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June 2002 LIST RECENT ACQUISITIONS & SPECIAL OFFERS

*The Most Lavish Edition*
9. A’Beckett, Gilbert Abbott. The Comic Blackstone. London: Bradbury, Agnew, & Co., 1887. xxviii, 324 pp. Octavo (5-1/2" x 8-1/2"). Ten full-page color plates, numerous engravings. Three-quarter calf over marbled boards, skillfully rebacked retaining original spine with raised bands, recent black lettering piece in period style, moderate shelfwear. All edges and endpapers marbled, handsome armorial bookplate (of James W. Comerford) to front pastedown, internally bright. $500. * “New and revised” edition of this classic parody by the author's son, Arthur William A’Beckett. With its handsome binding and illustrations by Harry Furniss it is also the most lavish edition ever published. Eller, The William Blackstone Collection at Yale Law School 196. *Chancellor Kent’s Copy*
10. Ashburton, Alexander Baring [1774-1848]. An Inquiry Into the Causes and Consequences of the Orders in Council; and An Examination of the Conduct of Great Britain Towards the Neutral Commerce of America. New York: Re-Printed From the London Edition, And Sold By John Bleecker, and Hopkins & Bayard, 1808. iv, [5]-104 pp. Octavo (5" x 8-1/2") Recent period-style quarter calf over marbled boards, signature of James Kent in fine hand to title page. Light browning to verso of final leaf, text otherwise clean. A very nice copy in an attractive binding. $650. * American issue of first and only London edition. Alexander Baring, first Baron Ashburton, was an English financier and statesman with strong commercial ties to the United States. As a member of Parliament from 1806 to 1835 he debated commercial questions frequently and firmly opposed all restrictions on international trade. In 1842, he negotiated the Webster-Ashburton Treaty (1842), which settled boundary disputes between the United States and Great Britain. An Inquiry argues that the Orders in Council (Jan. 7 and Nov. 11, 1807), which asserted Great Britain’s right to harass commerce between neutral nations and France, are an illegal violation of American neutrality, and, more important, detrimental to British commercial interests. Britain’s interference with American shipping provoked the passage of the Embargo Act (December 22, 1807) and was one of the primary causes of the War of 1812. This copy was owned by James Kent, the great jurist, legal commentator and educator best known for his magisterial Commentaries on American Law. Cohen, Bibliography of Early American Law 7381. See also Sabin, A Dictionary of Books Relating to America 3384. *Primary Source for Many Subsequent Manuals*
11. Blackerby, Samuel [fl. 1720-1738]. The Justice of Peace His Companion: Or, A Summary of all the Acts of Parliament to June 12th, 1711, Where by One, Two, or More Justices of the Peace, are Authorized to Act, Not Only In, but Out of the Sessions of the Peace. With An Exact Alphabetical Table. The Second Edition, Carefully Corrected From the Many Errors in the Former Impression. [London]: John Nutt, 1712. [xiv], 226 pp. Includes one-page publisher catalogue. 12mo. (3" x 5"). Contemporary calf, gilt spine and board edges, inside dentelles, some chipping to head of spine, boards just starting. Handsomely lettered four-page presentation inscription dated 1712 by Maurice Johnson to William Ambler bound in front. Interior remarkably fresh and free of marks. Quite appealing. $950. * Second edition. Scarce. Published in 1711, Blackerby’s book went through eight subsequent editions. The final, edited by his son Nathaniel, appeared in 1749. Arranged alphabetically, it treats the statutes that give authority to justices. Each is briefly summarized in one column; the penalty for its breach is stated in a parallel column. According to Holdsworth, “the book had many of the qualities of an index, and it was so used, Burn said, by writers of larger books on this topic.” (Burn was the author of the magisterial Justice of the Peace and Parish Officer, first published in 1755 and long a standard work.) Maurice Johnson [1688-1755] was a noted English antiquarian, founder of an important literary society, and a member of the Inner Temple. Catalogue of the Library of the Harvard Law School (1909) I:185. Sweet & Maxwell, A Legal Bibliography of the British Commonwealth of Nations I:225 (both citing first edition). Dictionary of National Biography X:911-912. 