes, Statutes, and Other Antiquities. London:
Printed by John Sheares, 1637. Unpaged. Quarto (5-1/2" x 7-1/2").
Contemporary polished calf, raised bands. Wear to edges and tips,
scuffing to bands, front joint starting, wear to head of backstrip
with about 2" of loss, small chip to foot. Endleaves lacking from
front and rear, later annotations to front endleaf, early signature
in fine hand to head of title page, faint dampstaining to margins of
first few leaves, text otherwise clean and secure. Item housed in
attractive quarter-calf clamshell box with period-style spine. An
appealing copy. $2,000.
* Second edition. The
Interpreter is considered to be the best law dictionary until
Jacob’s and it is still used by scholars of early English legal
documents. Its publication provoked controversy. At a time when
Parliament and crown were vying for power, the Commons disapproved
of Cowell’s royalist sympathies, which were evident in such
definitions as “King,” “Parliament,” “Prerogative,” “Recoveries” and
“Subsidies.” When a joint committee of Lords and Councilors reviewed
the work, the ensuing controversy nearly halted the affairs of
government. What is more, it contained a quotation critical of
Littleton’s scholarship that angered Sir Edward Coke. James I
intervened in fear that his own fiscal interests would not be
approved by Parliament. Encouraged by Coke, the king imprisoned
Cowell, suppressed the book and ordered all copies burned by a
public hangman on March 10, 1610. The present edition contains
several changes that were made posthumously to placate the
dictionary’s enemies. Despite its stormy reception, The
Interpreter remains a useful gloss to Coke’s Littleton
and other early legal texts. Marke, Vignettes of Legal History
309-312. Cowley, A Bibliography of Abridgments, Digest,
Dictionaries and Indexes to the Year 1800 129. Pollard and
Redgrave, A Short-Title Catalogue of Books Printed in England,
Scotland, and Ireland 5901.
31. Cross, Arthur Lyon, Editor.
Eighteenth Century Documents Relating to the Royal Forests, the Sheriffs
and Smuggling Selected From the Shelburne Manuscripts in the William
M. Clements Library. New York: The MacMillan Company,
1928. xvii, 328, viii, [1] pp. Includes nine-page publisher
catalogue. Original cloth, negligible shelfwear, small faint
dampstain to front board, internally clean. Ex-institution library.
Card pocket to front pastedown, inkstamp to front free endpaper and
rear pastedown. $65.
* A title in the series University of
Michigan Publications, History and Political Science.
A Version of Cushing’s
Manual for Legislators
32. Cushing, Luther Stearns
[1803-1856].
Lex Parliamentaria Americana:
Elements of the Law and Practice of Legislative Assemblies in the
United States of America. Boston: Little, Brown and
Company, 1856. xxxvi, 1063 pp. Octavo (6" x 9"). Contemporary calf,
blind double frames to boards and dentelles to outer edges, raised
bands, gilt ornaments and lettering piece to spine, marbled edges
and endpapers. Light shelfwear, a few negligible scuffs and tiny
inkstains to boards. light toning to endleaves and margins of text
block, interior otherwise fresh. A handsome, well-preserved copy.
$450.
* First edition. Though not intended as
a sequel, this book is essentially a detailed version of Cushing’s
path-breaking Manual of Parliamentary Practice (1845) for
legislators. It is divided into nine sections: “Of The Election of
the Members,” “Of The Constitution of a Legislative Assembly,” “Of
The Privileges and Incidental Powers of a Legislative Assembly,” “Of
the Powers and Functions of a Legislative Assembly as Such,” “Of
Communications Between the Different Branches of a Legislative Body,
and Between Them or Either of Them and Other Bodies of Persons,” “Of
the Forms and Methods of Proceeding in a Legislative Assembly,” “Of
Committees and Their Functions,” “Of the Passing of Bills” and
“Impeachment.” Cohen 5760. See illustration below.
Interesting 1818 Massachusetts
JP Manual
33. Dickinson, Rodolphus
[1787-1863].
A Digest of the Common Law, the
Statute Laws of Massachusetts, and of the United States, and the
Decisions of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, Relative
to the Powers and Duties of Justices of the Peace, to which is
Subjoined an Extensive Appendix of Forms. Deerfield:
John Wilson, 1818. viii, 521 pp. Octavo (6" x 9-1/2"). Contemporary
calf, lettering piece, blind-stamped fillets to boards. A few
negligible scuffs to boards, hinges cracked but secure. Occasional
light foxing, interior otherwise clean. A notably well-preserved
copy. $135.
* First edition. Dickinson was a
clergyman who studied law in Northampton, Massachusetts. Admitted to
the bar in 1808, he went on to write several books on Massachusetts
law. Interesting for its insights into Massachusetts society at the
dawn of the nineteenth century, this manual addresses such topics as
blasphemy, polygamy, “profaneness,” “Sunday laws,” “malignant
distemper” and usury. Cohen, Bibliography of Early American Law
8377.
Inscribed First Edition
of Wm. O. Douglas’ Autobiography
34. Douglas, William O.
[1898-1980].
