 |
First Edition of The
Comic Blackstone
in a Lovely Zaehnsdorf Binding
17.
A’Beckett, Gilbert Abbott [1811-1856]. Cruikshank, George [1797-1878],
Illustrator. The
Comic Blackstone: Part I—Of the Rights of Persons. London:
Published at the Punch Office, 1844. viii, 92 pp. Fronstispiece.
Illustrations.
[And]
The Comic
Blackstone: [Part II—Real Property, Part III-Private Wrongs, Part
IV-Of Public Wrongs and Their Remedies].
London: Published at the Punch Office, 1846. xii, [93]-252 pp.
Frontispiece. Illustrations. Two
volumes bound as one. Octavo (4" x 6-1/2"). Original pictorial
wrappers bound into near-contemporary Zaehnsdorf binding with
three-quarter morocco over decorated paper boards, gilt spine with
raised bands, gilt top-edge and marbled endpapers. Light wear to
board edges and spine ends, early armorial bookplate to front
pastedown. Illustrated with woodcuts by Cruikshank. Light soiling to
original wrappers, faint small early signature to head of first
title page. An attractive copy with the uncommon first edition of
Part II. $500.
* First edition of each part. The classic parody of the
Commentaries, it went through numerous English and American
editions. Cruikshank was the leading English illustrator and
caricaturist of his day. He is best known for work for William Hone
and Charles Dickens. “A’Beckett was a barrister at Gray’s Inn;
according to a contemporary reviewer in the London Times, ‘Few could
have travestied so well the real Blackstone, following it literally
step by step.’”: Eller, The William Blackstone Collection at Yale
Law School 185. See illustration below.  
18.
Abel-Smith, Brian,
and Robert Stevens. Lawyers and the Courts: A
Sociological Study of the English Legal System 1750-1965.
Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1967. xiv, 504 pp. Cloth very
good in lightly worn dust jacket. $45.
19.
Adams, John [1735-1826], and Thomas Jefferson [1743-1826]. Wilstach,
Paul, Editor.
Correspondence of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, 1812-1826.
Indianapolis: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, [1925]. 196 pp. Plates.
Original cloth, paper title labels to front board and spine, library
shelf label to front pastedown, bookseller ticket to front free
endpaper, internally clean. $25.
Curious Promotional Item
20.
[Advertisement]. Bishop, George H., Composer.
Pleading and Practice Grand March. 2 Step. Compliments of the
Edward Thompson Company, Northport
Long
Island, N.Y.
[Northport: Edward Thompson Company, 1896]. 4 leaves of sheet music
in double staves (for piano) bound in color lithographed pictorial
wrappers. White portions toned, colors vibrant. Lower corner of
front cover lacking with some loss to image, lower corner lacking
from following leaf with no loss, some chipping and minor tears
around edges, some repaired with cellotape. Spine starting at ends
but secure, small stain to rear cover. Some piano fingerings in
pencil added to the first 16 measures, interior otherwise clean. A
curious item. $250.
* The rear cover reads: “Don’t Worry About Your Procedure But Use ‘Encyclopaedia
of Pleading and Practice.’” Conceived for performance on the
parlor piano, this march in the fashion of the day was distributed
to potential purchasers of The Encyclopedia of Pleading and
Practice, Under the Codes of Practice Acts at Common Law, in Equity
and In Criminal Cases by William Mark McKinney [1865-1955],
which was published by the Edward Thompson Company in 23 volumes
from 1895 to 1902. The front cover depicts a grand parade in honor
of the encyclopedia. Flanked by a brass band, human-sized copies of
the first two volumes are riding at the head in an elegant carriage
with a driver in livery and two fine horses. They are followed by a
column of motley books (with arms, legs and heads) titled Criminal
Law, Law of Torts, Law of Contracts and Law of Evidence that is
marching under the banner “Old Style Text Books.”
Unique Nineteenth-Century
Autograph Album,
A Precursor to the Law
School Yearbook
21.
[Albany Law School].
[Autograph Album Compiled Between 1869-1874]. Unpaginated
(100 leaves, most with 1-1/4" x 1" paper-print photographs and
content on both sides, 9 leaves blank). Oblong octavo (5" x 7-3/4").
Morocco with decorative blind and gilt stamping, inside gilt
dentelles, all edges gilt, rebacked, hinges reinforced. Some wear to
edges and corners, internally clean and bright. $1,000.
* A unique collection of autographs and small oval portrait
photographs compiled by an anonymous student at Albany Law School
between 1868 and 1869. With few exceptions, each signer included a
moral or religious aphorism and listed his class year, hometown and
political and religious affiliations. This group was mostly
Republican and Protestant, but there are a few interesting
exceptions. A man from Brooklyn described himself as an “infidel”
and “Tammany Hall Democrat”; a Vermonter was proud to be a “Green
Mountain Radical.” Many of these individuals went on to have notable
legal and political careers (for the most part in upstate New York).
Other
entries, mostly by women, were added after the owner left law
school. Containing moral and religious themes, they were compiled
between 1872 and 1875 and do not have photographs. In one regard,
this album offers a fascinating glimpse of a student’s experience at
Albany Law School in the late 1860s. On a broader level, its
combination of images, personal information and aphorisms
foreshadows the yearbooks that would become common at law schools
during the twentieth century. See illustration below.
22.
Ambler, Charles Henry.
Thomas Ritchie: A Study in Virginia Politics. Richmond: Bell
Book & Stationary Co., 1913. [viii], [9]-303, xvi pp. Plates.
Frontispiece with tissue overlay. Original cloth, light shelfwear,
internally clean. $65.
* Ritchie [1778-1854], the editor of the Richmond Enquirer,
was a highly influential Democratic Party spokesman and political
king-maker.
23.
Americano, Jorge.
The New Foundation of International Law. New York: The
Macmillan Company, 1947. xvi, 137 pp. Original cloth, some shelfwear
with fraying to spine ends, internally clean. Ex-institution
library. Embossed insignia to boards, bookplate to front pastedown,
inkstamps to endleaves. $20.
* First edition. “This book may be described as a hornbook of the
principles of international law espoused by the advocates of a world
state.”: Harvard Law Review 61: 1095-1096.
First Edition of the Most
Famous Collection of Scots Trials
24.
Arnot, Hugo [1749-1786].
A Collection and Abridgement of Celebrated Criminal Trials In
Scotland,
From A.D. 1536, to 1784. With Historical and Critical Remarks.
Edinburgh: Printed for the Author; by William Smellie, 1785. xxiii,
400 pp. Quarto (8" x 10-1/2"). Recent period-style quarter calf over
cloth, raised bands and lettering piece to spine, untrimmed edges,
bookplate of Robert Maxtone Graham to front free endpaper. Tears to
two leaves repaired, clean tear to another. Light foxing to
preliminaries and index leaves, interior otherwise fresh. An
appealing copy. $650.
* First edition. According to Walker, Arnot’s work contains the only
accounts of many trials otherwise unknown. Contents include chapters
on treason, murder, piracy, forgery, incest, adultery, blasphemy,
witchcraft and crimes against religion and the state among others.
With a twelve-page list of over 800 subscribers that includes the
Prince of Wales, Adam Smith, Thomas Erskine, Lord Chancellor Thurlow
and many other luminaries. Robert Maxtone Graham was a notable
Scottish book collector. Walker, The
Oxford Companion to Law
79. Catalogue of the Library of the
Harvard Law School
(1909) (HLC) II:987.
See
illustration below.
“Mr. Atlay’s Book Will
Appeal to Many Readers”
25.
Atlay, J.B.
The Victorian Chancellors. London: Smith, Elder, & Co.,
1906-1908. Two volumes. Portrait frontispieces. Plates. Original
cloth, deckle top and fore-edges. Moderate rubbing, extremities
bumped and lightly worn, fading to spines, a few cracks to text
blocks. Owner signatures, stamps and notes in pencil to endleaves,
interiors otherwise clean. A solid set. $125.
*First edition. “Mr. Atlay’s book will appeal to many readers. It
will appeal to the student of history and political science, for
those who have sat upon the Woolsack have left their impress on
legislation and upon the development of constitutional government in
England; it will appeal to the lover of biography, because it is an
excellent example of that branch of literature, and deals with the
careers of interesting and noted men; and it will appeal to lawyers,
American as well as English, for they will be glad to read the lives
of the men whose labors and decisions have done much to mold the
development of equity.”: S.H.E.F., Harvard Law Review 20
(1906-1907) 249.