12. [Conductor Generalis]. A New Conductor Generalis: Being a Summary of the Law Relative to the Duty and Office of Justices of the Peace, Sheriffs, Coroners, Constables, Jurymen, Overseers of the Poor, &c.&c With Many New and Improved Subjects, Alphabetically Arranged; Comprising a Variety of Practical Forms. All Which Have Been Carefully Collated with the Revised Laws of the State of New-York; and will Be Found Useful to Citizens, Lawyers and Magistrates.... By a Gentleman of the Law. Albany: D. & S. Whiting, 1803. Octavo (5" x 8"). xv, [17]-479, [1] pp. Contemporary tree calf, maroon lettering piece. Wear to extremities, chipping to head of spine, sporadic light foxing. Still a very appealing copy. $300. * A substantial revision to the earlier editions. See Parrish,"Law Books and Legal Publishing in America, 1760-1840" in Law Library Journal 72/3 (1979) 355-452. Cohen, Bibliography of Early American Law 7964. *A Source of “Great Knowledge”*
13. [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 (in 8’s). (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, 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. Scarce. 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. Holdsworth, History of English Law IV: 211-212. DNB V: 148. Harvard Law Catalogue I: 491. Sweet & Maxwell I: 259. Pollard and Redgrave, Short-Title Catalogue of Books Printed in England, Scotland, and Ireland 6050. Beale, A Bibliography of Early English Law Books T 328. *Limited Edition of Crucial Darrow Text*
14. Darrow, Clarence [1857-1938]. A Persian Pearl And Other Essays. East Aurora: the Roycrofters, 1899. 175 pp. Octavo (5-1/2" x 8-1/2"). Full suede, handsome large blind-stamped cartouche to front cover surrounding gilt-stamped title, ribbon marker. Moire silk to pastedowns, front hinge cracked but secure. Printed throughout in red and black with ornamental initials, head and tail pieces and other decorative devices. Desirable. $450. * First edition limited to 980 copies, this number 16. Darrow’s first book is a great rarity and the cornerstone of any Darrow collection. It consists of five essays. “A Persian Pearl” is an appreciation of Omar Khayyam’s Rubaiyat. The other essays discuss Walt Whitman, Robert Burns, realism in literature and art and the importance of facing up to past mistakes without fear or shame. Hunsberger, Clarence Darrow: A Bibliography 18. *Inscribed First Edition of Darrow’s Autobiography*
15. Darrow, Clarence [1857-1938]. The Story of My Life. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1932. xiv, 495 pp. Fourteen plates. Cloth very good in original worn and chipped, but still vibrant, multicolor art deco dust jacket. “Inscribed to John A. Zvetina/ by Clarence Darrow/ January 3rd, 1934” to half-title. $1,000. * Later printing of first edition that includes account of the Massie trial, uncommon in dust jacket. 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 rough and tumble crusader for the common man. Hunsberger 272. *“A Fascinating Course in Common Law”*
16. Davis, C[ushman] K[ellogg] [1838-1900]. The Law in Shakespeare. St. Paul: West Publishing Co., 1884. 303 pp. Octavo (5" x 7-1/2"). Full law calf, black rules to boards and spine, maroon lettering piece, moderate shelfwear, joints just starting. Early owner signature to front pastedown, internally clean. Appealing. $150. * First edition. A prominent attorney, Davis served his home state of Minnesota as a U.S. Senator and Governor. As indicated by the present study, he was also interested in literature and legal history. The Law in Shakespeare is a compilation of definitions obtained from existing law dictionaries illustrated with annotations and, more important, by hundreds of quotations from Shakespeare’s plays, poems and sonnets. “A fascinating course in Common Law.” Marke 1141. *“A Very Fair Introduction”*