Go East, Young Man: The Early
Years. New York: Random House, [1974]. Illustrations.
xv, 493 pp. Illustrations. Original cloth very good in lightly worn
dust jacket. Author inscription to front free endpaper, interior
otherwise clean. $150.
* First edition. The inscription reads:
“For Myron Hausen/ with many Happy Returns/ of the day/ W O
Douglas.” Douglas’ autobiography spans the years from his childhood
until his appointment to the Supreme Court in 1939.
35. Douglas, William O.
The Three Hundred Year War:
A Chronicle of Ecological Disaster. New York: Random
House, [1972]. 215 pp. Cloth very good in lightly worn jacket. Gift
inscription to front pastedown, interior otherwise clean. $15.
Edwards on Bill and Notes
36. Edwards, Isaac [d. 1879].
A Treatise on Bills of Exchange
and Promissory Notes.
New York: Banks & Brothers, 1863. li, 41-834 pp. Octavo (6" x 9").
Contemporary law calf, blind double frames to boards, red and black
lettering pieces. Moderate rubbing with some wear to spine ends,
joints, board edges and corners, a few scuffs to boards, small
circular impression to rear, hinges cracked but secure. Offsetting
and a few tiny chips to margins of endleaves, light toning to text,
interior otherwise fresh. $175.
* Second edition. “The order of [this
book’s] arrangement has been chosen with care—with a design to bring
the different phases of the subject into review, in the form and
order in which they naturally present themselves—beginning with the
capacity to make and indorse negotiable paper, and ending with the
sum recoverable upon the instrument.”: Preface vi. This treatise
went through three editions. The first appeared in 1857, the final
in 1882. HLC I:600.
37. Ely, John Hart.
Democracy and Distrust: A
Theory of Judicial Review. Cambridge: Harvard
University Press, 1980. Reprint. [Delran]: The Legal Classics
Library, [2004]. viii, 268 pp. Calf, decorative gilt stamping,
raised bands, all edges gilt, marbled endpapers, ribbon marker.
Fine. $95.
* Ely’s influential study continues to
shape the post-Warren Court’s debate concerning its appropriate role
in a constitutional democracy. According to the Journal of Legal
Studies, this is the most cited legal book published since 1978
and its author is the fourth most frequently cited American legal
scholar of all time.
The Last Words of the Bird
Brothers
38. [Execution Broadside].
The Last Words, Dying Speech,
Confession & Behaviour of John and Joseph Bird, Two Brothers and
Natives of This City, Who Were Executed Yesterday Morning, March 13,
1826, at the Old Bailey, for Forgery.
Bristol: Printed and sold by M. Sheperd, [1826]. 14-3/4" x 6-1/2"
broadside with large woodcut of hanging scene. Some toning,
otherwise very good. $600.
* This is a fine example of an execution
broadside with a sensational illustration and excellent didactic,
religious and narrative content. Published as a “warning to youth
never to come under a similar ignominy,” this broadside contains, in
addition to details of the brothers’ final hours, a copy of the
doleful letter written by the condemned from their cell. “Dear
Mother, A few hours more will close the scene of life on us, which
we trust, we are prepared to meet with fortitude. We have been
everything but dutiful children, and shall soon be rewarded for our
past misconduct. Make yourself as comfortable as possible, and
endeavor to obliterate from your memory our just but ignoble
end....” Also included is the text of a hymn sung “with the most
profound solemnity” by the crowd. Published to entertain and
instruct, the execution broadside was perhaps the most popular genre
of non-devotional literature in the early nineteenth century.
Executions were important events in a town’s history, so these
broadsides also served as souvenirs. No copies located on OCLC or
KVK. See illustration below.
39. Feinman, Clarice.
Women in the Criminal
Justice System. [New York]: Praeger Publishers,
[1980]. x, 212 pp. Cloth very good in lightly worn dust jacket.
Author inscription to front pastedown, interior otherwise clean.
$45.
40. Ferguson, Charles W.
Naked to Mine Enemies: The
Life of Cardinal Woolsey. Boston: Little, Brown and
Company, [1958]. 543 pp. Original cloth, light shelfwear. “Harold R.
Medina/ February 16th/ 1958” in bold hand to front free endpaper,
interior otherwise clean. $45.
* This copy belonged to Harold R. Medina
[1888-1990], the important attorney, educator and judge. As the
Judge of the United States Court of Appeals, 2nd Circuit (New York
City) he presided over the widely publicized trial against the 11
top leaders of the U.S. Communist Party that took place over ten
months in 1948. Popularly known as the Medina Trial, it established
the aggressive tone that characterized the McCarthy hearings and the
trial of Alger Hiss.
Pocket-Size Copy of the
New York Field Code of Procedure
41. [Field Code]. [New York].
Transcript Edition. The Code of Procedure of the State of New York, As
Amended April 25, 1867. Second Edition. New York:
Diossy and Cockroft, 1867. Unpaginated, 437 numbered paragraphs.
