Gould’s Edition of Kent’s

Commentaries With Holmes’ Notes

85. Kent, James [1763-1847]. Gould, John M., Editor. Oliver Wendell Holmes, Editor. Commentaries on American Law. Fourteenth. Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1876. Four volumes. Octavo (6" x 9"). Later tan buckram, red and black lettering pieces to spines. Worn and soiled, text blocks and some endleaves detached, internally clean. Ex-law firm library. Card pocket to front pastedowns, stamps to endleaves. A solid reading copy and a good candidate for rebinding.  $350.
* Fourteenth edition. Probably the single most important interpretation of American law. Marvin ranks it above Blackstone’s Commentaries, writing that “England has only furnished one Blackstone, and the American rival equals him in classic purity and elegance of style, and surpasses him in extent and copiousness of learning.” This edition, by Gould, is an updated version of the venerable O.W. Holmes edition that retains all of the justice’s notes. Marvin, Legal Bibliography (1847) 438. Catalogue of the Library of the Harvard Law School (1909) I:1088.
See illustration below.

87. Klein, Richard Henry. Judgment by Confession in Pennsylvania. Philadelphia: George T. Bisel Company, 1929. xlv, 388 pp. Contemporary buckram, blind frames to boards, red and black lettering pieces to spine. Some shelfwear and soiling, partial cracks at front and rear of text block, faint dampstaining to a few laves, internally clean. Ex-library. Stamps to endleaves and edges, date-due sheet to rear free endpaper, card pocket to rear pastedown.  $95.
* First edition. “Judgment by Confession in Pennsylvania should be a necessary part of the library of every Pennsylvania lawyer.”: Abraham L. Freedman, Temple Law Quarterly 3 (1928-1929) 340.

Magnitot’s Dictionnaire: An Excellent Guide to

French Law During the July Monarchy

89. Le Rat de Magnitot, Albin, and Huard-Delamarre. Dictionnaire de Droit Public et Administratif Contenant: L’Esprit de Lois Administratives et des Ordonnances Reglementaires; L’Analyse des Circulaires Ministerielles; La Jurisprudence du Conseil D’Etat et de la Cour de Cassation sur le Contentieux de L’Administration; Les Opinions Comparees des Auteurs sur les Memes Matieres, Etc., Etc. Paris: Videcoq File Aine, Editeur, 1841. Two volumes. Octavo (6-1/2" x 10"). Contemporary cloth, gilt titles to spines, ribbon markers. Some rubbing, spine ends and corners bumped and lightly worn, small stain to front board of Volume I. Occasional foxing, interiors otherwise fresh. Ex-library. Shelf labels to spines. A nice copy of a rare title.  $750.
* Second edition, enlarged. First published in 1837-1838, this dictionary is an excellent guide to the state of French law during the July Monarchy (1830-1848), a politically and socially dynamic period in French history. It is an encyclopedic work with lengthy definitions; many are divided into several sub-topics. This editions contains a supplement updating the entries “Aliens,” “Attributions Municipales” and “Attributions Departmentales.” OCLC locates 2 copies of the second edition. KVK locates 9 copies of this edition, 12 copies of all editions. One copy located in the United States at the Library of Congress, which has the second edition. Not in the British Museum Catalogue.
See illustration below.

90. Lefroy, A[ugustus] H.F. Canada’s Federal System: Being a Treatise on Canadian Constitutional Law. Toronto: Carswell Co., 1913. lxvii, 898 pp. Reprinted 2006 by The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd. Cloth. New.  $150.
* This is a detailed commentary on the constitution that governed present-day Canada from its creation in 1867 under the British North American Act to 1982, when it achieved complete political independence. The foremost interpreter of the Canadian constitution in his day, Lefroy [1852-1919] was an important Canadian jurist who helped to draft several important amendments to Canada’s constitution.

A “Beautiful and Scientific Work” on Equity

91. Lube, D[enis] G[eorge]. Wheeler, J.D., Editor. An Analysis of the Principles of Equity Pleading; Containing a Compendium of the Practice of the High Court of Chancery, And the Foundation of Its Rules, Together With an Illustration of the Analogy Between Pleadings at Common Law and in Equity. With Notes and References to American Cases. New York: Published by Banks, Gould & Co., 1846. xxxvi, 415 pp. Octavo (5-1/2" x 9"). Recent period-style quarter calf over cloth, gilt fillets and original lettering piece to spine, endpapers renewed. Light foxing to most of text. A nice copy in an attractive binding.  $350.
* Second edition, based on the 1823 London edition. With an appendix of forms. First published in London in 1823 and New York in 1840, this was a standard treatise until the late nineteenth century. “In presenting this beautiful and scientific work...to the American Public, the editor will merely observe that he will be contented with a relative degree of excellency in the notes, as compared to the text. He has however collected all the cases and principles on this side of the Atlantic, that he supposed would illustrate it, or where the analogy was so perceptible as to induce a belief in their utility in supporting, or in any way affecting the principles stated.”: Advertisement [v]. Cohen 4980.

92. Maine, Sir Henry Sumner [1822-1888]. Lectures on the Early History of Institutions. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1888. viii, 412 pp. Octavo (5-1/2" x 8-1/2"). Original cloth, blind frames to boards, gilt title to spine. Light rubbing to boards, spine ends and corners bumped and lightly worn, front hinge starting, internally clean. $95.
* First American edition. This work on historical jurisprudence is a sequel to Maine’s important Ancient Law (1861).