17. Dawson, George [1637-1700]. Origo Legum; or, A Treatise of the Origin of Laws, and Their Obliging Power: As Also of Their Great Variety; and Why Some Laws are Immutable and Some Not; but May Suffer Change, or Cease to Be, or Be Suspended, or Abrogated. In Seven Books. London: Richard Chiswell, 1694. [xxviii], 168, 219, [1] pp. Includes license leaf and one-page publisher catalogue. Folio (7-1/2" x 12-1/2"). Contemporary sprinkled calf, worn, maroon lettering piece, scuff to rear board, some chipping to spine, joints just starting. Title page printed in red and black, interior clean and bright. In all a remarkably fresh text in an unrestored binding. $1,000. * First edition. Scarce. In a survey of seventeenth century English legal literature Holdsworth observes that the least satisfactory books are those dealing with legal theory. Dawson’s Origo Legum is the only notable exception. It remains, morever, “a very fair introduction to an academic study of law.” Holdsworth, A History of English Law VI: 612. Wing, Short-Title Catalogue 1641-1700 D459. Sweet & Maxwell 594 (38). Marvin, Legal Bibliography (1847) 257. Harvard Law Catalogue I:529. *“The Leading Dutch Jurist of His Time”*
18. Everardus, Nicholas [1462-1532]. Loci Argumentorum Legales. Lyons: Guliel Rouillium, 1564. [lviii], 871 pp. Octavo (4" x 6-1/2"). Contemporary lightly stained vellum. Occasional dampstaining. Foxing. Marginal notes in an early hand. Woodcut vignette on title page. A sound copy. $850. * Everardus was “president of the Court of Holland (1509-28) and the Great Council of Mechlin (1528-32) and the leading Dutch jurist of his time...one of the earliest authorities on Roman-Dutch law.” Walker 441-2. *By A Distinguished Legal Philologist*
19. Gothofredus, Jacobi [Godefroy, Jacques]. [1587-1652]. Opera Juridica Minora, sive Libelli, Tractatus, Orationes, & Opuscula Rariora & Praestantiora...Cum Icone Auctoris, Indice Copiosissimo et Praefatione C.H. Trotz. Leiden: J.A. Langerak, 1733. [vi], 1418, [57] pp. Folio (10" x 16"). Title page printed in red and black with engraved vignette. Contemporary quarter calf over paper boards, exterior quite worn, a good candidate for rebinding. Light, acceptable dampstaining throughout, a few repairable mold spots and soiling to final fifty leaves. $450. * First edition. Jacob, son of Denis, was a jurist and legal philologist who edited the Quatour Fontes Juris Civilis, a collection of ante-Justinian texts that comprised a reconstruction of the Twelve Tables, and a great edition and commentary on the Theodosian Code (1665). The well-esteemed Opera Juridica and the Manual Juris (1645) are Gothofredus’ other principal works. Walker 529. British Museum Catalogue 10:758. Graesse, Tresor de Livres Rares and Precieux II:100. *First and Only American Abridgement Before 1776*
20. [Greenleaf, Joseph]and [Richard Burn (1709-1785)]. An Abridgment of Burn’s Justice of the Peace and Parish Officer. To Which is Added, An Appendix, Containing Some General Rules and Directions Necessary to be Known and Observed by All Justices of the Peace. Boston: Printed for, and sold by, Joseph Greenleaf, 1773. [viii], 386, [2] pp. Includes two-page publisher advertisement. Quarto (7" x 8-1/2"). Contemporary moderately rubbed calf, raised bands, residue of paper spine label to second compartment, attractive fillet to boards, hinges reinforced, rear joint starting. Minor clean tear to leaf with no loss, interior otherwise fine. In all a remarkably fresh copy in an appealing colonial-era binding. $2,500. * First and only American edition and the first and only abridgement of a legal treatise printed in America before the revolution. Richard Burn was an attorney and antiquarian who edited the ninth, tenth, and eleventh editions of Blackstone’s Commentaries. His Justice of the Peace, and Parish Officer (1755) was perhaps his most important work. Greenleaf explains the nature of his abridgement in the preface: “The London edition takes in the whole practice of England and Scotland, this renders it both bulky and dear. The circle of a justices business in those places is vastly extensive, and is founded chiefly on acts of the British parliament, which can never have any relation to this colony” [i]. Greenleaf also added an appendix of forms and general rules and directions for American courts. Holdsworth, History XII:332-333. Cohen, BEAL 8325 Harvard Law Catalogue I:277. Marvin 349. *The First Important Work on Evidence in America*