12mo. (3" x 4-1/2"). Original gilt-stamped textured cloth, light
wear to extremities. Remains of bookplates to front and rear
pastedowns, early owner signature in pencil to front free endpaper.
Appealing. $250.
* Second edition of this important
procedural code by the acknowledged master in the field. David
Dudley Field [1805-1894] was perhaps the leading American proponent
of codification. He served with both groups of commissioners and,
more than any other individual, was responsible for the drafting of
all of the codes. They were quite influential both in the United
States and internationally and clearly are worthy of study today.
HLC II:205 (citing other editions).
42.
[Field Codes]. [New York 1850-1865]. New York Field Codes. 1850-1865.
Vol. I.
The Code of Civil Procedure
of the State of New-York, Reported Complete by the Commissioners
on Practice and Pleadings. 1850. [8], xcvi, 791 pp.
Vol.
II. The
Code of Criminal Procedure of the State of New York, Reported
Complete by the Commissioners on Practice and Pleadings. 1850.
[1], 486 pp.
Vol.
III. The
Civil Code of the State of New York, Reported Complete by the
Commissioners of the Code. 1865. cxii, 776 pp.
Vol.
IV. The
Penal Code of the State of New York, Reported Complete by the
Commissioners of the Code. 1865. lxiv, 406 pp.
clxvii [Appendix] pp.
Vol. V.
The Political Code of the
State of New York. 1860. xlvii, 607 pp. With a new introduction by
Michael Weber. Reprinted 1998 by The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd. Five
volume set. ISBN 1-886363-40-4 (set). Cloth. New. $495.
* These five volumes contain the
complete texts of the law codes drafted for New York State by David
Dudley Field and his colleagues during the years 1847 to 1865. They
include Field’s two procedural codes and three substantive codes.
Field was perhaps the leading American proponent of codification. He
served with both groups of commissioners and, more than any other
individual, was responsible for the drafting of all of the codes. He
has been called “an inexhaustible one man codifying machine.”
Field’s codes had great impact both in the United States and
internationally and clearly are worthy of study today. This reprint
is prefaced by a new introduction by Michael Weber.
43. [Field, Stephen Johnson].
Pomeroy, John Norton.
Some Account of the Work of
Stephen J. Field as a Legislator, State Judge, and Judge of the
Supreme Court of the United States. [n.p.]: [[S.B.
Smith], 1881. 464 pp. Reprinted 2003 by The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd.
ISBN 1-58477-326-X Cloth. $90.
* Stephen Johnson Field [1816-1899]
began his career as a legislator and member of the Supreme Court of
California. One of his earliest accomplishments was his work as
draftsman of the 1851 California Practice Act. He was appointed to
the United States Supreme Court in 1863 and remained on the bench
until 1897. He also served a concurrent term as a circuit court
judge for the Pacific states. One of the great justices of the
nineteenth century, he had a lasting influence on Constitutional law
through his contributions to Fourteenth Amendment jurisprudence and
its Due Process Clause. Dictionary of American Biography
III:373. In this book Pomeroy [1828-1885], the author of Treatise
on Equity Jurisprudence and other important works, surveys and
analyzes every significant opinion delivered by Field throughout his
career, with an emphasis on his years on the U.S. Supreme Court and
on the circuit.
The First Treatise on Bankruptcy
Law Published in the United States
44. Fields, R[obert].
A Practical Treatise Upon
the Bankrupt Law of the United States. Boston:
Printed by B. Edes & Son, 1800. 59 pp. Octavo (4-1/2" x 8-3/4").
Stab-stitched pamphlet, deckle fore and bottom edges. Some wear to
corners, light browning and occasional foxing. A few annotations in
ink, “Reuben Atwater/ & Mark Richards-/ Commissioners/ of
Bankruptcy/ in the District of/ Vermont” to verso of p. 59 in bold
hand. Copy housed in quarter-calf box with period-style spine. A
well-preserved copy of a rare title. $5,000.
* Only edition. With forms. According to
the listings in Cohen, this is the first treatise on bankruptcy law
published in the United States. It was intended to assist lawyers in
their dealings with the first Federal bankruptcy act, which was
enacted in February 1800. Intended to encourage economic risk and
supersede the patchwork of debtor laws in force in the different
states, it was modeled on the bankruptcy law of the world’s leading
commercial power, Great Britain. Fields was a lawyer who practiced
in Boston. He describes his treatise as “a set of Precedents adapted
to the practice” for “the Gentlemen of the Profession and others who
may be concerned in prosecuting commissions” under the new act.
These are selected “chiefly from those now in use in England; but
where circumstances vary he has endeavored to form others, which it
is presumed will answer the purposes for which it is designed. (...)
A few Observations are interspersed with a view to facilitate a
regular mode of Practice, and it is expected the work will be of
some utility.”: Advertisement. OCLC locates 8 copies. Evans,
American Bibliography 37423. Cohen 2488. See illustration
below.
Highly Esteemed by Coke
and Blackstone
45. [Fitzherbert, Anthony
(1470-1538)]. [Rastell, William (?1508-1565)].