93. Malden, Henry Elliot, Editor. Magna Carta Commemoration Essays. With a Preface by the Rt. Hon. Viscount Bryce. [London]: For the Royal Historical Society, 1917. xxxi, 310 pp. Reprinted 2005 by The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd. Cloth. New.  $80.
* This collection of ten essays in honor of the 700th anniversary of Magna Carta was commissioned by the Royal Historical Society in 1915. Its contents include “Clause 39” by Sir Paul Vinogradoff, “Per Iudicum Parium Vel Per Legem Terrae” by F.M. Powicke, “Magna Carta and the Common Law” by Charles Howard McIlwain and “The Influence of Magna Carta on American Constitutional Development” by H.D. Hazeltine.

95. Mann, Bruce H. Neighbors and Strangers: Law and Community in Early Connecticut. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, [1987]. 202 pp. Cloth very good in lightly worn dust jacket.  $85.
* Combining legal and social history, Mann explores the relationship between law and society from the mid-seventeenth century to the eve of the American Revolution. Analyzing a sample of more than five thousand civil cases from the records of local Connecticut courts, he shows how once-neighborly modes of disputing yielded to a legal system that treated neighbors and strangers alike.

99. Martz, Clyde O. Rights Incident to Possession of Land. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1954. xi, 258 pp. Original cloth, some shelfwear, internally clean. Ex-library. Location label to front board, stamps to endleaves, card pocket to rear pastedown.  $75.
* Topics discussed in this treatise include trespass, nuisances, water rights, possession and issues relating to adjoining landowners.

Important Monograph on William Sheppard

100. Matthews, Nancy L. William Sheppard, Cromwell’s Law Reformer. Cambridge University Press, 1984. xviii, 307 pp. Hardcover, negligible shelfwear, internally clean.  $125.
* First edition. A title in the Cambridge Studies in English Legal History series, this study presents a full account of Sheppard’s employment under Oliver Cromwell’s Protectorate as well as an examination of his family background and education, his religious commitment to John Owen’s party of Independents and his legal philosophy. An appraisal of all Sheppard’s legal works, including those written during the Civil War and the Restoration period, illustrates the overlapping concerns with law reform, religion and politics in his generation. Sheppard had impressively consistent goals for the reform of English law and his prescient proposals anticipate the reforms ultimately adopted in the nineteenth century, culminating in the Judicature Acts of 1875-78. Dr. Matthews examines the relative importance of Sheppard’s books to his generation and to legal literature in general.

“Has an Added Claim to the Favor of the Profession”

101. Maupin, Chapman W. Marketable Title to Real Estate, Being Also a Treatise on the Rights and Remedies of Vendors and Purchasers of Defective Titles (As Between Themselves) Including the Law of Covenants for Title, The Doctrine of Specific Performance, And Other Kindred Subjects. New York: Baker, Voorhis & Company, 1921. xc, 997 pp. Original buckram, red and black lettering pieces. Light shelfwear, corners bumped, some scuffing to lettering pieces, internally clean. Ex-law office library. Owner label to head of spine, stamp to front free endpaper.  $125.
* Third edition. “This is the first revision of this well-known work since 1907. More than twelve hundred new decisions on the law of vendor and purchaser have been cited or referred to. As a source from which to gather all the decisions in this important branch of the law, the new edition has an added claim to the favor of the profession.”: American Bar Association Journal 8 (1922) 215.

102. McIlwain, Charles Howard. The High Court of Parliament and Its Supremacy: An Historical Essay on the Boundaries Between Legislation and Adjudication in England. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1910. xxi, 408 pp. Reprinted 2004 by The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd. Cloth. New.  $95.
* Reprint of the first edition. Highly acclaimed when it was published, this remains a classic. McIlwain [1871-1968], a professor of history at Harvard University for more than three decades, developed — with a particular emphasis on Parliament’s role as a judicial body — Pollock and Maitland’s thesis from their landmark work The History of English Law Before the Time of Edward I (1895) that Parliament was not a legislature in the modern sense; it was an administrative and judicial instrument of the crown. Oliver Wendell Holmes praised the work in a May 8, 1918 letter to Harold J. Laski: “... it left me greatly admiring it as an altogether admirable piece of work. It also kept me keenly interested from beginning to end.” Howe, Holmes-Laski Letters I:152-153.

The First German Treatises on Mining Law

104. [Mining]. Ursprung und Ordnungen der Bergwerge im Konigreich Boheim, Churfursten-Tum Sachsen, Ertzhertzogthum Osterreich, Furstenthumb Braunschweig und Luneburgk, Graffschafft Hohenstein, daru Einstheils biss an Hero noch nie in Druck Ausgangen alles mit Vleis Zusammen Getragen und Was in Iedem Gehandelt auff Nachfolgendem Blat Zubefindenn. Cum Gratia & Privil. Serenis. Elect. Saxoniae. Leipzig: Im Vorlegung Henning Grossendes Jungern, 1616. Four parts in one volume, each with title page. First work preceded by general title page. [iv], 361, [3]; [iv], 209, [11]; [viii], 92; [iv], 155, [23] pp.