Uncommon Commercial Law
Dictionary by Azuni
26.
Azuni, D[omenico] A[lberto]. [1749-1827].
Dizionario Universale Ragionato Della Giurisprudenza Mercantile.
Livorno: Dai Torchi di Glauco Masi, 1822-1823. Four volumes. Quarto
(7-3/4" x 9-1/2"). Contemprary three-quarter morocco over marbled
boards, gilt titles, fillets and volume numbers to spines. Moderate
rubbing with wear to spine ends, board edges and corners, a few
chips, scuffs and minor peeling to boards, front hinge of Volume I
cracked but secure. Copperplate portrait frontispiece to Volume I,
small woodcut devices to title pages. A few minor tears, corner
lacking from a leaf with no loss to text. Light toning, occasional
light foxing and browning. Early owner signatures to title pages,
interiors otherwise clean. A nice set. $2,750.
* Second edition. An authority on mercantile law, Azuni was an
Italian jurist and a writer who later became a French citizen,
president of the appeal court at Genoa and judge of the Commercial
Court at Cagliari. He is best-known for his Maritime Law of
Europe (1806), which was a standard authority in the United
States. Adapted in part from Baldasseroni’s Dizionario
(1807), it is more an encyclopedia or essay collection than a
dictionary. Both synthetic and critical, it refers often to the
leading treatises of commercial law. Marvin found it useful because
it “contains the results of many authors, not readily accessible.”
Useful for its definitions, it is equally interesting because it has
detailed criticism of the literature by a contemporary expert. The
first edition was published in 1786-1788; the final edition, the
fifth, was issued in 1844. KVK locates 4 copies of this edition, 18
of all editions. Marvin, Legal Bibliography (1847) 81-82.
See illustration below.
Barton on Equity
27.
Barton, Charles [1768-1843]. Holcombe, James P. [1820-1873], Editor.
Barton’s History of a Suit in Equity, From Its Commencement to
Its Final Termination. Revised and Enlarged, With Forms of Bills,
Answers, Pleas, Demurrers and Decrees. With an Appendix, Containing
the Rules of Practice for the Courts of Equity of the
United
States, Revised to Date, and the Ordinances of Lord Bacon
Cincinnati: Robert Clarke & Co., 1870. 244 pp. Octavo (6" x 9").
Recent period-style quarter-calf over cloth, endpaper renewed. Some
offsetting to margins of preliminaries and final few leaves,
interior otherwise fresh. $450.
* Later edition. A reissue of the 1796 London edition entitled
Historical Treatise of a Suit in Equity, it was first published
in the United States in 1847, where it was well-received. “[T]he
editor has taken several liberties with the original work. All the
matters relating to the Court of Exchequer...have been omitted. The
notes of Mr. Barton have, for the most part, been incorporated with
the text, and the latter has been enlarged by the addition of a
variety of new matter, particularly on the subject of Bills,
Demurrers, Pleas, Answers and Decrees. Numerous forms of pleadings
have been inserted in their appropriate place, borrowed,
principally, from the best English and American treatises.” Preface.
Marke, A Catalogue of the Law Collection at
New York University
(1953) 520.
28.
Biddle, Nicholas [1786-1844]. McGrane, Reginald C., Editor.
The Correspondence of Nicholas Biddle Dealing with National
Affairs, 1807-1844. Boston: Houghton Mifflin company, 1919.
xxix, 366 pp. Plates. Original cloth, gilt titles to front board and
spine, top edge gilt, deckle fore-edge. “Library of Charles A.
Beard/MS in this vol removed/ his marks” in ink to front free
endpaper in later hand, occasional check marks and underlining in
pencil to text, light foxing to few leaves. $20.
* Best known as the president of the Bank of the United States,
Biddle was one of the most important figures in American government
during the first decades of the nineteenth century. Correspondents
in this collection include James Monroe, Henry Clay, Daniel Webster,
John C. Calhoun, Horace Binney and Edward Livingston. The annotation
on the front free endpaper claims this book was owned by Charles A.
Beard [1874-1948], the important American historian and author of
An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution of the United States.
Black’s Law Dictionary,
Sixth Edition
29.
[Black, Henry Campbell].
Black’s Law Dictionary: Definitions of the Terms and Phrases of
American and English Jurisprudence, Ancient and Modern. Sixth
Edition by the Publisher’s Editorial Staff. Joseph R. Nolan and
Jacqueline M. Nolan-Haley, Co-Authors. M.J. Connolly, Stephen C.
Hicks and Martina N. Alibrandi, Contributing Authors. St. Paul:
West Publishing Co.,
1990. xiv, 1,657 pp. Original gilt-stamped cloth, light shelfwear,
corners bumped. A few minor smudges to front endpapers,
interior otherwise clean. $95.
Black’s Law Dictionary,
Revised Fourth Edition
30.
Black, Henry Campbell.
Black’s Law Dictionary: Definitions of the Terms and Phrases of
American and English Jurisprudence, Ancient and Modern. Revised
Fourth Edition by the Publisher’s Editorial Staff. St. Paul: West
Publishing Co., 1968. xi, 1882 pp. Original gilt-stamped cloth, some
shelfwear, internally clean. $125.
* With a table of British Regnal Years and an index of abbreviations
used by the profession.
Handsome Seventh Edition
of Blackstone
31.
Blackstone, Sir William [1723-1780].
Commentaries on the Laws of England. In Four Books.
Oxford: At the Clarendon Press, 1775. Four volumes. Octavo (5" x
8"). Copperplate portrait frontispiece, two tables (one folded) of
descents and consanguinity. Contemporary calf, rebacked in period
style retaining original lettering pieces. Negligible scuffs and
minor stains to boards, some offsetting to margins of endleaves.
Some marginal worming in volumes three and four, not affecting text.
Light toning, interior otherwise fresh. A handsome set. $1,500.
* Seventh edition. First published in four quarto volumes from 1765
to 1769, this work is unequaled in terms of structure and analysis
and literary style. The best historical account of English law, and
the first to treat English law as a coherent system, it is probably
the most influential study of the common law ever written. Eller 11.
See illustration below.
32.
Borden, Morton.
The Federalism of James A. Bayard. New York: Columbia
University Press, 1955. 256 pp. Original cloth, some shelfwear,
internally clean. $35.
* Bayard [1796-1815] was a prominent attorney and political figure
in Delaware. A congressman and senator, he served on the commission
that negotiated the Treaty of Ghent (1814).
Final and Best Edition
of Brisson’s Legal Dictionary
33.
Brissonius, Barnabus (Brisson, Barnabae) [1531-1591]. [Heineccius,
Johann Gottlieb (1681-1741), Editor]. [Bohmer, Justus Henning
(1674-1749)].
De Verborum Quae ad Ius Civile Pertinent Significatione Opus
Praestantissimum in Meliorem Commodioremque Ordinem Redactum
Innumeris Mendis Emaculatum et Post Aliorum Curas Plurimus
Accessionibus, Observationibusque Philologicus, Criticus, Iuridicus
Locupletatum. Prodit Opera Studioque J.G. Heinecci. Praemissa
Praefatione Nova de Interpretationis Grammaticae In Iure Civili
Fatis et Vario usu Nec Huius Novae Edditionis Praerogativis Iusti
Henningii Bohmeri. Halle: Impensis Orphanotrophei, 1743. [xi],
48, 760; 761-1436 pp. Two books in one. Copperplate pictorial title
page lacking. Second work preceded by half-title. Folio (8-1/2" x
13-3/4"). Contemporary calf, gilt fleurons to corners of boards,
raised bands and gilt ornaments to spine, lettering piece lacking.
Rubbing with some wear to joints, board edges and foot of spine,
chip to head of spine with about 2" of loss, corners bumped, a few
scratches and scuffs to boards. Partial crack between front endleaf
and half-title, that endleaf partially detached but secure. Main
title page printed in red and black, attractive woodcut head and
tail-pieces. Light toning to portions of text, occasional light
foxing and faint dampstaining. A solid copy. $1,000.