21. Greenleaf, Simon. [1783-1853]. A Treatise on the Law of Evidence. Thirteenth Edition, Carefully Revised with Large Additions by John Wilder May. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1876. Three volumes. Octavo (6" x 9"). Recent green gilt stamped buckram. Endpapers renewed, interior clean and bright. Ex-library. Stamps of the Middle Temple to title page and preliminary leaves. An appealing set. $750. * Thirteenth edition. Intended originally as a textbook, Greenleaf’s treatise was published a volume at a time from 1842-53. The first important American work on evidence, it freed the bar from its dependence on English sources. Greenleaf succeeded Joseph Story as Dane Professor of Law at Harvard, and was instrumental in the development of Harvard’s Law School. Marvin 347. Marke 527. Harvard Law Catalogue I:827. *Seminal Treatise by the Father of International Law*
22. Grotius, Hugo [1583-1645]. De Jure Belli ac Pacis Libri Tres, in quibus Jus Naturae & Gentium, Item Juris Publici Praecipua Explicantur. Cum Annotatis Auctoris, ex Postrema Ejus Ante Obitum Cura. Accesserunt Ejusdem Dissertatio de Mari Libero, & Libellus Singularis de Aequitate, Indulgentia, & Facilitate, Nec non Joann. Frid. Gronovii V.C. Notae in Totum Opus de Jure Belli ac Pacis. Editio Novissima, In qua Quid Praestitum sit Typographorum ad Lectorem Praesatio Ostendit. Amsterdam: Apud Janssonio-Waesbergios, 1712. [x], xxxiv, 946, [94] pp. Octavo (4-1/2" x 7-1/2"). Handsome engraved portrait frontispiece and title page. Contemporary vellum, hand-lettered paper spine label, minor chipping to rear joint. Handsome early bookplate to front pastedown, second title page printed in red and black with an early annotation blotted out with ink and marker, interior remarkably clean. $400. * Later edition. With side-notes and index. Of all his numerous works De Jure Belli ac Pacis will always be considered Grotius’ magnum opus, the work upon which his reputation most solidly rests. Carter and Muir, Printing and the Mind of Man 125. Ter Muelen and Diermanse, Bibliographie des Ecrits Imprimes de Hugo Grotius 596. *Snapshots of American Law, 1889-1891*
23. [Journal]. The Green Bag: A Useless but Entertaining Magazine for Lawyers. Edited by Horace W. Fuller. Boston: The Boston Book Company. Volume I-[III] (1889-1891). Three volumes. Profusely illustrated with plates, photographs, and engravings. Quarto (8" x 10-1/2"). Handsome contemporary three-quarter green morocco over marbled boards, raised bands, spine gilt. Rubbing, scuffing and moderate edgewear to all, Volume I joints starting, spine chipped with about one inch of loss to foot. Each volume internally clean and secure. An appealing trio. $1,000. * First edition. Fully indexed volumes that collect the first thirty-six issues (twelve per year) of the important legal periodical that was published between 1889 and 1914. As its subtitle suggests, The Green Bag is full of colorful anecdotes, humorous verse, curious cases and other diversions. It is also a useful resource for the legal historian, one that offers book notices and reviews, biographies of contemporary legal figures based on first-hand accounts, obituaries, studies of current events, professional notices, profiles of law schools throughout the United States and other important source materials. F.W. Maitland, Louis Brandeis and Theodore Dwight are among the numerous important figures who contributed to this journal. Harvard Law Catalogue I:825. Marke 1160. *Holmes’s Kent Edition*
24. Kent, James [1763-1847]. Commentaries on American Law. Twelfth Edition. Edited by O.W. Holmes Jr. Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1873. Four volumes. Octavo (6" x 9"). Later buckram, lettering pieces, moderate shelfwear, internally clean. A very good set in all. $850. * Modeled on Blackstone’s Commentaries, Kent’s treatise is perhaps the most important interpretation of American law. Published originally between 1826-1830, these volumes comprise America’s first legal classic, one that continues to exercise great influence today. This edition, which includes Holmes’s complete notes of subsequent cases, is considered by many to be the best. It is also significant as Holmes’s first important publication. Uncommon. Harvard Law School Catalogue I:1088. Marke 249. See also “James Kent and His Commentaries” in Hicks, Men and Books Famous in the Law 134-158. *Helped Lay the Foundation of Modern Legal Theory*