[Bound with]

Wenceslaus II, King of Bohemia [c.1271-1305] Deucer, Johannes, Editor and Translator. Ein New Sehr Nutzlich Koniglich Bergkbuch, Darinnen Begriffen Allerley Wichtige Bergksachen, wie auch Hochnothwendige Bergkwercksgebruche und Gerichtsprocess, so taglich in Allen Bergwercken mit Grossem Nutz, von den Bawenden Gewercken, Ampt und Bergleuten Konnen Gebrauchet Werden. Leipzig: Typis Grosianis, 1616. [viii], 272 pp.

Folio (7-1/2" x 12"). Contemporary paneled calf, raised bands, clasps lacking, faint hand-lettered to fore edge. Light rubbing to boards, some wear to board edges, corners and joints, moderate wear to spine ends with some loss. Small early spine label to head, hinges cracked but secure, wear to fore-edges of a few leaves at beginning and end of text block. First few leaves loose but holding. Later bookplate to front pastedown, early signatures and annotations to endleaves, other annotations to margins of a few text leaves. First work has copperplate pictorial general title page with mining scenes, title page of second work printed in red and black within woodcut architectural frame. First part of first work contains several copperplate illustrations of mining techniques. Divisional title pages of first work have large woodcut heraldic devices. Head-pieces, tail-pieces and decorated initials throughout. Light browning to text, occasional light foxing. Solid copies of two fascinating and scarce works.  $3,500.
* Two fascinating collections of mining laws from north-eastern Germany and central Europe. With indexes. These are believed to be the first German treatises on the subject, and are among the first published in Europe. The first book of Urspung and Ordnung contains a treatise on mining techniques with charming illustrations. This is followed by a compilation of the mining laws of the Kingdom of Saxony and Poland. The following books contain similar collections for the Austrian Empire and smaller states like Braunschweig and Luneburg. The second work is an edition of a collection of laws enacted by King Wenceslaus II of Bohemia. Both titles appear to be first editions. Koch, Bergmannisches Schrifftum 116 (Wenceslaus). Neither title in the BMC, Goldsmiths’ or Kress.
See illustration below.

Popular French Summary of the Digest

105. Montvallon, Andre Barrique de [1678-1779]. Epitome Juris et Legum Romanarum, Frequentioris Usus, Juxta Seriem Digestorum cum Brevissimis Additionibus, & Notis, Tam ex Pragmaticis, Quam ex Usu Forensi Selectis. Accedit Index Locupletissimus. Aix-en-Provence: Apud Viduam J. David, & Spiritum David, 1756. xiv, 593, [1], 68, [4] pp. Octavo (4" x 6-1/2"). Contemporary calf with cat’s paw decoration, gilt spine with raised bands and lettering piece, marbled endpapers, edges rouged. Some rubbing to spine and extremities with wear to spine ends and corners, crack between front free endpaper and title page, rear board beginning to separate but still secure. Light soiling to title page, toning to a few leaves, interior otherwise fresh. $250.
* First edition. With table and index. This epitome of the Digest went through four editions, the final appearing in 1828. It is a remarkable work of synthesis that covers all 50 books. Montvallon was a notable jurist and scholar who lived in Aix-en-Provence. KVK locates 3 copies of this edition, 9 of all editions. 3 copies in the United States, 6 of all editions. This edition not in the BMC.

New Mexico Enters the Union

107. [New Mexico]. Proceedings of the Constitutional Convention of the Proposed State of New Mexico Held at Santa Fe, New Mexico October 3rd, 1910, to November 21st, 1910. [And] pocket-part Constitution of the State of New Mexico. Albuquerque, NM: Press of the Morning Journal, 1910. Contemporary law calf, lettering piece to spine. Moderate edgewear and a few scuffs, spine reinforced at head, center and foot with strips of cloth tape, front hinge reinforced with paper strips, rear hinge just starting. Rear leaf of pocket-part partially detached but secure. Owner stamp and signature to front pastedown, interior otherwise clean. A solid copy of a scarce title.  $150.
* First printing of the New Mexican State Constitution and the proceedings of constitutional convention. New Mexico was admitted to the union in 1912, the same year as Arizona. Babbitt, Hand-List of Legislative Sessions and Session Laws 334.

Wills From Members of

Distinguished English Families

109. Nicolas, Nicholas Harris, Sir [1799-1848], Editor. Testamenta Vetusta: Being Illustrations from Wills, of Manners, Customs, &c. as Well as of the Descents and Possessions of Many Distinguished Families. From the Reign of Henry the Second to the Accession of Queen Elizabeth. London: Nichols and Son, 1826. Two volumes with continuous pagination bound as one. Copperplate frontispiece and tail-piece, general title page with copperplate vignette, divisional title page of Volume II lacking. Octavo (6" x 9"). Recent buckram, gilt title to spine, all edges gilt, endpapers renewed. Some foxing, faint dampstaining and edgewear to preliminaries and final three leaves, interior otherwise fresh.  $250.
* Only edition. This book contains an annotated collection of wills from members of prominent English families from the twelfth to sixteenth centuries. Nicolas was a distinguished and prolific antiquarian. HLC II:226.

