A General Digest of the Acts of the Legislatures of the Late...
A Landmark in the Legal History of the Louisiana Purchase Martin, Francois-Xavier [1762-1846]. A General Digest of the Acts of the Legislatures of the Late Territory of Orleans and of the State of Louisiana, And the Ordinances of the Governor Under the Territorial Government: Preceded by the Treaty of Cession, The Constitution of the United States, And of the State, With the Acts of Congress, Relating to the Government of the Country and the Land Claims Therein. Published Under a Resolve of the Legislature. New Orleans: Printed by Peter K. Wagner, 1816. Three volumes. 742; 696; 290, 295-513, [3], 107 pp. Volume III lacking pp. 291-294, which are supplied in facsimile. English and French translation on facing pages. Added title page in French reading: Digeste General des Actes des Legislatures du Territoire d'Orleans et de l'Etat de la Louisiane... Folding table in Volume I. Four pages of contemporary manuscript notes bound to rear of Volume II. Octavo (8" x 5"). Recent period-style calf, blind rules to boards, lettering pieces and gilt fillets to spine. Moderate toning, somewhat heavier near margins, light browning in places, light foxing to text. Faint dampstaining in places, worming to middle leaves of the bottom edge of Volume II with minor loss to margin (text not affected), a bit of edgewear to folding leaf, internally clean. Ex-library. Faint stamps to title pages, hand-lettered inventory numbers to versos. A handsome set. $2,500. * First edition. One of the great landmarks in Louisiana's history, this was the first post-territorial digest of the Louisiana legislature. It contains the treaty ceding the Territory of Louisiana to the United States and, on pp. 601-691 of Volume I, the infamous Code Noir of 1685, which ordered the expulsion of the Jews from French colonies, banned non-Catholic practices there and provided a system for the regulation of slavery. Martin was an important figure in the legal history of the south. A French-born lawyer, judge, author, translator, printer and historian, he began his career in North Carolina. He later moved to the Louisiana territory, where he played the leading role in the reorganization of its legal system. Appointed attorney-general when Louisiana became a state, he is considered the father of Louisiana jurisprudence. The manuscript pages at the end of Volume II.
Price: $2,500.00
Book number 64085