25. Kitchin, John [?1520-?1590]. Jurisdictions: Or, The Lawful Authority of the Courts Leet, Courts Baron, Court of Marshalseyes, Court of Pypowder, and Antient Demense.... London: Printed by Hen. Twyford and Sam Herick, 1675. [Bound with] Richard Antrobus and Thomas Impey. Brevia Selecta; or, Choice Writs Being a Collection of Divers Special Writs Not Taken Notice of in the Writ-Books.... London: Printed for Henry Twyford, 1675. [iv], 581,[13]; [2], 122, [5] pp. 12mo. (4-1/4" x 6-3/4"). Contemporary calf, raised bands. Spine cracked but secure with some loss at foot. Notations in early hand to last flyleaf. Slight worming to edges of a few leaves. Withal a desirable copy. $750. * The fifth and last edition, corrected and enlarged, with two tables. By differentiating the previously undivided court, Kitchin, along with Coke, helped lay the foundations of modern legal theory. “In fact Kitchin was doing on a small scale what Coke was doing on a grand scale. Both were representatives of that school of literate Elizabethan lawyers...whose great and enduring work was the adaptation of medieval law and institutions to modern needs. Imagination necessarily played some part in this process of adaptation; and thus they are responsible not only for the enunciation of the rules of modern law, but also for legal and historical theories, the soundness of which was considered by many generations of lawyers and historians to be as incontestable as their statements of law.” Holdsworth, History IV:130. Sweet & Maxwell I:401(31) and 262(8). *Author of the Admired Louisiana Code Criticizes Jefferson*
26. Livingston, Edward [1764-1836]. An Answer to Mr. Jefferson’s Justification of his Conduct in the Case of the New Orleans Batture. Philadelphia: William Fry, 1813. xi, 187 pp. Octavo (5-1/4" x 8-3/4"). Handsome recent quarter calf in period style over cloth, gilt spine. Lacking two maps. Library stamp on base of title page, and all edges. Foxing. $900. * First edition. See Howes 396. Cohen, BEAL 11686. Sabin 41610. *A Highly Influential Code*
27. Livingston, Edward [1764-1836]. Project of a New Penal Code for the State of Louisiana. London: Printed for Baldwin, Cradock, and Joy, 1824. x, 146 pp. Octavo (5-1/2" x 9"). Skillfully rebacked retaining original paper boards, recent period-style paper spine label, some wear to edges and tips, hinges repaired. One leaf of notes in early hand tipped in after front free endpaper, uncut signatures, deckle fore and bottom edges, quite fresh internally. $1,500. * First London edition of Livingston’s Report Made to the General Assembly of the State of Louisiana, on the Plan of a Penal Code for the Said State (1822) with a new preface by ‘S.’ (iii-iv). Edward Livingston had a distinguished career in law and politics. He prepared the Report at the request of the Louisiana state legislature during the early 1820s, along with other codes concerning prison reform, criminal law and civil law. Although none were of these were enacted, Livingston’s works had a decisive influence throughout the United States, Europe and Latin America. Eugene Smith offered an accurate summary of Livingston’s achievement in 1902: “it is probably safe now to say that these codes embody the most comprehensive and enlighted system of criminal law that has ever been presented to the world. They constitute a thesaurus from which the world has ever since been drawing ideas and principles.” Columbia Law Review 2:32 cited in Hicks, Men and Books 180. Cohen, BEAL 10318. Sabin 41612. *“The Most Magnificent of All Editions”*