Rare Italian Edition of

Pardessus’ Treatise on Servitudes

113. Pardessus, Jean-Marie [1772-1853]. Mercurio, Raffaele, Editor and Translator. Trattato Delle Servitu: O Servizio De’ Fondi del Sig. J.M. Pardessus. Naples: Dalla Tipografia di Angelo Trani, 1824. [viii], 327, [1], IV, [4] pp. Octavo (5" x 8"). Contemporary vellum, gilt fillets and calf lettering piece to spine, speckled edges. A few minor stains to boards, corners and spine ends bumped and lightly worn, some wear to edges of lettering piece. Light foxing and browning to a few leaves and front and rear of text block, interior otherwise fresh.  $750.
* First Italian edition, from the fifth French edition (1820). Pardessus was the leading French scholar of commercial law during the first half of the nineteenth century. His reputation was international, and he was held in high esteem by several important English and American jurists, such as James Kent. This edition contains notes and other additions relating to the laws of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, which in 1824 was a Bourbon domain consisting of all of southern Italy and the Island of Sicily. Later Italian editions were published in 1830, 1832, 1854 and 1863. 3 copies located in North America. Harvard Law School has an 1830 edition, Tulane Law School has editions from 1832 and 1863. KVK locates 1 copy of the 1824 edition, 4 of all editions. 1824 edition not in the BMC.

Final Authorial Edition

115. Parsons, Theophilus [1797-1882]. The Law of Contracts. Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1873. Two volumes. Octavo (6" x 9"). Contemporary buckram, red and black lettering piece to spine. Minor shelfwear and soiling, a few scuffs to lettering pieces. Ex-U.S. Supreme Court Library. Owner labels to spines, bookplates to front pastedowns, stamps to endleaves. A nice set.  $250.
* Sixth edition, and the last edited by the author. First published in 1853-1855, this was the standard treatise on contracts during the nineteenth century. Its final edition, the eighth, was edited by Samuel Williston and published in 1893. It final edition, the ninth, was published in 1904. . Parsons [1797-1882] was Dane Professor of Law at Harvard University from 1848 to 1870 and the author of several popular treatises. HLC II:302.

116. Parsons, Theophilus. The Political, Personal, and Property Rights of a Citizen of the United States, How to Exercise and Preserve Them. Together with I. A Treatise on the Rules of Organization and Procedure in Deliberative Assemblies; II. A Glossary of Law Terms in Common Use. Hartford: S.S. Scranton and Company, 1875. xvi, 744 pp. Reprinted 2004 by The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd. Cloth. New.  $125.
* This book outlines the political rights of American citizens and maintains the importance of the rights of the individual. A discussion of the United States Constitution and the constitutions of the states and territories is followed by an overview of personal rights. The book concludes with a digest of family, property and business law relevant to personal and property rights. The extensive appendix includes a glossary of common law terms and a treatise on the rules of order in deliberative bodies

Scarce Treatise on the Roman Law of Fiscus

117. Pellegrini, Marco Antonio (Peregrino, Antonio) [1530-1616]. De Iuribus [Juribus], Et Privilegiis Fisci, Libri Septem. Et ab Ipsomet Auctore in hac Secundi Editione Correceti, & Aucti. Venice: Apud Paulum Meietum Bibliopolam Patavinum, 1590. [xxxxviii], 215 pp. Main text printed in double columns. Folio (7-3/4" x 11-1/4"). Contemporary vellum, blind rules to boards, lettering piece to spine, edges rouged. Light soiling, faint stain to rear board, spine ends and corners bumped. Title page with large device printed in red and black, attractive woodcut head-pieces and decorated initials. Faint dampstaining and light foxing to a few leaves, interior otherwise fresh. A well-preserved copy.  $1,750.
* Reissue of the second edition (1588). First published in 1587, this treatise analyzes the Roman law of fiscus, that is, the law relating to the treasury, including property, of a state or monarch. Topics addressed in this work include taxation and the forfeiture of private property. No copies of this edition on KVK, 15 of other editions. 1 copy of this title located in North America at the University of Kansas, which has a 1588 edition. Not in Adams or the BMC. See illustration below.

118. Pestana, Carla Gardina. Liberty of Conscience and the Growth of Religious Diversity in Early America, 1636-1786. Providence: The John Carter Brown Library, 1986. 102 pp. Softbound, some shelfwear, internally clean. A very good copy.  $50.
* An exhibition catalogue of items in the John Carter Brown Library with lengthy annotations.

120. Plucknett, Theodore F.T. Statutes and Their Interpretation in the First Half of the Fourteenth Century. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1922. xliv, 200 pp. Reprinted 2005 by The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd. Cloth. New.  $90.
* An important book by a preeminent scholar of English legal history. Using evidence drawn from the Year Books from 20 Edw. I to 20 Edw., III Plucknett [1897-1965] analyzes the nature of early statutes as seen in the rules for their construction and their use in court. He shows that the early statutes were more legislative than declaratory, and were treated as such by the courts. “This is an essay of absorbing interest and of great value to historians of the law. Every page shows not only immense industry, but sound learning.”: Law Quarterly Review 39:138-139 cited in Marke 143.