*
Final and best edition. Brisson was a renowned French jurist and
philologist. Widely respected, he was appointed president of the
Parliament of Paris in 1588. In 1591, however, he was hanged by
The Sixteen, a group of insurgents who captured Paris in a bizarre
coup. First published in 1557, Brisson’s Verborum was the
standard legal dictionary of its day, and it remained an authoritative
source for hundreds of years. The definitions are preceded by
a useful digest of Roman and French laws and interesting sections
on marriage, adultery and the feudal system. Edited and corrected
by Johann Gottlieb Heineccius, an important German jurist and
scholar at Halle, this edition is much larger than its predecessors.
It includes more notes and entries and a section on the interpretation
of Latin grammar by Bohmer, the director of the Halle Royal Academy.
Walker 153. Brunet, Manuel du Libraire et de L’Amateur de Livres
I:1262. See illustration
below.
Color Plates Reproduced
From
Originals in Vanity
Fair
34.
[British Judges]. Spy, Pseudonym of Sir Leslie Ward (1851-1922),
Illustrator.
The Book of the Bench: With Thirty-Nine Reproductions in Color by
“Spy” and Other Cartoonists. London: James Mackenzie Limited,
[1909]. Unpaginated. 39 tipped-in color portrait plates on heavy
stock, the text printed on heavy stock as well. Quarto (8-3/4" x
11"). Original vellum, gilt titles and ornaments to spine and front
board, top edge gilt. Light soiling and some faint spotting, light
wear to extremities, boards slightly bowed. Light foxing, plates not
affected. $750.
* First edition. A marvelous collection of color portrait plates
reproduced from Sir Leslie Ward’s originals from Vanity Fair.
Each plate is accompanied by a short biography of the subject.
Deluxe Folio Edition
35.
[British Judges]. Spy, Pseudonym of Sir Leslie Ward, Illustrator.
The Book of the Bench: With Thirty-Nine Reproductions in Color by
“Spy” and Other Cartoonists. London: James Mackenzie Limited,
[1909]. Unpaginated. 39 tipped-in color portrait plates on heavy
stock, the text printed on heavy stock as well. Folio (10" x 13").
Original vellum, gilt titles and ornaments to spine and front board,
top edge gilt, deckle fore and bottom edges. Light soiling and some
patches of discoloration, light wear to extremities, boards slightly
bowed, front joint just starting at head, clasp lacking. Light
browning to endleaves, a few finger smudges to text, interior
otherwise clean. $1,000.
*
From an edition limited to 175 copies numbered from 26 to 200,
this number 79. This is a deluxe folio edition; the trade edition
is 8-1/2" x 11" quarto. See illustration below.
Guidance For the Novice
Clerk
36.
Brown, William [fl c.1680].
The Entring [Entering] Clerk’s Vade Mecum: Being an
Exact Collection of Precedents for Declarations and Pleadings in
Most Actions: Especially Such as Are Brought For, Or Against Heirs,
Executors, or Administrators: Executrices, Administratrices, and
Their Husbands in Personal Actions. With Variety of Actions Upon
Bills of Exchange, Pollicies of Assurance, &c. And Such Process and
Parts of Pleading as Relate Thereunto. Being Very Practicable and
Useful to All Entring Clerks and Attornies in His Majesties Courts
of Kings-Bench and Common-Pleas. As Also to the Attornies and
Practicers of Every
Inferiour
Court and County-Juridicature. A Work More Useful Than Any Hitherto
Extant.
London: Printed by G. Sawbridge [et al.] for W. Jacob and C. Smith,
1678. [vii], [lxvi], 575 pp. Table bound before text instead of
after, as is the case in most copies. Octavo (4-1/2" x 7").
Contemporary calf, rebacked in period style with raised bands,
endpapers renewed. Some rubbing to boards with wear to corners.
“Brown’s Precedents” lettered in early hand to fore-edge. Light
browning to edges of text block, minor chips and tiny tears to a few
leaves. Early owner signature to front endleaf, interior otherwise
clean. $750.
* First edition. Brown was Clerk of the Court of Common Pleas and
the author of several pleading manuals. Sweet & Maxwell, A Legal
Bibliography of the
British Commonwealth
1:264(29). See illustration below.
Important Seventeenth-Century
Commentary on the Digest
37.
Brunnemann, Johannes [1608-1672]. [Stryk, Samuel (1640-1710),
Editor].
Commentarius in Quinquaginta Libros Pandectarum opus
Theoretico-Practicum ab Ipso Autore Recognitum Legum Plurimarum, in
Piori Editione Omissarum Interpretatione Adauctum Inserto Ninc Inde,
Quid de Jure Communi Novissimo Saxonico et Marchico Aliisque
Provincialibus Juribus Obtineat Autore Vivis Erepto, Ejus Mandato
Olim Publici Juris Factum a Samuele Strykio, Accessit ex Ejusdem
Autoris Commentario as Codicem Notabilium, Quae Circa Leges Affines
Inibi Commentatus Est, Continua Allegatio. Editio Novissima, Multis
Antehac Omissis Locupletata. Wittenberg: Apud B. Godofr.
Zimmermanni, 1731.[xvi], 1404, [120] pp. Text printed in double
columns. Folio (8-3/4" x 14"). Contemporary three-quarter calf over
marbled boards, gilt fillets and colored title panels to spine,
rouged edges, marbled endpapers. Moderate rubbing with some wear to
board edges, spine ends and corners. Title page with large
copperplate vignette printed in red and black followed by second
copperplate pictorial title page, woodcut decorated initials to main
text. Clean tear to a leaf with no loss to text. Light foxing and
browning to a few sections of text, interior otherwise fresh. A very
nice copy. $750.
* Later edition. First published in 1670, this was the most
extensive and systematic commentary on the fifty books of the
Digest published during the seventeenth century. Its value was
recognized almost immediately throughout Europe and it went through
several editions, the final edition appearing in 1762. Later
editions, such as this one, were edited by his son-in-law, the
important German jurist Samuel Stryk, who added additional
commentary. Intended for legal scholars and jurists, the Digest
(or Pandects)is a synthetic collection of passages compiled
from the treatises of eminent classical Roman jurists organized by
topic. Commissioned by the Emperor Justinian in 530 CE, it went on
to become part of the group of writings known collectively as the
Corpus Juris Civilis. Its significance to the development of
European law is immeasurable. KVK locates 8 copies of this edition,
77 of all editions. This edition not in the British Museum
Catalogue (BMC).
Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB) 3:445-446. See illustration below.
First Edition of a Classic
of International Law
38.
Bynkershoek, Cornelius van [1673-1743].
Quaestionum Juris Publici, Libri Duo, Quorum Primus Est de Rebus
Bellicis, Secundus de Rebus Varii Argumenti. Leiden: J.V.
Kerckhem, 1737. [xxiv], 384, [31] pp. Quarto (6" x 7-3/4").
Contemporary vellum, gilt and hand-colored title panel to spine,
speckled edges. Light soiling and a few minor stains, minor wear to
corners, front joint just starting at head. Title page with
attractive copperplate allegorical vignette printed in red and
black, woodcut head-pieces tail-pieces and decorated initials. A few
tiny inkspots to front free endpaper. Light toning to text, light
browning to outer margins of some leaves, negligible faint foxing to
portions of text. An appealing copy. $750.
*
First edition. One of the most important jurists and international
lawyers of his time, Bynkershoek was a Dutch jurist who founded
the positive school of international law, which held that usage
and practice were more important than deductions drawn from natural
law. He was also the first to propose the “three-mile limit” rule,
which states that a nation may claim sovereignty over territorial
waters to a distance of three miles from shore. Respected during
his lifetime, his works are still consulted today. He wrote several
important treatises on international law, including De Dominio
Maris (1702), De Foro Legatorum (1720) and the present
work, which considers questions dealing with international law.
“De Rebus Bellicus,” its most important chapter, addresses the
customs of war on land and on sea. Notably humane, it condemns
actions against civilians and advocates the fair treatment of
prisoners of war. Beginning with Lord Mansfield, scholars have
considered this to be Bynkershoek’s greatest work. It was reissued
in 1930 as a title in the Carnegie Classics of International Law
series. Walker 163. Dekkers, Bibliotheca Belgica Juridica
16. See illustration
below.
The “One Indispensable
Book” on
Medieval Political Theory
39.
Carlyle, Sir R[obert] W. and Carlyle.
A History of Mediaeval Political Theory in the West.
Edinburgh: William Blackwood & Sons, Ltd., 1970. Six volumes. Cloth,
blackstamped titles to spines. Fine. $295.