La Nouvelle Natura Breviu[m]
du Iudge Tresreuerende
Monsieur Anthony Fitzherbert, Denierement Renue &. Corrige per
Laucteur, Auecques un Table Perfecte des Choses Notables Contenus en
Ycell, Nouelment Compose per Guiliaulme Rastell, & Iammais per
Cydeuaunt Imprimee. London: In Aedibus Richardi
Tottelli, 1567. [xxxii], 271 fols. Octavo (4-1/2" x 6-1/2"). Recent
period-style calf, raised bands, endpapers renewed. Handsome woodcut
title page, signatures and markings in ink to title page, extensive
annotations and interesting marginalia in fine early court hand.
Minor worming to bottom margin. Small owner stamp to title page and
a few leaves. An appealing copy. $3,000.
* First published in 1534, the
Nouuelle Natura Brevium is a manual of procedure written by a
Judge of the Common Pleas during the reign of Henry VIII. Blackstone
considered it to be authoritative; Winfield notes that, “Coke put it
among the books which he considered most necessary and of greatest
authority and excellency.” Compiled from the earlier Natura
Brevia and the Registrum Brevium, it includes several
original observations on the form and function of writs. Rastell’s
revisions include the addition of a table. A popular work, it went
through numerous editions in Law French and English, the final
appearing in 1794. It remains significant to this day for its
descriptions of writs that were becoming obsolete in the early
sixteenth century. Pollard and Redgrave 10961.4. Beale,
Bibliography of English Law Books T347.
By an Important American
Admiralty Lawyer
46. Flanders, Henry [1824-1911].
A Treatise on Maritime Law.
Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1852. xvi, 444 pp. Octavo (5-1/2"
x 8-1/2"). Contemporary sheep, blind double rules to boards, raised
bands and lettering piece to spine. Some shipping to spine ends,
rubbing with some wear to joints and corners, rear joint and front
hinge starting. Offsetting to margins of endleaves, toning and light
browning to portions of text. Later armorial bookplate of William
Paine Sheffield to front pastedown, early owner signature to head of
title page, interior otherwise clean. $750.
* First and only edition. Distinguished
by its deep research, lucid exposition and elegant prose style, this
classic American treatise was an important authority during the
nineteenth century. Flanders was member of the New Hampshire bar who
specialized in maritime law. He moved to Philadelphia after the
publication of his treatise and practiced there for the rest of his
career. He was one of the most distinguished admiralty lawyers in
the country. Sheffield [1857-1919], a member of a important Rhode
Island family, was a U.S. Congressman and Senator. Cohen 1584.
47. Gleason, J.H.
The Justices of the Peace
in England 1558-1640: A Later Eirenarcha. Oxford: At
the Clarendon Press, 1969. xvi, 285 pp. Plates. Cloth very good in
lightly worn and soiled dust jacket with a few tiny stains. “4389”
in small hand to verso of title page, interior otherwise fine. $85.
* A study of justices of the peace based
on a study of nearly 1,300 justices who lived in Kent, Norfolk,
Northamptonshire, Somerset, Worcestershire and the North Riding of
Yorkshire.
48. Greenbaum, Edward S., and
L.I. Read.
The King’s Bench Masters and
English Interlocutory Practice. With an Introduction
by Herman Oliphant. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins Press, 1932. xxiv,
106 pp. Softbound, some shelfwear, light fading to spine, front
hinge starting, internally clean. $65.
* An introduction to the principles of
auxiliary administration that are used in typical procedures of the
English Supreme Court of Juridicature.
Magnificent 1554 Edition
of the Gregorian Decretals
49. Gregory IX, Pope
[1227-1241].
Decretales, Quibus Additae Suerunt Doctissimorum Virorum non Minus
Necessariae Quam Utiles Annotationes & Expositiones.
Lyons: Senneton Freres, 1554. [10] fols., 1804 columns, [4], 18
fols. Folio (11" x 16"). Contemporary paneled pigskin, raised bands,
brass clasps, front hinge cracked but secure, front free endpaper
just starting. Printed in red and black throughout, attractive
woodcut title page, frontispiece depicting the presentation of the
Decretals to Gregory, initials. Worming to boards, title page
and several leaves with negligible loss. Signature to title page in
small fine early hand, internally fresh. A very handsome volume.
$3,000.
* With rubrics, glossary, marginal
glosses, table and index. “Decretals are letters containing a papal
ruling, particularly one relating to canonical discipline, and most
precisely a papal prescript in response to an appeal...the
Decretals of Gregory IX are the first authentic general
collection of papal Decretals and constitutions, compiled by Raymond
of Penaforte at the request of Pope Gregory IX in 1230-34 and
promulgated in 1234. (...) It gave rise to a vast amount of
commentaries and literature” (Walker). Gregory’s Decretales
is one of the four works known collectively as the Corpus Juris
Canonici, a collection of papal decisions concerning
ecclesiastical hierarchy, procedure, the functions and duties of
clerks, marriage, and crime. This edition predates the
Reformation-inspired Correctores Romani (1580-1582), which was
definitive until the revision of 1917. Walker, The Oxford
Companion to Law 177-179. Adams, Catalogue of Books Printed
on the Continent of Europe 1501-1600 in Cambridge Libraries
1222. See illustration below.
50. Hall, Hubert [1857-1944].
The Antiquities and Curiosities of the Exchequer.
