1. Marshall, John. Oster, John Edward, Editor. The Political and Economic Doctrines of John Marshall. New York: Neale Publishing, 1914. Frontispiece, 369 pp. Reprinted by The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd.
* Reprint of the sole edition. Unlike his colleague Joseph Story, Marshall [1755-1835] was not interested in formal scholarship. Devoted entirely to the bench and bar, he had neither the time nor inclination to write essays or treatises. In order to locate the principles that guided his juristic thinking, then, it is necessary to look at other sources. This is Oster’s approach. He assembles a wide selection of letters, speeches, miscellaneous writings and excerpts from decisions and arranges them thematically with narrative commentary. A useful guide to Marshall’s ideas, it also has the character of an intellectual biography.

ISBN-13: 978-1-58477-641-3

ISBN-10: 1-58477-641-2  Item # 43911  369 pp.  Cloth  September 2006  $95.

Last and Best Edition of the First English Law Dictionary

2. [Rastell, John]. [Rastell, William]. Les Termes de la Ley: Or, Certain Difficult and Obscure Words and Terms of the Common and Statute Laws of This Realm, Now in Use, Expounded and Explained. Corrected and Enlarged, with the Addition of Many Other Words; Particularly of Those Introduced into the Statute Law of Great Britain, Never Printed in Any Other Impression. [London]: Printed by Eliz. Nutt and R. Gosling, 1721. [iv], 592 pp. Reprinted by The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd.
* Last and best edition of the first English law dictionary, translated by his son, William Rastell [1508?-1565], who is often listed as its author. Corrected and greatly enlarged with English and Law French in parallel columns. First published in 1527, this pioneering dictionary was originally written in Law French with the Latin title Expositiones Terminorum Legum Anglorumae. Quite popular with students and lawyers due to its clarity and concision, it went through at least twenty-five editions by 1721. A final reissue appeared in 1819. As Marvin observes, it is a useful dictionary because it “reflects the common law at the close of the year-book period with much fidelity.”: Legal Bibliography (1847) 599.

ISBN-13: 978-1-58477-547-8

ISBN-10: 1-58477-547-5  Item # 41764  [iv], 592 pp.  Cloth  September 2006  $125.

3. Verplanck, Gulian C. An Essay on the Doctrine of Contracts: Being an Inquiry How Contracts are Affected in Law and Morals, By Concealment, Error, Or Inadequate Price. New York: Published by G. & C. Carvill, [1825]. vi, 234 pp. Reprinted by the Lawbook Exchange, Ltd.
* Reprint of the first edition. In his discussion of early American works on contract law in The Transformation of American Law Horwitz observes that “nowhere were [its] underlying bases more brilliantly and systematically rethought” than in Verplanck’s Essay (281). Indeed, compared to those of Dane and Story, “Verplanck’s reconsideration of the philosophical foundations of contract law was by far the most penetrating among the American treatise writers” (283). It is a landmark in the development of the will theory of contract and an elaborate critique of the doctrine of caveat emptor, which had recently been adopted by the U.S. Supreme Court in Laidlaw v. Organ (1817). On a broader level, this key work is interesting for its insights into the tandem development of contract law and the market economy on the cusp of the economic boom of the 1820s.

ISBN-13: 978-1-58477-637-6

ISBN-10: 1-58477-637-4  Item # 43737  [vi], 234 pp.  Cloth  September 2006  $95.

Procès Verbaux of the Proceedings of

the Committee June 16th July 24 1920

With Annexes

League of Nations. Permanent Court of International Justice,

Advisory Committee of Jurists

Available September 2006 with a new introduction by Jörg Kammerhofer

This title is one of the most important documents in the establishment of the Permanent Court of International Justice (1920-1946). Because the Statute of the Permanent Court was taken over by the International Court of Justice (since 1945) nearly unchanged, it remains of enormous practical and scholarly importance today.

In effect, this is the only documentary evidence we have of the drafters’ train of thought. More than a historical document, this title is a most important tool in the interpretation of the Statute of the ICJ.

Between 16 June and 24 July 1920 an international group of ten distinguished jurists including Elihu Root, Albert de Lapradelle and Lord Phillimore held 35 meetings in the Peace Palace in The Hague to draft the statute for the Permanent Court of International Justice (PCIJ) of the League of Nations. The Procès-Verbaux documents the proceedings of these sessions.
The Annexes contain the texts of relevant supporting documents, including early drafts of the statute. With index. Not widely available at university libraries.

ISBN-13: 978-1-58477-693-2

ISBN-10: 1-58477-693-5  Item # 45256  779 pp.  Cloth  September 2006  $195.