28. [Magna Carta]. Magna Carta: Regis Johannis XV. Die Junii Anno Regni XVII. A.D. MCCXV. Illustrated Under the Direction of Thomas Willement. London: John Whittaker, 1816. Unpaginated. Folio (13" x 17"). Beautifully bound in full green morocco with single-line gilt border, gilt lettering to spine, all edges gilt, marbled endpapers. Seventeen vellum leaves with paper overlays, each printed on recto in gold, elaborately illuminated and finished in gold and colors. Additional watercolor illustrations of heraldic devices, billowing clouds and rays of sunlight to margins of first and second title pages, King John’s great seal to final leaf, handsome multicolor rules to margins of other leaves. Foxing to two leaves, text otherwise very good. A breathtaking and unique folio. $7,500. * From an edition limited to a very few copies, each with differing content. “[T]he most magnificent edition of Magna Carta was printed in letters of gold by John Whittaker in 1816, and dedicated to the Prince Regent, afterwards George IV. The ordinary copies were on thick glazed card-board, some white, others tinted of various hues, and these were published at 10l. 10s. Others had decorated borders and emblazoned arms, with portraits in colours, and these were much more expensive. Others, again, were printed on white or purple satin or vellum, in super-royal folio, highly decorated with heraldic emblems and armorial bearings, chiefly under the direction of Mr. Thos. Willement. Some copies have in addition finely-painted portraits of King John, Roger Bigod, and the Prince Regent; these were published at from fifty to one hundred guineas. Some few copies were even more expensive than this, and by means of paintings, jewelry, and gorgeous binding, reached a cost of two hundred and fifty guineas.” Lowndes, Bibliographer’s Manual of English Literature (Revised edition, 1864) 1450. 29. [New Jersey]. Allinson, Samuel [1739-1791]. Acts of the General Assembly of the Province of New-Jersey, from the Surrender of the Government to Queen Anne, on the 17th Day of April, in the Year of Our Lord 1702, to the 14th Day of January 1776. To Which is Annexed, The Ordinance for Regulating and Establishing the Fees of the Court of Chancery of the Said Province. With Three Alphabetical Tables, and an Index. Compiled and Published under the Appointment of the General Assembly, and Compared with the Original Acts, By Samuel Allinson... Burlington: Printed by Isaac Collins, 1776. viii, 493, 6,6,4,4,3,15 pp. Folio (9" x 13"). Handsomely rebound in quarter calf, cloth. Light foxing and browning. An attractive copy in all. $850. * First edition. The last compilation of New Jersey’s colonial-era laws, compiled by Samuel Allinson and commonly referred to as Allinson’s Laws, provides a portrait of life in New Jersey from 1702 to the landmark year, 1776. It addresses such topics as the regulation of Ammunition, Jails, Constables, Roads, Corruption, Horse Racing, Marriage, Militia, Taxes and Wines and Rum. This handsome copy was printed by the New Jersey printer, Isaac Collins, a Quaker known for the precision of his work. After the death of the appointed printer “to the King’s Most Excellent Majesty” James Parker in 1770, Collins took over Parker’s business. He achieved additional renown in 1777 as the printer of The New Jersey Gazette, the first regularly published weekly newspaper in the state. Harvard Law Catalogue I:32. Marvin 58. Huntington Library, Check List of American Laws 569. Sabin 53047.Benedict, Acts and Laws of the Thirteen Original Colonies and States 272. Tower, The Charlemagne Tower Collection of American Colonial Laws 166. *Pufendorf’s Magnum Opus*
30. Pufendorf, Samuel [1632-1694]. De Jure Naturae et Gentium. Libro Octo. London: Adam Junghans, 1688. [viii], 928, [8] pp. Quarto (6-1/2" x 8-1/2"). Title-page printed red and black with woodcut printer’s device. Contemporary vellum, raised bands, attractive blind-stamped arabesques and rules to boards. No pastedowns, one leaf detached and torn, sporadic light foxing, interior otherwise clean. $1,250. * Early edition, enlarged and corrected (first published 1672). Pufendorf's magnum opus, in which he presents a system of public, private, and international jurisprudence based on natural law. In De Jure Naturae, Pufendorf offers an exposition not so much of the rules of international law (indeed the section devoted to international law is small), but rather rules of the law of nature. Its subsequent influence was great and lasting. Marke 578. Marvin 593-4. British Museum Catalogue XX:1074. *New York Colonial Legal Manual*