Illustrated by Ralph Nevill. Preface by Sir John Lubbock. London:
Elliot Stock, 1891. xiii, 230 pp. Illustrated. Octavo (5-1/2" x 8").
Quarter maroon gilt-stamped cloth over green cloth boards. Some
fading to spine and wear to joints and head and foot of spine.
Deckle edges. A nice copy. $150.
* First edition. A title in The
Camden Library Series that is valuable for its account of the
Domesday Book and other early public records. Hall explores the
ancient treasury of the kings of England, the design of their
budgets and how they assessed taxes. Contents: “The Ancient Treasury
of the Kings of England;” “Treasure and Records;” “The Exchequer
House;” “the Officers of the Exchequer;” “The Chess Game;”
“Exchequer Problems;” “The Making of the Budget.”
51. Harper, Robert Francis.
The Code of Hammurabi King
of Babylon. About 2250 B.C. Autographed Text, Transliteration,
Glossary, Index of Subjects, Lists of Proper Names, Signs, Numerals,
Corrections and Erasures with Map Frontispiece and Photograph of
Text. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1904.
xxviii, 194, ciii pp. Plates, folding map. Original cloth, top edge
gilt. Moderate shelfwear, front hinge cracked but secure, a few
splits to text block. Signature in pencil to front pastedown,
interior otherwise clean. Ex-library. Shelf label to foot of spine,
institution label to rear board. Stamp to front pastedown,
perforated stamp to title page. $95.
* Complete English translation of the
code with a running parallel transliteration of the original
ideograms, facsimiles of all of the original cuneiform tablets and
tables of weights and currencies. According to A Guide to
Historic Literature, this is the standard edition (132).
First Harvard Law School
Yearbook
52. [Harvard Law School].
Steadman, Charles W., ed.
Harvard Law School Year
Book. Volume I. Cambridge: [The Year Book Committee
of Phillips Brooks House Association of Harvard University], 1937.
396 pp. Original gilt-stamped red textured cloth, owner signature
and address to front pastedown, clean tear to leaf repaired with no
loss. $150.
* The first yearbook of Harvard Law
School, published for the class of 1937-1938. This volume, which
includes several statistical tables outlining student representation
by nation, state, region, hometown and undergraduate institution,
offers a fascinating glimpse of the law school and its institutional
character during the 1930s.
Important Collections of
Maxims Edited by Hening
53. Hening, William Waller [1767
or 8-1828], Editor. [Noy(e), William (1577-1634), Francis, Richard
(fl. 1719-1728), Branch, Thomas (d. 1753)].
Maxims in Law and Equity,
Comprising Noy’s Maxims, Francis’s Maxims, and Branch’s Principia
Legis et Aequitatis, With a Translation of the Latin Maxims, and
References to Modern Authorities Both British and American.
Richmond: Printed by T.W. White, 1824. xxii, [6], 175, [205]-219; 7,
[1], 156; viii, 9-168 pp. Three works in one, each with title page,
general title page lacking. The first two works have indexes. Octavo
(5-1/2" x 8-1/2"). Recent period-style calf, raised bands, lettering
piece, endpapers renewed. Clean tear to a leaf with no loss to text.
Light foxing and occasional light browning. Early annotations to
front endleaf, a few check marks in pencil, interior otherwise
clean. An attractive copy. $1,000.
* This volume contains three
distinguished collections of maxims by English jurists edited and
augmented by Hening. The individual works have different edition
statements. Noy: Second American, From the Ninth London; Francis:
First American; Branch: First American, From the Fourth London. In
addition to maxims, Branch’s collection includes a selection of
Latin words and phrases and legal terms. Francis deals exclusively
with equity. Hening was an important Virginia lawyer, legislator and
writer. His works include
The Statutes at Large; Being A Collection of all the Laws of
Virginia, From the First Session of the Legislature, in the Year
1619 and The Virginia Justice. OCLC locates 36
copies, 21 of this edition. Cohen 5391. See illustration below.
54.
Herty, Thomas, Editor.
A Digest of the Laws
of the United States of America. Being a Complete System, (Alphabetically
Arranged) of All the Public Acts of Congress Now in Force—From
the Commencement of the Federal Government, to the End of the
Third Session of the Fifth Congress, Which Terminated in March
1799, Inclusive.
[And]
A
Digest of the Laws of the United States of America...to the End
of the First Session of the Seventh Congress, Which Terminated
in May, 1802, Inclusive.
Baltimore: Printed for the
Editor, 1800-1802. Two volumes. iv, 9-562, 1; iv, 230 pp. Octavo (5"
x 8"). Recent period-style quarter calf over cloth, endpapers
renewed. Chips to fore-edges of a few leaves with no loss to text.