* Reissue of a work first published by Blackwood from 1903-1936. It
is notable for its emphasis on the influence of jurists and legal
institutions on the development of political theory. “[This book]
has long ago taken its place as the one indispensable book on the
subject; a product of English learning that can hardly be
superseded.”: H.J.R., Law Quarterly Review 40:499-500 cited
in Marke 934. See illustration below.
Important
Treatise by the
Founder of German Jurisprudence
40.
Carpzovio, Benedicto (Karpzov, Benedikt) [1595-1666].
Jurisprudentia Forensis Romano-Saxonica, Secundum Ordinem
Constitutionum D. Augusti Electoris Saxon. in Part. IV. Divisa.
Rerum et Quaestionum in Foro, Praesertim Saxonico, ut Plurimum
Occurrentium et in Dicasterio Septem-Virali Saxonico Celeberrimo,
Quod Vulgo Scabinatum Lipsiensem Appellitant, Ex Jure Civili,
Romano, Imperiali, Canonico, Saxonico & Provinciali Tractatarum ac
Decisarum. Definitio Nes judiciales succinctas et Nervosas, Plactisq
& Sententiis Dominorum Scabinorum Corroboratas Exhibens. Opus
Integrum, Omnibusque Jurisprudentiae Practicae ac Observantiae
Forensis Sectatoribus, Praecipue Pragmaticis Utilissimum & Maxime
Necessarium. Cum Duplici Indice Tam Constitutionum Atq.
Definitionum Generali, Quam Rerum & Verborum Speciali ac Perfecto.
Leipzig: Sumptibus ac Literis Timothei Ritzschii, 1656. [xc], 1492,
[142] pp. Folio (8" x 13-1/2"). Contemporary vellum, blind double
frames to boards, backstrip lacking, cords secure. Moderate soiling
and rubbing with some wear to extremities, front free endpaper
lacking. Main title page with woodcut printed device in red and
black preceded by copperplate pictorial title page with elaborate
vignettes. Copperplate portrait frontispiece misbound after preface.
Minor wear to edges of preliminaries and final leaves of text block.
Foxed, occasional light dampstaining. A solid copy of an uncommon
title. $1,500.
* Later edition. With indexes. Text in Latin and German printed in
parallel columns. 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, especially criminal law, and his
work helped to secure European recognition of German law and custom.
Jurisprudentia Forensis Romana-Saxonico, one of his most
important books, is a comprehensive study of Saxon law that compares
it to the major European legal systems and Roman law. He
demonstrates the sophistication of Saxon law by outlining its
affinity with the other systems and points out instances in which
Saxon law is improves upon them. First published in 1638, it went
through several editions and reissued into the eighteenth century.
KVK locates 3 copies of this edition, 39 of all editions.
BMC
5:26. See illustration below.
The Major Spanish Code
of the Thirteenth Century
41.
[Castile]. Lopez, Gregorio, [1496 or 7-1560], Editor and Glossator.
Las Siete Partidas Del Sabio Rey Don Alonso el Nono Nuevamente
Glosados por el Licenciado Gregorio Lopez. Con su Repertorio Muy
Copioso, Assi del Testo
Como de
la Glossa.
Madrid: Se Venden en Casa de Iuan Hasrey, 1610-1611. Nine volumes
bound as five books. Complete. Text in double columns surrounded by
linear glosses. Folio (10-3/4" x 15-1/2"). Contemporary vellum with
lapped edges, blind rules to boards, hand-lettered titles and volume
numbers to spines. Moderate soiling, dampspotting and rubbing, spine
ends and corners bumped and lightly worn, vellum beginning to crack
through a few pastedowns, later owner bookplates to front
pastedowns. Large woodcut arms of the Spanish Crown to title pages,
woodcut decorated initials, handsome woodcut tables of consanguinity
and affinity with architectural borders (in the fourth Partida).
Occasional light foxing, browning and faint dampstaining, balance of
text is fresh. Later annotations and tipped in notes to front
endleaves of first book, interior otherwise clean. An appealing copy
of an uncommon edition. $6,000.
* With index. The major law code of thirteenth-century Spain, the
Libro de las Leyes, better known as Las Siete Partidas or
Seven Divisions, provides unparalleled insight into the social,
intellectual, and cultural history of medieval Spain. It was
compiled between 1256 and 1265 by King Alfonso X and first printed
in 1491. The first edition edited and glossed by Lopez, a jurist
educated at the University of Salamanca, was published in 1555.
Based on the municipal charters and customs of Castile and Leon,
canon law and Roman law and its commentators, its seven parts deal
with religious matters, powers and duties of administrators, legal
justice, marriage, contracts, wills and crime and punishment. It was
intended to be a common law for all of Alfonso’s possessions, but
its authority was resisted by local authorities. It went on to
become a university textbook and a reference. In 1348 it was made
obligatory in all matters that did not conflict with local laws. Its
influence grew over the next 200 years, especially in areas like
commercial law and contracts. Brought to the New World by Spanish
Colonists, it went on to become a part of the law of Mexico and most
of central and South America. It also influenced the legal systems
of the U.S. States that were formerly Spanish possessions. KVK
locates 7 copies of this edition.
BMC
5:155. See illustration below.
42.
Clarkson, Paul S., and R. Samuel Jett.
Luther Martin of
Maryland.
Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press [1970]. ix, 336 pp. Cloth very good
in lightly worn dust jacket. $10.
* Standard biography of the important Maryland jurist and statesman.
Uncommon English Dictionary
with Many Legal Terms
43.
Coles, Elisha [c. 1640-1680].
An English Dictionary: Explaining the Difficult Terms That are
Used in Divinity, Husbandry, Physick, Philosophy, Law, Navigation,
Mathematicks, and Other Arts and Sciences. Containing Many Thousands
of Hard Words, And Proper Names of Places, More Than Are in Any
Other English Dictionary, or Expositor. Together with the
Etymological Derivation of Them from Their Proper Fountains, Whether
Hebrew, Greek, Latin, French, or Any Other Language. Newly
Corrected, And much Improved. London: Printed for J. Walthoe, R.
Wilkin [et al.], 1732. Unpaginated. Main text printed in triple
columns. Octavo (4-1/2" x 7"). Recent period-style quarter calf over
cloth, raised bands and lettering piece to spine, endpapers renewed.
Minor wear to fore-edges of a few leaves, corner lacking from final
leaf with no minor loss to text. Light browning and some offsetting
to margins to leaves at end of text, light toning throughout,
interior otherwise fresh. $500.
* Final edition. Containing more than 25,000 definitions, many of
them dealing with legal topics, this was the largest dictionary of
its day. An innovative work first published in 1676, it was the
first to recognize the importance of slang. In addition, Coles
offers lists of dialect and obsolete terms. He also includes the
names of market towns and European cities and discusses the proper
names and histories of classical figures. OCLC locates four copies
of this edition.
BMC
5:1166.
One of America’s “Great
Textbooks” on Bankruptcy
44.
Collier, William Miller.
The Law of Bankruptcy and the National Bankruptcy Act of 1898. A
Treatise of the Principles and Practice of the Law of Bankruptcy as
Embodied in the New National Bankruptcy Act. With Citations to All
Applicable Cases Decided Under the Former United States Bankruptcy
Acts, Many English Decisions, and Extended Notes and Comments Upon
the New Statutory Provisions, and Containing the Official Rules,
Forms and General Orders in Bankruptcy, as Prescribed by the Supreme
Court of the United States, Cross-Referenced, Annotated and Indexed;
And Also the Rules in Equity of the United States Courts; And Also a
List of the Judges and Clerks of the Courts of Bankruptcy.
Albany: Matthew Bender, 1899. xxx, 695 pp. Octavo (6" x 9").
Original law calf, blind frames to boards, raised bands, owner label
and red and black lettering pieces to spine, recased, hinges mended.
Moderate rubbing with some wear to spine and extremities, a few
scuffs and dampspotting to boards. Small bookseller stamp to front
pastedown, offsetting to margins of endleaves, text clean and
fresh. $750.
* Second enlarged edition of perhaps the most authoritative and
comprehensive treatise on the subject. Vanderbilt considers this
book to be one of America’s “great textbooks” in which the “history
of American law might well be traced.” Now in its revised fifteenth
edition, Collier on Bankruptcy remains a highly-respected
standard authority. Vanderbilt, Men and Measures in the Law
21 cited in Marke 442.