Early Italian Edition of Pothier on Obligations

121. Pothier, Robert Joseph [1699-1722]. Trattato Delle Obbligazioni Secondo le Regole Tanto del Foro Della Coscienza Quanto del Foro Civile. Con L’Indicazione de’ Cambiamenti Fatti dal Codice Civile Francese, del Sig. Bernardi Ex-Legislatore, Capo Della Divisione Civile al Ministero del Gran Giudice. Notabilmente Emendata e Corretta. Naples: Dalla Tipografia Azzolini, 1837. Four volumes in one, each with title page and individual pagination. Octavo (5" x 8"). Contemporary vellum, gilt ornament and red and black lettering pieces to spine, speckled edges. Light soiling, boards slightly bowed, head of spine bumped. Light foxing and finger smudges to a few leaves, interior otherwise fresh. An attractive copy of a rare edition.  $750.
* Fourth Italian edition. Arguably the greatest French jurist of the eighteenth century, Pothier devoted much of his career to the study of French civil law. A brilliant and prolific scholar, he wrote a long series of treatises on all of its branches. His Treatise on Obligations (1761) was the most influential, both in Europe and in Great Britain and the United States; several editions were issued through the mid-nineteenth century. First published in 1813 when much of Italy was under French rule, this Italian translation contains notes and references to the Code Napoleon and the Italian Civil Code. No copies of this edition on OCLC or KVK. OCLC locates 1 copy of a later edition at the New York Public Library. KVK locates 13 editions, with two in North America at the Library of Congress. Not in the BMC.

Letters to Blackstone

123. [Priestley, Joseph (1733-1804), Sir William Blackstone (1723-1780), Philip Furneaux (1726-1783), Sir. Michael Foster (1689-1763) and William Murray, Earl of Mansfield (1705-1793)]. An Interesting Appendix to Sir William Blackstone’s Commentaries on the Laws of England. Containing, I. Priestley’s Remarks on Some Paragraphs in the Fourth Volume of Blackstone’s Commentaries, Relating to the Dissenters. II. Blackstone’s Reply to Priestley’s Remarks. III. Priestley’s Answer to Blackstone’s Reply. IV. The Case of the Late Election of the County or Middlesex Considered on the Principles of the Constitution and the Authorities of Law. V. Furneaux’s Letters to the Hon. Mr. Justice Blackstone Concerning his Exposition of the Act of Toleration, and Some Positions Relative to Religious Liberty, in his Celebrated Commentaries on the Laws of England. VI. Authentic Copies of the Argument of the late Hon. Mr. Justice Foster in the Court of Judges Delegates, and of the Speech of the Right Hon. Lord Mansfield in the House of Lords, in the Cause Between the City of London and the Dissenters. [Philadelphia]: Printed for the Subscribers, by Robert Bell, 1773. [iv], iv, [5]-119, [1], xii, 155, [1]. Includes one-page publisher advertisement. Each section preceded by divisional title page, first work also preceded by general title page. Octavo (gathered in fours) (5-3/4" x 8-3/4"). Contemporary sheep, raised bands, lettering piece. Some rubbing with minor wear to extremities, corners bumped. Early owner signature to front free endpaper. Offsetting to margins of endleaves, light browning and foxing to some leaves, interior otherwise fresh. A desirable copy of an uncommon colonial imprint.  $1,450.
* Second issue. Later issued under the title The Palladium of Conscience, this book contains a group of essays on religious liberty inspired by a passage from Section III of Book IV, Chapter 4, “Of Offences Against God and Religion.” It was originally published in 1772 as a fifth volume to Bell’s edition of Blackstone’s Commentaries (1771-1772). Eller 256. Cohen 5369.
See illustration below.

Law And Lawyers Laid Open

124. [Purves, J.A.]. The Law and Lawyers Laid Open, In Twelve Visions, To Which Is Added, Plain Truth, In Three Dialogues, Between Truman, Skinall, Dryboots, Three Attornies, and Season a Bencher. London: T. Woodman and J. Chrichley, 1737. xlviii, 269, [3] pp. Includes three-page publisher catalogue. 12mo. (4" x 6-1/2"). Contemporary speckled calf, gilt rules to boards, raised bands and lettering piece to spine. A few faint stains to boards, moderate rubbing to extremities, joints just starting, chipping to spine, hinges cracked but secure. Early owner signature and annotation to front pastedown, later owner stamp to bottom edge of text block, endleaves and some text leaves. A solid, unsophisticated copy of a scarce title.  $1,250.
* Second edition First published in 1736, this satirical allegory takes aim at the excesses and abuses of the legal profession. OCLC locates 19 copies. Sweet & Maxwell 1:215(53).
See illustration below.

Nineteenth-Century Treatise on

Copyright Law and Its History

125. Renouard, Augustin-Charles [1794-1878]. Traite des Droits D’Auteurs, Dans la Litterature, Les Sciences et les Beaux-Arts. Paris: Chez Jules Renouard et Cie, 1838, 1839. Two volumes. Octavo (5" x 8"). Contemporary quarter calf over marbled boards, gilt and black fillets to spine, marbled endpapers, top edges rouged, ribbon markers. Some rubbing to spine ends and joints, which are just starting at ends. Light foxing in a few places, interiors otherwise fresh. A handsome set.  $1,250.
* Only edition. The first volume is a history of copyright in France and other nations from antiquity to the 1830s. The second volume contains the texts of all existing French copyright laws. Each law is followed by a summary of its legislative history and notes. Renouard was a judge of the French Court of Cassation, which is charged with the enforcement of copyright laws. BMC 21:420.
See illustration below.

First Edition of Notable New Hampshire JP Manual

127. [Richardson, William Merchant (1774-1838)]. The New-Hampshire Justice of the Peace. Concord: Printed by Isaac Hill, 1824. xi, [13]-320 pp. 12mo. (4" x 6-1/2"). Contemporary sheep, lettering piece, blind fillets to spine. Light rubbing to extremities, corners bumped, a few tiny inkstains, boards slightly bowed. Early owner signature to front free endpaper. Light browning and foxing in a few places, interior otherwise fresh. A well-preserved copy of an uncommon title.  $125.
* First edition. Richardson practiced law in Groton, Massachusetts and represented Massachusetts in the United States Congress from 1811 to 1814. He moved to New Hampshire in 1814 and became chief justice of the state supreme court in 1816. He also compiled the early volumes of New Hampshire Reports. Cohen 8396.