Light toning to text, occasional light foxing. Ex-institution
library. Small perforated stamp to each title page. A handsome set.
$2,250.
* Although Zepheniah Swift’s index to
the 1796 Folwell edition of The Laws of the United States is
sometimes cited, Herty’s was the first true digest of Federal laws.
According to an advertisement, he produced it to suit “the
circumstances and ease of the citizens of every denomination of
those States, having for its end, conciseness in substance,
simplicity in arrangement, and cheapness in the purchase thereof.”
Following the model of his earlier Digest of the Laws of Maryland
(1799), Herty arranged the main texts of all public laws
alphabetically under general heads with references to other heads as
they may have enlarged, abridged, or otherwise altered each other.
All entries contain references to The Laws of the United States.
Texts of the Constitution and the Articles of Confederation are also
included, as well as the texts of important treaties and a table of
duties. Both volumes have extensive indexes. A useful compendium,
this set is also a useful supplement to early Federal session laws.
Cohen, Bibliography of Early American Law 5654.
55. Hicks, Paul DeForest.
Joseph Henry Lumpkin:
Georgia’s First Chief Justice. Athens: University of
Georgia Press, [2002]. viii, 183 pp. Plates. Illustrations. Cloth in
dust jacket. Author inscription to half-title, otherwise fine. $20.
Framed and Glazed Holmes
Letter with Portrait Photograph
56. Holmes, Oliver Wendell Jr.
[1841-1935]. [Autograph
Letter, Signed
on Letterhead of the Supreme
Judicial Court of Massachusetts]. Glazed and matted
12" x 16" frame containing a 5" x 8" letter and a 6" x 8"
black-and-white portrait photograph of Holmes in judicial attire.
Very good condition. $1,500.
* The letter in a large hand is dated
November 14, 1894. It reads: “My Dear Sir/ I know no more than you
do about the piece/ in question. I think I/ heard at my father’s
club,/ Wednesday that they wished/ to include it in the volume/ of
his poems. Probably it would/ be easily accessible an inquiry./ Very
truly yours/ O.W. Holmes.” See front cover illustration.
One of the Masterpieces
of English Jurisprudence
57. Hooker, Richard [1553 or
4-1600]. Gauden, John [1605-1662], Editor. [Walton, Izaak
(1593-1683)].
The Works of That Learned and
Judicious Divine, Mr. Richard Hooker, in Eight Books of
Ecclesiastical Polity, Compleated Out of His Own Manuscripts. With
Several Other Treatises by the Same Author, and an Account of His
Life and Death. Dedicated to the King’s Most Excellent Majesty,
Charles II. By Whole Royal Father (Near His Martyrdom) the Former
Five Books (Then Only Extant) Were Commended to His Dear Children,
as an Excellent Means to Satisfie Private Scruples, and Settle the
Publick Peace of the Church and Kingdom. London:
Printed for Robert Scot, Thomas Basset, John Wright and Richard
Chiswel, 1682. [xiii], 553 (i.e. 593) pp. Frontispiece. Folio
(9-1/2" x 14"). Later period-style quarter calf with raised bands
and lettering piece over contemporary marbled boards, endpapers
renewed. Light rubbing to boards, some wear to board edges and
corners. Hinges repaired, some residue from glue showing. Early
armorial bookplate to front pastedown. Attractive copperplate
portrait frontispiece and facing pictorial title page in
architectural frame, main title page printed in red and black,
woodcut headpieces. Margins of preliminaries carefully repaired
along gutter, tiny hole to lower margin of frontispiece and title
page with minor loss, chip to foot of a leaf with no loss to text.
Early signatures to margins of preliminaries, light foxing and
inkspots to a few leaves, interior otherwise fresh. A handsome copy.
$600.
* Fourth edition. With a life of the
author by Walton. Parts 1 and 2, containing Books 1-4 and Book 5
were written between 1593-97, Books 6 and 8 were first published in
1648 and Book 7 in 1661. The Eight Books of Ecclesiastical Polity
is a reply to Presbyterian attacks on Episcopalian polity and
practices. In attempting to mediate in the rising dispute concerning
church ceremonial and church government, Hooker was led to consider
the authority and responsibility of the church in general and from
there to examine the nature of human as well as divine laws. The
result was one of the masterpieces of English jurisprudence, in fact
the first adequate presentation in the English language of the
abstract theory of the law. “This is the earliest statement of the
‘original contract’ as the basis of government, which has originated
in France and was to become a major issue in the political struggles
of the seventeenth century. Hooker’s theory formed the basis of
Locke’s Treatise of Civil Government and can thus be
considered the first statement of the principles behind the
Constitution of England.” Printing and the Mind of Man, 104.
Wing, Short-Title Catalogue of Books Printed in England,
Scotland, Ireland, Wales and British America H2633. See
illustration below.
58. Hudson, William [d. 1635].
A Treatise of the Court of Star Chamber As Taken from Collectanea
Juridica. Consisting of Tracts Relative to the Law and Constitution
of England, Volume the Second. London: E. and R.