45.
Collier, Wm. Miller.
The Law of Bankruptcy and the National Bankruptcy Act of 1898. A
Treatise of the Principles and Practice of the Law of Bankruptcy as
Embodies in the New National Bankruptcy Act. Albany, N.Y.:
Matthew Bender, 1899. xxx, 695 pp. Reprinted 2003 by The Lawbook
Exchange, Ltd. ISBN 1-58477-296-4. Cloth. $110.
* Reprint of the second enlarged edition
First Dutch Edition of
Important Maritime Code
46.
[Consolato Del Mare]. [Vinnen (Vinnius), Arnold (1588-1657), Notes].
Il
Consolato del Mare, Nel Quale Si Comprendono Tutti Gli Statuti &
Ordini, Disposti da Gli Antichi Per Ogni Cosa di Mercantia, & di
Navigare. Cosi a Beneficio di Marinari, Fome di Mercanti, & Patroni
di Nave. Het Consulaat van de Zee, Waar in Begreepen Zyn Alle de
Keuren, en Ordonnantien by de Ouden Gemaakt, Aangaande Alderly
Gevallen des Koophandels, en Zeevaart, So Ten Dienste der
Bootsgesellen, Als der Koopluyden, en Schippers.
Nieulyks Uyt het Italiaans in het Nederduyts Vertaalt, en Doorgaans
na het Origineel Catalaans Verbetert, Verklaart, en Met een Nieuw
Register Voorsien. Leiden: By Joannes du Vivie, en Isaak Severinus,
1704. [xxxii], 533, [1]; [2], 25, [73] pp. Copperplate pictorial
frontispiece. Quarto (6-1/4" x 8"). Contemporary three-quarter calf
over marbled boards, blind ornaments and gilt fillets and title to
spine. Light rubbing to boards, some rubbing to extremities with
mild wear to spine ends and corners. Woodcut head-pieces,
tail-pieces and decorated initials. Faint dampstaining to portion of
text, occasional light browning and foxing, three tiny inkstains to
title page. Later owner signature to front free endpaper, early
owner initials in pencil to leaf following title page. $2,000.
* First Dutch edition. Italian and Dutch on facing pages. The final
section contains a text relating to code in the original Catalan
dealing with such subjects as piracy. A landmark in the development
of maritime law, the Consolato del Mare was first published
in Barcelona in 1484. A digest of the law and practice commonly
followed by the commercial judges in the chief ports around the
Mediterranean, it became a maritime common law of the Mediterranean
and a foundation for subsequent European maritime laws and customs.
It circulation was widest in Italy, especially among the Venetians,
but it was also influential in Western Europe. In addition to
maritime law, it contains a great deal of information about the
day-to-day operations of a ship and practical advice on seafaring.
This edition contains notes by Vinnius, the renowned Dutch jurist
and Professor of Law at the University of Leiden. KVK locates 6 of
this edition, 9 of all editions. Catalogue of the Goldsmiths’
Library of Economic Literature 4054. See illustration below.
Handbook of Terms in Roman
and Canon Law
47.
Corvinus van Belderen, Arnoldus (Ravens, Arent Jansz) [1582 or
3-1650], Editor. [Pace, Giulio (1550-1635), Compiler].
Posthumus Pacianus; Seu, Definitiones, Iuris Utriusque; Viri Cl.
Julii Pacii a Beriga JC Posthumae, Insigni Auctu; & Divisionum,
Integrorum Titulorum, Aliaque Accessione Plane Novatae.
Amsterdam: Apud Ludovicum Elzevier, 1643. [x], 499, [78] pp. 12mo.
(2-3/4" x 4-3/4"). Contemporary vellum with lapped edges, later
hand-lettered title to spine. Some staining and light soiling, spine
ends bumped, hinges just starting. Title page with woodcut Elzevier
Minerva device printed in red and black. Browing to foot of
preliminaries, tiny ink stains to a few leaves, interior otherwise
fresh. $200.
* First edition. This is a handbook of terms and concepts in Roman
and canon law based on materials gathered by Pace (Pacianus), a
formidably learned Italian Humanist legal scholar. The definitions
are compact but detailed, and contain references to examples of
usage. Corvinus, a jurist and state official, was an important and
prolific author. Posthumus Pacianus was reissued in 1559. KVK
locates 5 copies of this edition, 15 of both editions. Dekkers 141
(2).
See illustration below.
48.
Corwin, Edward S.
John Marshall and the Constitution: A Chronicle of the Supreme
Court. ix, 242 pp. Plates. Original cloth, gilt titles and
ornaments to front board and spine, deckle fore and bottom edges,
top edge gilt. Light shelfwear, negligible fading to spine,
internally clean. $45.
49.
Cowel[l], John [1554-1611].
[Manley, Tho(mas)]. NOMOTHETAS: The Interpreter,
Containing the Genuine Signification of Such Obscure Words and Terms
Used Either in the Common or Statute Laws of this Realm. First
Compiled by the Learned Dr. Cowel, and Now Enlarged from the
Collections of All Others Who Have Written in This Kind. With an
Addition of Many Words Omitted by All Former Writers, and Pertinent
to This Matter, with Their Etymologies as Often as They Occur: As
Also Tenures whether Jocular, or Others Statutes and Records,
Wherein the Alterations are Expressed, and their Agreement or
Dissonancy, with the Law at Present Declared. Whereto is Subjoyned,
An Appendix, containing the Ancient Names of Places Here in England,
Very Necessary for the Use of All Young Students, Who Intend to
Converse with Old Records, Deeds or Charters. The Second Edition,
Wherein Many Errors and Mistakes in the Former are Carefully
Corrected. London: Printed by the Assigns of Richard Atkins Esq;
and Sir Edward Atkins Knight, for H. Twyford, Tho. Buffet, J. Place,
and H. Sawbridge, 1684. Unpaginated. Printed in double columns. 9" x
12". Reprinted 2004 by The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd. ISBN
1-58477-406-1. Cloth. $125.
* Reprint of the fifth edition, the second edited by Manley
[1628-1690]. The Interpreter is considered to be the best law
dictionary published before Jacob’s A New Law-Dictionary
(1729). Though its significance was recognized almost immediately,
it was not approved by all. At a time when Parliament and crown were
vying for power, the Commons were angered by John Cowell’s
[1554-1611] monarchical orientation, which was 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. James I intervened in fear that his own fiscal
interests would not be approved by Parliament, and ordered a
proclamation that imprisoned Cowell, suppressed the book and ordered
all copies burned by a public hangman on March 10, 1610. Moreover,
it contained a quotation critical of Littleton that angered Coke so
much that he helped to suppress the book and prosecute Cowell. It
remained in use, however, and went through several editions. Later
enlarged editions, such as this one, remain useful to scholars of
early English legal texts. See illustration below.
Scarce 1594 First Edition
One of the “Best Specimens of Early Printing”
50.
[Crompton, Richard (d. 1599)].
L’Authoritie et Iurisdiction des Courts de la Maiestie de la
Roygne: Nouelment Collect & Compose, per R. Crompton del Milieu
Temple
Esquire, Apprentice del Ley. Si Seuris Index, Mitisis Corde Memento,
Dicito, quae Possunt Dicta Decere Senem.
London: Charles Yetsweirt, 1594. [iv], 232 fols. Quarto (5" x 7").
Contemporary calf, rebacked in period style, gilt-edged raised
bands, maroon lettering piece, marbled endpapers, handsome armorial
bookplate (of George Townshend) to front pastedown. Front hinge
cracked but secure, front free endpaper starting, light soiling to
title page, some early underscoring and marginalia to title page and
text, but a very nice copy overall. $2,500.
*
First edition. Crompton was a bencher of the Middle Temple during
the reign of Henry VIII and the author of several notable juristic
works. L’Authoritie et Iurisdiction is considered to be
his principal work. It is essentially a digest of the Year Books
and other cases applicable to the subject. Turning to William
Fulbecke’s A Direction or Preparative to the Study of the Lawe
(1600), we see that its value was recognized almost immediately:
“Master Crompton has taken great paynes in this study, and his
books are in every man’s hands, which prooveth their generall
allowance, his cases are very profitable, and apt for the title
to which they are applyed, and so compendiously collected, that
a man may by them in a few howers gaine great knowledge” (Sweet
& Maxwell). On a broader scale, Crompton offers legal justification
for the creation of a rigidly hierarchical “natural” society governed
by a powerful monarch. This attitude, articulated by Bodin among
others, was shared by several conservatives in England and Europe
during the Late Renaissance. Marvin described the various edition
of this work as “some of the best specimens of early printing.”