Handsome Latin Dictionary With Many Law Terms

129. Riley, H[enry] T. Dictionary of Latin Quotations, Proverbs, Maxims and Mottos, Classical and Mediaeval, Including Law Terms and Phrases. With a Selection of Greek Quotations. London: Henry G. Bohn, 1856. vi, 556 pp. Octavo (4-1/2" x 7"). Recent period-style quarter calf over cloth, endpapers renewed. Light foxing to title page and a few leaves. Early signature in pencil to head of title page, interior otherwise clean. Handsome.  $300.
* “The present collection differs from its predecessors in being limited exclusively to Latin and Greek quotations.... This arrangement has enabled him to nearly quadruple the number of Latin quotations given heretofore, and to extend the number of Greek from about twenty to upwards of five hundred; amounting in all to an aggregate of more than eight thousand.”: Preface [iii]. BMC 21:665.

Rare Treatise on the Feudal Law of Sicily

130. Rocchetti, Giovanni Battista. Diritto Feudale Commune, E Sicolo. Palermo: Presso Filippo Barravecchiae, 1805. Two volumes. Octavo (4-1/2" x 8"). Contemporary three-quarter calf over marbled boards, gilt spines, speckled edges. Moderate rubbing with some wear to extremities, some chipping to foot of each spine, Volume I hinges cracked but secure. Brief early annotations to a few leaves. Light browning and foxing in a few places, interior otherwise fresh.  $1,000.
* First edition. Little noticed when it was first published, Rocchetti’s thorough treatise on the feudal law of Sicily was rediscovered at the turn of the twentieth century. Revised editions were published in 1907-10 and 1912. KVK locates 0 copies of the first edition, 7 copies of the later editions. Two institutions in North America report copies: Harvard Law School and the Library of Congress. Both have the 1907-1910 edition. Not in the BMC.

131. Rohan, Patrick J., Et Al. Symposium on the Law of Condominiums. Jamaica, NY: St. John’s Law Review Association, 1974. xx, 677-1222 pp. Original cloth, some shelfwear, internally clean. Ex-library. Location label to spine, stamps to edges and endleaves, card pocket to rear pastedown.  $20.
* St. John’s Law Review, Vol. 48, No. 4 (1974).

Rare Canon Law Treatise on Debtors and Creditors

132. Sanchez de Melo, Luis (Sanctio a Melo, Ludovico). Novus Tractatus de Induciis Debitorum a Creditoribus Suis, Aliisque Personis Concedendis, Vel Non Opus Ingenti Elaboratum Studio et Theoricis, et Practicis, Aequaliter Utile, ac Necessarium. Venice: Apud Turrinum, 1649. [xii], 155, [18] pp. Contemporary three quarter vellum over patterned paper boards, early hand-lettered title to spine, speckled edges. Some shelfwear, light soiling, a few tiny stains to boards, a few worm holes to joints and hinges. Large woodcut printer device to title page, woodcut head-pieces and decorated initials. Small early pen flourish to title page, light toning to a few leaves, interior otherwise fresh. A lovely copy of a rare title.  $750.
* Only edition. This interesting treatise deals with the law of debtors and creditors in canon law with a particular focus on situations in which a debtor may postpone the payment of a debt or the fulfillment of an obligation. KVK locates 2 copies worldwide. 2copies located in North America at the Library of Congress and Harvard Law School. No copies listed on OCLC. Not in the BMC.

134. Schwartz, Bernard. Law and the Executive in Britain: A Comparative Study. New York: New York University Press, 1949. viii, 388 pp. Original cloth, some shelfwear, internally clean. Ex-library. Location label to spine, bookplate to front pastedown, stamps to endleaves, card pocket to rear pastedown.  $65.
* A comparative study of executive power in Great Britain and the United States.

135. Seymour, John Barton. The Whitley Councils Scheme. London: P.S. King & Son, Ltd., 1932. viii, 253 pp. Original cloth, some shelfwear, internally clean.  $45.
* Treatise on a system of industrial arbitration councils in Great Britain established by the Committee on Relations Between Employers and Employed of the Minister of Reconstruction.

Thorough 1766 Handbook on the Duties of Sheriffs

136. [Sheriffs]. [Great Britain]. The Under-Sheriff: Containing the Office and Duty of High-Sheriffs, Under-Sheriffs and Bailiffs, In the Following Order, Viz. Arrest, County-Court, Bail, Return of Writs, Venire Facias, Habeas Corpora Juratorum, Distringas, Juries, Habeas Corpus, Writs of Inquiry, Gals and Prisoners, Execution, Rescue, Escapes, False Imprisonment, Sheriffs of London and Middlesex, Assisizes and Sessions of the Peace, Fees, Bonds, Covenants, &c., Members of Parliament, Sheriff’s Accounts. With an Appendix of Precedents, Never Before Published. By a Gentleman of the Inner-Temple. London: Printed for His Majesty’s Law-Printers, 1766. 6, 601 pp. Octavo (5" x 8"). Recent period-style quarter calf over cloth, raised bands and lettering piece to spine, endpapers renewed. Offsetting and some chipping to margins of preliminaries and final two leaves, negligible light dampspotting in a few places, interior otherwise fresh. An attractive copy of a scarce title.  $750.
* Only edition. With forms. This is an unusually thorough guidebook that considers the relation of sheriffs to other parts of the legal system. OCLC locates 13 copies. Sweet & Maxwell 1:223 (20).