Brooke, 1792. Reprint. Birmingham: Legal Classics Library, [1986].
xxiv, 239 pp. Calf, decorative gilt stamping, raised bands, all
edges gilt, marbled endpapers, ribbon marker. Bookplate to front
free endpaper, otherwise fine. $95.
* Reprint of the first edition. Edited
by Francis Hargrave with an introduction by Thomas G. Barnes. “This
publication is intended to supply, in some degree, a repository for
the preservation of such portions of scattered literature as relate
to [the English] Constitution and form of government, the theory and
practice of law....”: Marke 365.
59. Hunnisett, R.F.
The Medieval Coroner.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1961. xiii, 217 pp. Cloth
very good in moderately worn dust jacket. $95.
* In the thirteenth and early fourteenth
centuries, the coroner was concerned with many aspects of law and
local administration, and with some of the most dramatic episodes of
medieval life. This book, while primarily the study of a particular
office, illuminates a wide range of social and economic conditions
in medieval England and offers a substantial contribution to English
legal history.
60. Hurst, James Willard.
The Legitimacy of the
Business Corporation in the Law of the United States, 1780-1970.
Charlottesville: The University Press of Virginia, 1970. xiii, 191
pp. Reprinted 2004 by The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd. ISBN 1-58477-470-3.
Cloth. $95.
* This study, which is based on a series
of lectures delivered at the University of Virginia Law School,
explores the development of corporate law from the 1780s, a time
when the special charter was the only form of incorporation, to the
1960s, a time when corporations were established exclusively through
general incorporation statutes. More than a chronicle, Hurst
emphasizes how legal institutions actively shaped the central traits
of American capitalism. Hurst [1910-1997] revitalized the field of
American legal history with The Growth of American Law
(1950, available as a Lawbook Exchange reprint) and helped establish
the study of law and American society in Law and Social Process
in United States History (1960). He had a particular interest in
the ways society and law influenced one another.
Second Edition
of Jacob’s Dictionary
61. Jacob, Giles
[1686-1744].
A New Law-Dictionary:
Containing, The Interpretation and Definition of Words and Terms
Used in the Law; and Also the Whole Law, and the Practice Thereof,
Under All the Heads and Titles of the Same. Together With Such
Informations Relating Thereto, as Explain the History and Antiquity
of the Law, and Our Manners, Customs, and Original Government.
Collected and Abstracted From All Dictionaries, Abridgments,
Institutes, Reports, Year-Books, Charters, Registers, Chronicles,
and Histories, Published to This Time. And Fitted for the Use of
Barristers, Students, and Practisers of the Law, Members of
Parliament, and Other Gentlemen, Justices of Peace, Clergymen, &c.
With Large Additions. To Which is Annexed, a Table of References to
All the Arguments and Resolutions of the Lord Chief Justice Holt; In
the Several Volumes of the Reports. London: Printed
by E. and R. Nutt, and Richard Gosling, 1744. Unpaginated. Main text
printed in double columns. Folio (8-1/2" x 13-1/2"). Contemporary
calf, raised bands, lettering piece. Some rubbing with wear to board
edges, a few scuffs to boards, corners bumped and worn, some
chipping (and residue from cloth tape) to spine ends, boards loose
but holding. Front free endpaper detached. Early signature to front
pastedown, occasional light browning, interior otherwise fresh.
$1,200.
* Second
edition. As Cowley has pointed out, A New Law-Dictionary was
both Jacob’s masterpiece and “an entirely new departure in legal
literature” that provided a model for several subsequent efforts. In
contrast to earlier works, each entry summarizes all of the laws
relating to the subject and offers extensive interpretive
commentary. Obsolete terms are omitted. It was recognized almost
immediately that Jacob created a highly useful legal encyclopedia
that was more detailed and concise than any other abridgment of the
period. An extremely popular work that went through twelve editions
between 1729 and 1800, it offers unparalleled insights into
Anglo-American law during the eighteenth century. Cowley, A
Bibliography of Abridgements, Digests, Dictionaries and Indexes to
the Year 1800 xc-xci, 223. Catalogue of the Library of the
Harvard Law School (1909) I:1036. Sweet & Maxwell, A Legal
Bibliography of the British Commonwealth of Nations I:9 (33).
Interesting
Essay on Magna Charta
62. Johnson, [Reverend] Samuel
[1649-1743].
A History and Defence of Magna
Charta Shewing the Manner of Its Being Obtained from King John, With
Its Preservation and Final Establishment in the Succeeding Reigns;
With an Introductory Discourse, Containing a Short Account of the
Rise and Progress of National Freedom, From the Invasion of Caesar
to the Present Times. Also the Liberties Which are Confirmed by the
Bill of Rights, &c. To Which is Added, An Essay on Parliaments,
Describing Their Origin in England, and the Extraordinary Means by
Which They Have Been Lengthened from Half Yearly to Septennial Ones.