Marvin 311. Holdsworth, History of English Law (HEL)
IV: 211-212.
DNB
V: 148. Sweet & Maxwell 1: 259. Beale, A Bibliography of
Early English Law Books T 328. See illustration below.
51.
Cunningham, Noble E., Jr.
The Jeffersonian Republicans in Power: Party Operations,
1801-1809. chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press,
[1963]. ix, 318 pp. Cloth very good in worn dust jacket. $10.
* This is a companion to the author’s The Jeffersonian Republicans:
The Formation of Party Organization, 1789-1801.
“Highly Esteemed and
Very Much Relied Upon”: Marvin
52.
Dalrymple, John [1726-1810].
An Essay Towards a General History of Feudal Property in Great
Britain, Under the Following Heads, I. History of the Introduction
of the Feudal System into Great Britain. II. History of Tenures.
III.
History of the Alienation of Land Property. IV. History of Entails.
V. History of the Laws of Succession or Descent. VI. History of the
Forms of Conveyance. VII. History of Jurisdictions, and of the Forms
of Procedure in Courts. VIII. History of the Constitution of
Parliament.
London: Printed for A. Millar, 1757. vii, 332 pp. Octavo (4-3/4" x
8-3/4"). Contemporary calf, rebacked in period style with raised
bands and lettering piece. Light rubbing to boards with some wear to
corners, endpapers renewed. A few tiny worm holes to bottom edges of
preliminaries, lower corning lacking from a leaf with no loss to
text. Faint offsetting to margins of preliminaries and final index
leaves, light foxing and finger smudges to a few leaves, interior
otherwise fresh. $500.
* First edition. According to Marvin, this treatise was “highly
esteemed and very much relied upon by those who have had occasion to
investigate the Feudal Law since Dalrymple wrote.” It traces the law
of real property from its feudal origins in Scotland and England,
and attempts to outline its the principles as they developed over
time. Particular attention is paid to differences between English
and Scottish laws. Dalrymple’s larger goal is to promote the
unification of the two legal systems by demonstrating their similar
origins and early development. OCLC locates 14 copies of this
edition, 53 of all editions. Marvin, Legal Bibliography
(1847) 250. Sweet & Maxwell 1:444 (5).
First Edition of Darrow’s
Autobiography
53.
Darrow, Clarence [1857-1938].
The Story of My Life. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons,
1934. xiv, 495 pp. Fourteen plates. Cloth in attractive multicolor
art deco dust jacket (from another copy of this edition of this
book). Some shelfwear and light fading to binding. Dust jacket
lightly rubbed and worn at edges with a small vertical tear to the
top of front panel and a similar tear to the rear. Some spotting to
rear panel, white portions toned, other colors vibrant. Internally
clean. $125.
* First edition. When Clarence Darrow died in 1938 at the age of 81,
few disputed that he was one of the great attorneys of his
generation. There were other lawyers in his lifetime who contributed
more to the development of legal science, who rose to positions of
greater influence, or who won larger financial rewards, but perhaps
none who could match his record as a crusader for the common man.
See illustration below.
54.
Davis, Richard Beale.
Intellectual Life in
Jefferson’s Virginia, 1790-1830.
Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, [1964]. x, 507 pp.
Plates. Cloth very good in moderately worn dust jacket. $15.
55.
DeConde, Alexander.
Entangling
Alliance:
Politics and Diplomacy Under George Washington.
Durham: Duke University Press, 1958. xiv, 536 pp. Cloth very good in
moderately worn and lightly soiled dust jacket. Annotations in
pencil to rear free endpaper, interior otherwise clean. $45.
* A fascinating study of politics and diplomacy with a focus on the
French alliance of 1778 during the Confederacy and Washington
administration.
Items Relating to Edison’s
Patents for the Electric Light
56.
[Edison, Thomas (1847-1931)].
The Westinghouse-Edison Case: Sawyer and Man vs.
Edison.
Full Text of Justice Bradley’s Opinion in the Case of the
Consolidated Co. Against the McKeesport Co., Filed in the U.S.
Circuit Court at Pittsburgh, October 5th, 1889. Mr. Edison Declared
to be the Inventor of Incandescent Electric Lighting.
New York: Published by the Edison Electric Light Company, [1888]. 20
pp.
[And]
The
Edison Incandescent Lamp Case in England: Full Text of All Decisions
of the English Courts. Edison & Swan United Electric Light Co. vs.
Woodhouse & Rawson: Opinion of Justice Butt, Sustaining Edison
Patent. Edison & Swan United Electric Light Co. vs. Woodhouse &
Rawson (Case on Appeal): Opinion of Lords Justices Fry and Bowen,
Upholding Decision of lower Court, and Dissenting Opinion of Lord
Justice Cotton. Edison & Swan United Electric Light Co. vs. Holland:
Opinion of Justice Kay, Invalidating Edison Patent. Edison & Swan
United Electric Light Co. vs. Holland (Case on Appeal): Opinion of
Lords Justices Cotton, Lindley and Bowen, Reversing Decision of
Lower Court and Reaffirming Validity of the Patent.
New York: C.G. Burgoyne, n.d. 134 pp.
[And]
[36
Other Pamphlets Containing Patent Suit Transcripts, 1888-1893.]
[And]
[8
Folding Leaves Containing Tipped-in Newspaper Clippings Relating to
These Suits.] Light
soiling and some edgewear to pamphlets, a few covers and interior
leaves chipped or partially detached. All have punch-holes near
spines (from a binder). Occasional annotations in ink, items
otherwise clean. Items housed in
a recent cloth clamshell box
with morocco spine label. $1,500.
* This rare collection relating to one of the most important
inventions in history contains items relating to trials in the
United States, Great Britain and Canada arising from individuals and
companies that disputed Edison’s claim to have invented the first
successful incandescent light (and its component parts). A detailed
list of the contents of this collection is available upon request.
See illustration below.
57.
Ehrmann, Henry W.
Comparative Legal Cultures. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall,
[1976]. xv, 172 pp. Softbound, some shelfwear, internally clean.
Ex-institution library. Bookplate to verso of front cover, inkstamps
to preliminaries. $15.
Standard Biography of
Rufus King
58.
Ernst, Robert.
Rufus King: American Federalist. Chapel Hill: University of
North Carolina Press, [1968]. ix, 446 pp. Cloth very good in worn
dust jacket. A nice copy of a title uncommon in the trade. $150.
* The standard biography of King [1755-1827]. Born in Maine, he
played a leading role in early American politics and government. He
was a member of the Continental Congress, one of New York’s first
senators, one of the leading members of the federal Constitutional
Convention and minister to England shortly before the outbreak of
the War of 1812. He was a leading Federalist and one of Alexander
Hamilton’s most important allies. See illustration below.
59.
Flexner, James Thomas.
George Washington in the American Revolution (1775-1783).
Boston: Little, Brown and Company, [1969]. xvii, 599 pp.
Frontispiece. Illustrations. Cloth very good in lightly worn dust
jacket. $85.
A “Deep-Sea Change” for
Jerome Frank
60.
Frank, Jerome [1889-1957].
If Men Were Angels: Some Aspects of Government in a Democracy.
New York: Harper & Brothers, [1942]. xii, 380 pp. Cloth very good in
moderately worn dust jacket, light toning to text. A very nice copy,
uncommon in a dust jacket. $125.
*
“In this book there is a shift in emphasis from the position taken
in...Law and the Modern Mind (1930). While in both books
he argues against the possibility of ‘legal soothsaying,’ in the
earlier he stressed the uncertainty or vagueness in legal rules,
but in this volume his emphasis is on the uncertainty as to the
facts.... One leaves the book with an all-pervasive impression
that Frank has undergone a deep-sea change through his experiences
as Chairman of the SEC and as judge.”: Milton R. Konvitz, Harvard
Law Review 56:1020-1022. See illustration below.
61.
Frank, Jerome.
Law and the Modern Mind. London: Stevens and Sons, 1949.
xxxi, 368 pp. Original cloth, moderate shelfwear, some fraying to
spine ends and rear joint, internally clean. Ex-institution library.