Useful for the Analysis of Old English Records

137. Sims, Richard [1816-1898]. A Manual for the Genealogist, Topographer, Antiquary, and Legal Professor: Consisting of Descriptions of Public Records, Parochial and Other Registers, Wills, County and Family Histories; Heraldic Collections in Public Libraries, etc. etc. London: J.R. Smith, 1861. xx, 526 pp. Octavo (5-1/2" x 8-1/2"). Recent buckram, gilt title to spine, endpapers renewed, internally fresh.  $175.
* Second edition. First published in 1856, this manual contains a useful “Brief Glossary of Dates and Terms Most Commonly Met With in Ancient Records” as well as bibliographies and a thorough index. BMC 23:609.

Scarce 1612 Treatise on

Roman and Italian Family Law

138. Sordi (Surdi), Giovanni Pietro [d. 1598]. Tractatus de Alimentis, Titulis, Seu Partibus Distinctus; Totam Alimentorum Materiam Exactissime Complectens, Omnibus tum Theoricis, Tum Practicis Apprime Utile ac Necessarium; Nunc Recens Maiori Studio ac Diligentia Excussus. Cum Summariis, & Indice Rerum ac Sententiarum Locupletissimo. Venice: Apud Haeredem Damiani Zenarii, 1612. [xciv] pp. 361 fols. Folio (8-1/2" x 13"). Contemporary vellum, blind rules to boards, lettering piece to spine, edges rouged. Light rubbing with negligible wear to spine ends and corners, a few inkspots to boards. Title page with large woodcut device within architectural border printed in red and black, woodcut head-pieces, tail-pieces and decorated initials. Dampstain to head of a group of leaves near center of text block, interior otherwise fresh. An appealing copy of a scarce title.  $1,500.
* Third edition. Sordi’s treatise examines the Roman law of husband and wife and parent and child and their application to recent Italian law. It was first published in 1594. Widely circulated throughout Italy and Central Europe, it went through other editions in 1602, 1612, 1619, 1625 and 1643. 4 copies of this edition located in North America. KVK locates 2 copies of this edition, 25 copies of all editions. This edition not in the BMC.
See illustration below.

139. St. Lawrence University. Frederick A. Moran Memorial Institute on Delinquency and Crime at St. Lawrence University, Canton, New York, August 15-21, 1954. Canton, NY: St. Lawrence University, 1954. 115 pp. Plates. Softbound, light shelfwear, internally clean.  $45.
* Proceedings of an institute (i.e. conference) held in 1954.

Limited Edition Study on

Early Maritime Insurance in Venice

140. Stefani, Giuseppe. Insurance in Venice from the Origins to the End of the Serenissima. [Translated from the Italian by Arturo Dawson Amoruso]. Trieste: Assicurazioni Generali di Trieste e Venezia, 1958. Two volumes. Color frontispiece, numerous plates and fold-out illustrations, many in color. Original cloth, attractive multi-color devices to front boards. Light shelfwear and soiling, corners bumped, internally pristine. Ex-library. Residue from bookplate to front pastedown, residue from date-due sheet to front free endpaper. A very good copy of a title scarce in the trade.  $200.
* First edition in English. More than a history of insurance in Venice, this lavish work, which was produced by an Italian bank, offers a detailed history of the maritime economy of Venice from the Medieval period to the nineteenth century. Early maritime law is treated at length. A recent review observed that “For over a century now, Italian banks and other credit institutions have, chiefly for reasons of prestige subsidized the publication of books [such as this one]... Being essentially privately printed, most of these books never entered the mainstream of the publishing world: no entries in standard bibliographies... no ISBN numbers or CIP date revealed their existence... Far from being coffee-table books, these publications constitute a very large and multi-faceted body of historical, scientific, and literary scholarship of a high level, presented in handsome typographical format, that has remained largely unknown and inaccessible to the ‘outside world’.”: Bernard M. Rosenthal, review of La Banca e Il Libro in Papers of the Bibliographic Society of America 87/I (March 1993).

Stunning Collection of Revolutionary War Sources

142. Stevens, B[enjamin] F[ranklin] [1833-1902], Compiler, Editor and Translator. B.F. Stevens’s Facsimiles of Manuscripts in European Archives Relating to America, 1773-1783. With Descriptions, Editorial Notes, Collations, References and Translations. London: Issued Only to Subscribers, 1889-1898. 24 solander cases (9-1/2" x 14-1/2") containing 5,107 items; Folio index volume (9-1/2" x 14-1/2"), xxx, 351 pp. Portrait frontispiece of Stevens. Cases and Index bound in attractive recent quarter maroon cloth with gilt stamping over original tan pebbled cloth, hinges and other joints reinforced. Light rubbing and edgewear. Interior of index and contents pristine. A stunning collection.  $7,500.
* From an edition limited to 200 sets. One of the great monuments of nineteenth-century archival research, Stevens’ collection comprises facsimiles of 2,107 diplomatic, religious, colonial, military, naval and legal documents from Great Britain, France, Holland and Spain, as well as maps and charts. These are supplemented with 3,000 descriptions, introductions, translations, editorial notes, collations and references. This set is complemented by a masterly index volume (with numerous cross-references) arranged by date, author and subject. Stevens included every significant item he could find ranging from correspondence between Benjamin Franklin and the Comte de Vergennes to papers relating the Battle of Yorktown and the Treaty of Paris. A pleasure to behold, these items are printed on high-quality paper produced especially for this project. All editorial matter is photo-reproduced from texts written in an elegant hand. Each facsimile is trimmed and bound to match the exact size of the originals. The Index volume has wide-margined deckle leaves and is decorated with elegant engraved head-pieces, tail-pieces and decorated initials. BMC 24:240.
See illustration below.