London: Printed for J. Bell, 1772. [ii], lxii, 284 pp. Octavo
(5-1/2" x 9"). Contemporary speckled calf, rebacked in period style
with raised bands and lettering piece. Light wear to board edges,
noticeable wear at corners, hinges reinforced. Later armorial
bookplate of William Paine Sheffield to front pastedown, attractive
woodcut head and tail-pieces. Light foxing and toning to a few
leaves, interior otherwise fresh. A nice copy. $650.
* Second edition. With an appendix
containing the articles on which the Magna Charta was framed and a
French copy of the charter from “the records of France.” Both texts
have English translations on facing pages. The Reverend Johnson was
the Rector of Corringham and a staunch churchman. First published in
1769, this book was influenced by a perceived erosion of liberties
over the past few years and England’s recent “unhappy disputes with
the Americans” (xxxix). It argues that the charter is an affirmation
of ancient laws rather than a reformation and traces the origins of
the Civil War to the unwillingness of Charles I to acknowledge the
legitimacy of the Petition of Rights presented by the House of
Commons on 1628. Johnson also discusses the Bill of Rights issued
after the Glorious Revolution and the Petition of the Freeholders
of Middlesex. Johnson was a pamphleteer who opposed the Stuarts
and supported William of Orange. Sheffield [1857-1919], a member of
a distinguished Rhode Island family, was a U.S. Congressman and
Senator. BMC 13:650. See illustration below.
With an Impressive Group
of Commentaries
63.
[Justinian (483-565 CE)]. (Accursius) Accorso, Francisco [c.1182-c.1260],
Jacques Cujas [1522-1590] and Denis Godefroy [1549-1622], Commentators.
Perrino, Egidio [fl. 1508-1533]. Institutionum
Sive Primorum Totius Iurisprudentiae Elementorum, Libri Quatuor.
Commentariis Acursii & Multorum Aliorum Doctorum Hominum Scholiis.
ut & Cuacii Selectis Observationibus Accesserunt Novae ad
Accursium Notae, Dionysii Gothofredi, in Quibus Summo Compendio
Additae Sunt Glossae Similes, Contrariae, Reprobatae: Obscuriores,
Definitionibus vel Divisionibus Explicatae: Quaque Sieri Licuit.
Oftensum, Quid in Dictione, Historia & Iure Exponendis ab
Accursio sit Admissum. Accessorit ad Voluminis Calcem. Ipsius
Iustiniani Imperatoris Vita, ex Variis Auctoribus Opera Aegidii
Perrini. Lyon: n.p., 1589. [xvi pp.], 564 columns.
[Bound
with]
Contius
(la Conte), Antonius [c.1525-1586], and Denis Godefroy, Commentators.
Rebuffo, Pierre [1487-1557].
Volumen Legum Peruum, Quod Vocant: In Quo Haec Insunt. Tres Posteriores
Libri Codicis D. Iustiniani. Authenticae Seu Novellae Constitutiones
Eiusdem Principis. Feudorum Libri Duo. Constitutiones Friderici
II. Imperatoris. Extravagantes duae Henrici VII. Imperatoris.
Tractatus de Pace Constantiae. Commentariis Antonii Contii Accesserunt
Notae ad Accursium Dionysii Gothofredi in Quibus Observatae Glossae
Similes, Contrariae, Improbatae: Obscuriores Definitionibus vel
Divisionibus Explicatae: Dictionis, Historiae & Iuris Admissa
Accursiana Subjecta. Lyon: n,p., 1589. [xii pp.],
324 columns; [x pp.], 640 columns; [20 pp.], 198 columns. Folio
(10-1/2" x 16"). Contemporary paneled pigskin with elaborate
blind tooling, raised bands and early hand lettered titles and
shelf number to spine, endpapers renewed. Moderate soiling and
a few scuffs, some wear to spine ends and corners. Title pages
with large woodcut printer devices printed in red and black, woodcut
head-pieces, tail-pieces and decorated initials. Minor wear to
edges of preliminaries and final leaves, occasional faint dampstaining,
negligible worming at end of text block. Two impressive Lyon imprints.
$5,000.
* With tables and indexes. These imprints
are notable for their commentaries. Accursius was the most important
Roman law scholar of the medieval era; the others were among the
leading legal scholars of the Renaissance. There are three levels
of commentary. The original glosses by Accursius, commentaries
on Accursius and original observations. The two volumes contain
the complete Institutes, the final three books of the Code,
which deal with administrative law, and a selection from the Novels
known as the Authenticorum. Though this claim is disputed
today, the Authenticorum is believed to be a body of laws
that were intended for Italy. These volumes also contain a life
of Justinian by Perrino, Rebuffo’s edition of the Consuetudines
Feudorum, a synopsis of the feudal system and its usages compiled
around 1170 by the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I (Barbarossa),
and the laws of two successors, Frederick II and Heinrich VIII.
The final section contains the series of decrees known as the
Peace of Constantine. Issued between 312 and 330, they formally
tolerated Christianity and marked the beginning of the institutional
Church. OCLC locates two similar copies. Not in Adams or the BMC.
See illustration below.
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