Embossed insignia to boards, bookplate to front pastedown, stamps to
endleaves. $25.
* Reprint of first English edition. Published simultaneously with
the sixth American impression, it contains his “Preface to the Sixth
Printing” (v-xxviii), which discusses the work’s reception,
addresses its critics and traces the history and definition of legal
realism.
The Labor Injunction
in
Dust Jacket Inscribed by Frankfurter
62.
Frankfurter, Felix [1882-1965], and Nathan Greene.
The Labor Injunction. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1930.
Folding charts. [12], 343 pp. Cloth very good in dust jacket with
light soiling, a few light stains and smudges and some wear and some
shelfwear along edges and folds. Presentation inscription by
Frankfurter to front free endpaper, internally clean. $650.
* First edition. The inscription reads: “To John F. [illegible],/
With the fond wishes of/ Felix frankfurter/ October 25, 1936. This
study is “...a careful and objective study of the significant facts
and ....certain very practical conclusions....Here we find no a
priori inferences with respect to the scope and effect of the
judicial decree in a labor struggle, but rather a compilation of
available statistical data which speaks its own conclusions.” M.
Finkelstein, Columbia Law Review 30:425-427; “The Labor
Injunction is important reading.” G.P. van Arkel, The Monthly
Labor Review 71:98-99. See illustration below.
63.
Friedman, Lawrence M.
A History of American Law. New York: Simon & Schuster,
[1973]. 655 pp. Cloth very good in moderately worn dust jacket.
$30.
64.
Gilbert, Felix.
To the Farewell Address: Ideas of Early American Foreign Policy.
Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1961. [viii], 173 pp.
Cloth very good in moderately worn dust jacket. $10.
Impressive
1484 Edition of
Gratian’s Epoch-Making Decretals
65.
[Gratian, the Canonist (c. 1090-c. 1160) Johannes Teutonicus (or
Seneca) (.d.1253), Glossator. Bartolomeo da Brescia (d.1258),
Glossator].
[Decretum Gratiani]. [Strassburg: Johann Gruninger, 4
September 1484]. 450 (of 452) leaves. Unpaginated. Text in double
columns surrounded by two-column linear gloss. Collation: A-K10, L8,
a8, b-z10, 2a-2g10, 2h-2i8. Leaves A1 (blank front endleaf) and hh3
lacking, duplicate of leaf hh4 bound instead. (It is not counted in
the enumeration of leaves.) Folio (11" x 16"). Contemporary wooden
boards covered in elaborately paneled calf, exposed single cords at
head and foot of spine, exposed double cords forming five
compartments, later vellum panels to the middle three, early (?)
piece of vellum with hand-lettered “Decrtl” in pointed gothic hand
pasted to first panel from top, “Decretio” in similar manner to foot
of text block, later monogram to head, three calf thumb-tabs. Calf
rubbed and worn, about a third worn away along joints and corners,
clasps lacking, top cord detached from front board, some
worm-traces. Text printed in gothic type with wide margins. Main
text up to 52 lines, commentary up to 70 lines. First leaf has fine
multi-color illuminated initial in round gothic hand on gold
background, floral border illuminated in similar manner to foot of
leaf, initials in large gothic round hand throughout text in red and
blue, some hand-painted initials, typically larger ones, in similar
manner, a few somewhat more elaborate. Some faint dampstaining to
margins of first 12 and final 16 leaves affecting some letters,
minor hole to last two leaves, lower corners of fore-edges lacking
from three. Crack to text block between penultimate and final
gatherings. Overall an appealing copy with a notably fresh interior.
$25,000.
*
First edition printed by Gruninger and the third edition printed
in Strassburg. (The first edition printed in Strassburg, which
may be the first edition ever printed, appeared in 1471.) The
Concordia Discordantium Canonicum, or as it is better known,
the Decretum Gratiani, is the cornerstone of modern canon
law. The first work of its kind, it was compiled by Gratian, a
Camaldolese monk, around 1140. Using the latest scholastic and
juristic techniques of the day, he attempted to harmonize these
disparate texts. Like the Corpus Juris Civilis in the study
of civil law, it became the basic text for the study of canon
for many centuries. It is divided into three parts. The first
contains 101 distinctiones dealing with sources and topics.
The second contains 36 causae, which are subdivided into
many quaestiones. Taken as a whole, the Decretum Gratiani
addresses various aspects of church jurisdiction, offenses and
legal proceedings, as well as administrative issues such as baptism,
feast days, confirmation and the consecration of churches. In
the following century an extensive gloss was added by Teutonicus,
a German prior living in Bologna. Known as the Glossa Ordinaria,
it was later revised and enriched by another Bolognese prior,
Barthelomew of Brescia. The gloss and its revisions become a standard
feature of subsequent manuscripts and printings. Though never
an official edition of canon law, it was a standard work for nearly
800 years until it was superseded in 1918 by the Code of Canon
Law (Codex Iuris Canonici). Ibarra-Ferreira, The Canon
Law Collection of the Library of Congress 42. Goff, Incunabula
in American Libraries V345. See illustration below.
66.
Gurvitch, Georges.
Sociology of Law. With a Preface by Roscoe Pound. London:
Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co., [1947]. xv, 248, [12] pp.
Includes 12-page publisher catalogue. Original cloth, some shelfwear
and fading to spine. Ex-institution library. Embossed insignia to
boards, bookplate to
front pastedown, inkstamps to endleaves. $25.
* A title in the International Library of Sociology and Social
Reconstruction.
67.
Gutteridge, H.C.
Comparative Law: An Introduction to the Comparative Method of
Legal Study and Research. Cambridge: At the University Press.
1949. xv, 214 pp. Original cloth, some shelfwear with fading and
minor fraying to spine, front hinge just starting, internally clean.
Ex-institution library. Embossed insignia to boards, bookplate to
front pastedown, stamps to endleaves. $60.
* Second edition. “Because of his deep insight and familiarity with
the Common Law, the Civil Law, and International Law, Professor
Gutteridge... has contributed a volume that no one interested in the
creative growth of the law can afford to neglect. All who are
concerned with the unification of law and the development of
international law into world law will find wise counsel and stimulus
in this book.”: James Oliver Murdock, American Journal of
International Law 41 (1947) 707 (reviewing the first edition,
1946).
68.
Hammond, Bray.
Banks and Politics in
America
from the Revolution to the Civil War.
Princeton: Princeton
University Press, 1957. xi, 771 pp. Cloth very good in worn dust
jacket. $15.
69.
Handler, Edward.
America
and Europe in the Political Thought of John Adams.
Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1964. ix, 248 pp. Cloth very
good in moderately worn dust jacket. Residue from bookplate to front
free endpaper, interior otherwise clean. $15.
70.
Harper, Lawrence A.
The English Navigation Laws: A Seventeenth-Century Experiment in
Social Engineering. New York: Columbia University Press, 1939.
xiv, 503 pp. Original cloth, some shelfwear and fading to spine,
internally clean. Ex-institution library. Embossed insignia to
boards, bookplate to front pastedown, inkstamps to endleaves. $75.
* “This exhaustive and scholarly study gives a critical account of
the measures adopted by the British Parliament in the seventeenth
century for the protection and encouragement of British shipping, as
well as of the legislation enacted in the promotion of the
mercantilist policy of the country by way of regulation of shipping
and otherwise. The book is of special interest for the economic
historian, but the student of legal history will find it not without
interest.”: H.L., Cambridge Law Journal 7 (1939-1941) 430.
71.
Harrison, Lowell H.
John Breckinridge: Jeffersonian Republican. Louisville:
Filson Club, [1969]. x, 243 pp. Plates. Cloth very good in
moderately worn dust jacket. $15.
* A Virginia native and the founder of a formidable political
dynasty in Kentucky, Breckinridge [1760-1806] was an associate of
Thomas Jefferson. An important figure in state and federal
government, he was a delegate to Kentucky’s constitutional
convention, a US senator and Jefferson’s attorney general.
72. Hart,
James.
The American Presidency in Action, 1789: A Study in
Constitutional History. New York: The MacMillan Company, 1948.
xv, 256 pp. Cloth very good in worn dust jacket. $10.
73.
Holland, Thomas Erskine [1835-1926].
