A Treatise of Spousals, or Matrimonial Contracts: Wherein all the...
From the Library of Julius Rosenthal: A Rare 1686 First Edition of the Foundation of English Marriage Law Swinburne, Henry [c.1551-1624]. A Treatise of Spousals, Or Matrimonial Contracts: Wherein All the Questions Relating to that Subject are Ingeniously Debated and Resolved. London: Printed by S. Roycroft for Robert Clavell at the Peacock in St. Paul's Church-Yard, 1686. [xvi], 240 pp. Quarto (7-3/4" x 5-1/2"; 19.5 x 14 cm). Period-style calf, blind rules and fillets to boards, raised bands, blind fillets and lettering piece to spine, endpapers renewed (with old paper). Negligible light rubbing and a few faint scratches to exterior. Moderate toning to text, occasional sparse light foxing, some offsetting to first and final several leaves resulting in brittle and lightly worn or chipped page edges, no loss to text, later owner signature of Julius Rosenthal to title page, portions of signature affected by chipping, faint pencil underlining and markings in a few places. A very good copy of a landmark work. $3,500. * First edition. Swinburne's Treatise of Spousals is the first English legal treatise dedicated to matrimonial contracts and a primary milestone in the legal history of women. Written by a Judge of the Consistory Court at York, the work provides a definitive 17th-century resolution to the complexities of betrothals vs. marriage, dissolution and divorce, and the rights of women. This copy features the signature of Julius Rosenthal (1828-1905), the legendary librarian of the Chicago Law Institute and a titan of the 19th-century American bar. Although written decades before its 1686 publication, Swinburne's "Spousals" remained the undisputed authority on the subject for over a century. This copy, with its connection to one of America's great legal bibliophiles, is a premier acquisition for any collection of Anglo-American jurisprudence. English Short-Title Catalogue R22016.
Price: $3,500.00
Book number 83481