1844 Edition

143. Story, William W[etmore]. [1819-1895]. A Treatise on the Law of Contracts Not Under Seal. Boston: Charles C. Little and James Brown, 1844. xliv, 472 pp. Octavo (6" x 9"). Recent period-style quarter calf over cloth, raised bands and lettering piece to spine, endpapers renewed. Offsetting to margin of title page, faint dampstaining to lower margin of final thirty leaves. Early owner signature to front free endpaper, interior otherwise clean.  $650.
* First edition. The son of Joseph Story, William was “an amateur of the various arts...combin[ing] the exacting duties of a law practice and the preparation of volumes in the field of jurisprudence with painting, modeling, and music, to which he devoted himself in his spare time.... Among his legal publications were two textbooks which long maintained their place as standards (including Contracts).” DAB IX:109. HLC II:674. Marke 421.

144. Story, William W[etmore]. A Treatise on the Law of Contracts. Revised and Greatly Enlarged. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1856. Two volumes. Reprinted 2006 by The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd. Cloth. New.  $250.
* Reprint of the fourth edition, the final edition edited by the author. The son of Joseph Story, William Wetmore [1819-1895] wrote two textbooks that were standard works during the nineteenth century. This was one of them. First published in 1844, it went through five editions, the final appearing in 1874. “This work bears internal evidence of a careful and thorough examination of the cases, and the principles to be deduced from them are stated with precision, and in a concise and vigorous style.”: Marvin, Legal Bibliography (1847) 674 (review of the first edition).

Early Printing of Stracca’s Commercial Law Treatise

That Includes Another Treatise on Insurance

145. Stracca (Straccha), Benvenuto [1509-1578]. [Santarem, Pedro de (Santerna, Petrus)]. Tractatus de Mercatura, Seu Mercatore, Omnia Quae ad Hoc Genus Pertinent, Susissime Complectens. Huc Accessit Propter Petri Santernae Tractatus de Sponsionibus & Affecu Rationibus Mercatorum. Venice: Apud Michaelem Bonellum, 1575 (colophon dated 1576). [lxxx], 375, [2] pp. Octavo (4" x 6"). Contemporary three-quarter vellum over paper boards, raised bands, early hand-lettered titles to spine and bottom edge of text block. Some soiling and edgewear, joints partially cracked but secure, corners and spine ends bumped. Large woodcut printer device to title page, woodcut head-piece, tail-piece and decorated initials. Early struck-through signature and small wear hole to title page. Dampspotting and light foxing to portions of text, interior otherwise fresh. Ex-institution library. Early shelf label to front board, faints institution name in faint hand to title page. A solid copy of a scarce title.  $4,500.
* Third edition, “newly revised,” and the last authorial edition. An eminent jurist from a prominent business family, Stracca was the first to treat commercial law as a distinct field. Perhaps as a result of his background, his approach blended jurisprudence and the practical necessities of commercial life. First published in Venice in 1553 by Aldus Minutius, De Mercatura is his principal work. This pathbreaking treatise went through several editions throughout Europe, the final appearing in 1669. Notable for its blend of synthesis and original thought, it is a systematic exposition on commercial law with an emphasis on maritime and bankruptcy law. It also has sections on usury, the restriction of trade and the value of free navigation. This edition also contains the Tractatus de Sponsibus et Assecurationibus Mercatorum, an important treatise on insurance first published in 1554. Pedro de Santarem was a Portuguese jurist who represented his nation’s commercial interests in Florence, Livorno and Pisa. KVK locates 8 copies of this edition. OCLC locates 7 copies of this edition and 11 copies of all editions in North America. This edition not in Adams or the BMC. Encyclopaedia of Social Sciences XIV:415. Catalogue of the Goldsmiths’ Library of Economic Literature 185.
See illustration below.

146. Sullivan, Harold W. Contempts by Publication: The Law of Trial by Newspaper. [New Haven]: Privately Printed, 1940. xiii, 212 pp. Original cloth, moderate shelfwear, front hinge starting, internally clean. Presentation inscription to Francis Biddle to front free endpaper. Ex-library. Location label to spine, bookplate to front pastedown, stamps to endleaves.  $25.
* Second edition. Biddle was Attorney General under Franklin Roosevelt and a judge during the Nuremberg trials.

147. Sutherland, Donald W., Editor. The Eyre of Northhamptonshire. 3-4 Edward III A.D. 1329-1330. London: Selden Society, 1983. Two volumes. Original cloth, light shelfwear, internally clean.  $60.
* Year Book Series. Selden Society Vols. 97 (1981) and 98 (1982).