A Manual of Naval Prize Law: Founded Upon the Manual Prepared in
1866 by Godfrey Lushington. London: Printed for Her Majesty’s
Stationary Office, 1888. xiii, 161 pp. Octavo (6" x 9"). Original
textured cloth with decorative blind stamping, gilt title to front
board. Moderate rubbing with wear to extremities, fraying to spine
ends, hinges cracked but secure. A few cracks to text block,
interior otherwise sound. Ex-institution library. Insignia pasted to
front and rear boards, stamps to endleaves. $95.
*
This is a heavily revised edition of Lushington’s manual, which
was published in 1866 and issued to officers of the British navy.
Like its predecessor, it was intended for the naval use. Holland
taught philosophy at Oxford before he was called to the Bar in
1863. After several years in practice he was appointed Vinerian
Reader in English Law and Chichele Professor of International
Law and Diplomacy in 1874. An industrious scholar, he published
several important treatises and was a founder of the Law Quarterly
Review. See illustration below.
74.
Horton, John Theodore.
James Kent: A Study in Conservatism, 1763-1847. 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.
Nineteenth-Century German
Digest of Commercial Law
75.
Huber, L.F.
Die Quintessenz der Handels- und Contorwissenschaft. Ein
Vollstandiges und Umfassendes Handbuch fur Jeder Kaufman,
Insbesondere Fur Commis und Lehrlinge. Stuttgart: Verlag der
J.B. Metzler’schen Buchhandlung, 1861. iv, 674. [2] pp. Octavo
(5-3/4" x 9-1/4"). Contemporary quarter morocco over marbled boards,
gilt title to spine. Moderate rubbing with some wear to extremities,
boards slightly bowed, hinges partially cracked. Woodcut vignette to
title page. Occasional light foxing and a few finger smudges,
negligible dampstaining to heads of preliminaries. Early owner
signatures and annotations to front endleaves, interior otherwise
clean. $300.
*
Third edition. First published in 1857, this is a German counterpart
to Montefiore’s Commercial Dictionary, the Hand-Book
of Trade and Commerce and McColloch’s Dictionary, Practical,
Theoretical, and Historical, of Commerce and Commercial Navigation.
Intended for merchants engaged in international trade, this book
contains a wealth of information about contemporary commercial
and maritime law, international business practices, financial
institutions, currencies, ports and the imports and exports of
different nations. KVK locates 1 copy, this edition. Not in Goldsmiths’
or the
BMC. See illustration below.
Jury Instructions
76.
Hughes, Charles.
The Law of Instructions to Juries in Civil and Criminal Actions
and Approved Forms With References to Analogous Precedents.
Indianapolis: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, 1905. cliii, 1011 pp.
Original law calf, red and black lettering pieces to spine. Light
rubbing to boards, moderate rubbing with wear to joints and spine
ends, hinges cracked but secure, small early owner stamp to front
board and pastedown. Offsetting to margins of front and rear
endpapers, text notably fresh. $250.
*
“In the first division of the book the rules and principles of
the common law and under statutory enactment, which govern the
preparation and presentation, and the giving and refusing of instructions,
have been and classified. The second division of this work, it
will be observed, presents a body of forms of instructions for
both civil and criminal cases, classified and arranged in chapters.”:
Preface, iii. Marke 322. See
illustration below.
Classic Text on Scottish
Criminal Law
77. Hume,
David [1757-1838].
Commentaries on the Law of
Scotland,
Respecting Crimes.
Edinburgh: Printed for Bell & Bradfute, 1819. Two volumes. Quarto
(8" x 10"). Contemporary three-quarter calf over marbled boards,
lettering pieces, gilt fillets and gilt volume numbers to spines.
Moderate rubbing with some wear to extremities, corners bumped,
front board of Volume I partially detached but secure, front joint
of Volume II cracked, a few cracks to text blocks of both volumes.
Toning and light foxing to portions of text. Early owner signatures
to heads of title pages, interiors otherwise clean. A solid set.
$500.
* Second edition. First published in 1797, this classic Scottish
text retains its value and authority today. “The rise and progress
of the criminal law is clearly traced from the earliest times by the
most elaborate investigation into the ancient [records of the High
Court of Judiciary], from which every case of curiosity or
importance has been extracted; and the classification and
arrangement of this curious matter has been managed with...much
skill and learning.” (Edinburgh Law Journal 1, 485 cited in
Sweet & Maxwell). David Hume was professor of Scots Law at the
University of Edinburgh and the nephew of the philosopher. OCLC
locates 8 copies of this edition. Sweet & Maxwell 5:52. See illustration below.
78.
[Hungary].
Civil Code of the Hungarian People’s Republic. Budapest:
Corvina, [1960]. 200 pp. Softbound, moderate shelfwear, binding
cocked, light browning to text, minor tears to title page,
internally clean. Ex-institution library. Bookplate to verso of
front cover, inkstamps to preliminaries. $25.
79.
[Hungary].
Criminal Code of the Hungarian People’s Republic. [Budapest]:
Corvina, [1962]. 134 pp. Softbound, some shelfwear, light toning to
text, internally clean. Ex-institution library. Name to front cover,
bookplate to verso, inkstamps to preliminaries. $25.
80. Ives,
E.W.
The Common Lawyers of Pre-Reformation
England.
Thomas Keble: A Case Study.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, [1983]. xxx, 536 pp. Original
cloth very good in lightly worn and soiled dust jacket. $95.
* “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.
Involved in Several Questionable
Schemes
81.
Jacobs, James Ripley.
Tarnished Warrior: Major-General James Wilkinson. New York :
The MacMillan Company, 1938. xv, [ii], 380 pp. Plates. Maps, two
fold-out. Original cloth, light rubbing to boards, mild wear to
spine ends, internally clean. A nice copy of a uncommon title.
$125.
* Wilkinson [1757-1825] was an American soldier and statesman who
was associated with several scandals and controversies, most notably
the Spanish conspiracy and Aaron Burr’s attempt to create an
independent nation in the west. He fought in the Continental Army
during the American Revolutionary War, eventually rising to the rank
of general. Re-commissioned in 1791, he became the senior officer in
the army until he was compelled to resign in 1813 under suspicious
circumstances. He had an equally controversially career as the first
governor of the Louisiana Territory. This was the first biography of
Wilkinson, and it remains a standard study.
1485 Venetian Imprint of
Important Early Law Dictionary
82.
[Jacobus of Erfurt, Attributed to].
[Vocabularium Juris Utriusque]. Terminorum Freque[n]tatoru[m]
Ta[m] i[n]
Po[n]tificio
[Quam] Civili Iure: Opus Preclarum [et]
Utile Feliciter Incipit. [Venice: Matteo Capcasa and Bernardinus
de Pino, 18 June 1485]. 98 leaves. Collation: A8, B-Q6. Small folio
(8-1/4 x 11-1/2"). Recent three-quarter vellum over speckled boards,
hand-lettered title to spine, endpapers renewed, fragment of early
mounted calf bookmark to margin of A2. Negligible soiling to spine,
a few tiny scuffs to boards. Text in gothic type printed in 57-line
double columns, large contemporary rubricated initials throughout,
occasional marginalia in fine early hand. A few negligible tiny
wormholes to margins with no loss to text, some dampspotting and
staining to edges of text block. Occasional discoloration to outer
margins, (very) light foxing and stains to margins of a few leaves,
most of interior notably fresh. An appealing copy of a rare
imprint. $15,000.
* A work of great authority, the Vocabularius, as it is
popularly known, is attributed occasionally to Jacobus of Erfurt.
First published around 1474 in Basel, it went through more than
seventy editions over the following 150 years. (It had a second life
as the first section of the 1559 edition of Elio Antonio de
Nebrija’s Lexicon Juris Civilis, a work that was reissued
into the seventeenth century.) A useful and highly respected
reference work, the Vocabularius is a collection of terms
dealing with the Jus Commune taken from such late-scholastic
texts as the Vocabularius Stuttgardiensis (1432), the
Collectio Terminorum Legalium (c. 1400), and the
Introductorium pro Studio Sacrorum Canonum of Hermann von Schildesch
(c. 1330). KVK locates 8 copies of this imprint. Goff V345. See illustration below.
83.
Jaffe, Louis L.
English and American Judges as Lawmakers. Oxford: Clarendon
Press, 1969. x, 116 pp. Cloth very good in moderately worn dust
jacket. $95.
*
A study of the law-making function of judges in a democracy.
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