31. [Spencer, Thomas (1752-1840)]. The New Vade Mecum; or Young Clerk’s Magazine: Digested and Improved to Correspond with the Laws of the State of New-York in Particular, and the United States in General: Containing a Variety of the Most Useful Precedents, Adapted to almost every Transaction in Life; such as Articles of Agreement, Awards, Bonds... &c. To which is Added a Collection of Forms of Writs, &c. most common in use in the Supreme Court of the State of New-York. Lansingburgh: Printed by Silvester Tiffany for Tho’s Spencer, 1794. 346 pp. (pp. 289-336 incorrectly numbered pp. 299-346). Quarto (in 8s) (4" x 6"). Contemporary polished calf. Extremities rubbed and a bit chipped at edges, hinges just starting, sporadic light foxing. Early owner’s inscription to front free endpaper, trace of another to front cover. A sound copy with character. $450. * First edition. An American manual derived from The Young Clerk’s Magazine; or English Law Repository that covers all areas relevant to a practitioner in the early years of our nation, such as covenants, partnerships, leases, mortgages, trusts, wills and marriage. “In those days, when anyone who was anybody was a judge, and most of those who were not quite anybodies were justices of the peace, a vademecum...was an essential tool...” Morris Cohen, “Historical Development of the American Lawyer’s Library,” Law Library Journal 61 (1968) 440, 445. Harvard Law Catalogue II:638. Cohen, BEAL 8002. Sabin 89384. *First Printed Work Devoted Solely to Criminal Law*
32. Staunford, Sir William [1509-1558]. Les Plees del Coron. [London]: Richard Totell, 1567. [xxv], 198 leaves. Quarto (5-1/2" x 7-1/2"). Sporadic light dampstaining to margins. Rebacked three quarter calf over marble boards. $3,000. * First published posthumously in 1557, this work is listed as a “principal book” by Pollock and Maitland that enables us "to trace our modern laws of crimes, from the later middle ages onwards...” Pollock & Maitland, The History of English Law II:448. Based upon Bracton and the Year Books, Staunford’s treatise is divided into three parts, the first treating offences, the second jurisdiction, appeals, indictments, and defenses, and the third, trials and convictions. Plees was written after Staunford was appointed judge of the common pleas in 1554. Marke 453. Holdsworth, History V:394. Beale, A Bibliography of Early English Law Books T448. Pollard and Redgrave, STC 23221. Sweet & Maxwell 365. *Complete First Folwell Edition with Swift’s Index*
33. [United States Laws]. The Laws of the United States of America. Published by Authority. Philadelphia: Printed by Richard Folwell, 1796. Three volumes. Octavo (5" x 8"). Full contemporary polished calf, lightly scuffed and rubbed with original maroon gilt lettering pieces, slight chipping to heads of spines. Armorial bookplate of Robert Woods Bliss to front pastedown of each. Sporadic light foxing, text otherwise clean. A most appealing set in original unrestored bindings. $1,750. * Complete first edition (Volume III, though dated 1796, was not printed before 1797). Includes texts of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. A collection of the laws of the United States, containing all acts passed by the first, second, third, fourth Congresses. Evans observes that this edition enjoys “many peculiar advantages,” such as the cumulative 130-page index in Volume III compiled by Zephaniah Swift. This “copious, luminous index [comprises] in itself a complete digest of all the Laws of the United States.” Evans notes also that Folwell’s Volume I is frequently and erroneously replaced by the 1795 edition by Childs and Swaine. This set belonged to Robert Woods Bliss, the diplomat, arts patron and co-founder (with his wife) of the Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection in Georgetown. Bliss played an equally important role in the founding of the United Nations. Evans, American Bibliography 31356, 32973 (Volumes I-III). Sabin 39424. Revised: