• Fonsie Mealy’s
    Chatsworth Summer Fine Art Sale
    18th June 2025
    Fonsie Mealy, June 18: William IV, c1830, oversized slope-top Rosewood Davenport Desk, Attributed to Gillows of Lancaster. With Provenance to Oscar Wilde.
    Fonsie Mealy, June 18: William IV, c1830, oversized slope-top Rosewood Davenport Desk, Attributed to Gillows of Lancaster. With Provenance to Oscar Wilde.
    Fonsie Mealy, June 18: William IV, c1830, oversized slope-top Rosewood Davenport Desk, Attributed to Gillows of Lancaster. With Provenance to Oscar Wilde.
    Fonsie Mealy, June 18: French Bateau Bed, exhibition piece from the Exposition Universelle—The Paris World’s Fair, 1878. Third quarter of the 19th century. With Provenance to Oscar Wilde.
  • Rare Book Hub is now mobile-friendly!
  • Old World Auctions (June 18): Lot 567. One of the Earliest & Most Desirable Printed Maps of Arabia - by Holle/Germanus (1482) Est. $55,000 - $65,000
    Old World Auctions (June 18): Lot 681. Zatta's Complete Atlas with 218 Maps in Full Contemporary Color (1779) Est. $27,500 - $35,000
    Old World Auctions (June 18): Lot 347. MacDonald Gill's Landmark "Wonderground Map" of London (1914) Est. $1,800 - $2,100
    Old World Auctions (June 18): Lot 1. Fries' "Modern" World Map with Portraits of Five Kings (1525) Est. $4,000 - $4,750
    Old World Auctions (June 18): Lot 539. Ortelius' Superb, Decorative Map of Cyprus in Full Contemporary Color (1573) Est. $1,100 - $1,400
    Old World Auctions (June 18): Lot 51. Mercator's Foundation Map for the Americas in Full Contemporary Color (1630) Est. $3,250 - $4,000
    Old World Auctions (June 18): Lot 667. Manuscript Bible Leaf with Image of Mary and Baby Jesus (1450) Est. $1,900 - $2,200
    Old World Auctions (June 18): Lot 226. "A Powerful Example of Color Used to Make a Point" (1895) Est. $400 - $600
    Old World Auctions (June 18): Lot 290. One of the Most Decorative Early Maps of South America - from Linschoten's "Itinerario" (1596) Est. $7,000 - $8,500
    Old World Auctions (June 18): Lot 62. Coronelli's Influential Map of North America with the Island of California (1688) Est. $10,000 - $12,000
    Old World Auctions (June 18): Lot 589. The First European-Printed Map of China - by Ortelius (1584) Est. $4,000 - $5,000
  • Forum Auctions
    A Sixth Selection of 16th and 17th Century English Books from the Fox Pointe Manor Library
    19th June 2025
    Forum, June 19: Euclid. The Elements of Geometrie, first edition in English of the first complete translation, [1570]. £20,000 to £30,000.
    Forum, June 19: Nicolay (Nicolas de). The Navigations, peregrinations and voyages, made into Turkie, first edition in English, 1585. £10,000 to £15,000.
    Forum, June 19: Shakespeare source book.- Montemayor (Jorge de). Diana of George of Montemayor, first edition in English, 1598. £6,000 to £8,000.
    Forum, June 19: Livius (Titus). The Romane Historie, first edition in English, translated by Philemon Holland, Adam Islip, 1600. £6,000 to £8,000.
    Forum Auctions
    A Sixth Selection of 16th and 17th Century English Books from the Fox Pointe Manor Library
    19th June 2025
    Forum, June 19: Robert Molesworth's copy.- Montaigne (Michel de). The Essayes Or Morall, Politike and Millitarie Discourses, first edition in English, 1603. £10,000 to £15,000.
    Forum, June 19: Shakespeare (William). The Tempest [&] The Two Gentlemen of Verona, from the Second Folio, [Printed by Thomas Cotes], 1632. £4,000 to £6,000.
    Forum, June 19: Boyle (Robert). Medicina Hydrostatica: or, Hydrostaticks Applyed to the Materia Medica, first edition, for Samuel Smith, 1690. £2,500 to £3,500.
    Forum, June 19: Locke (John). An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding in Four Books, first edition, second issue, 1690. £8,00 to £12,000.

Rare Book Monthly

Articles - November - 2009 Issue

400th Anniversary of Freedom of the Seas Celebrated at Yale Exhibition

Hugo Grotius.

Hugo Grotius.


By Michael Stillman

Freedom to navigate the seas is a crucial element of free trade among nations. For many, their very survival requires freedom of trade, yet this freedom was not always recognized. Centuries ago, there was essentially no other way to trade with nations not on your border. However, at that time, many nations held to the proposition that a nation's sovereignty extended indefinitely from its coast into the sea. It could present a nightmare for anyone attempting to follow the coastline of a continent.

In the Americas, this principle provided the Spanish and the Portuguese with a virtual monopoly of the seas. In 1494, Pope Alexander VI had divided America between Spain and Portugal, using a north-south axis that eventually proved very favorable to Spain. Portugal got everything to the east of the line, Spain everything to the west. Explorations would later show that Portugal got Brazil, while everything else in the Americas lay west of the line.

Of course, nations not named Spain or Portugal would in time chafe under these rules. The British, who would renounce Catholicism during the reign of Henry VIII, had little use for rules promulgated by a Pope. It was into this setting that Hugo Grotius issued his pamphlet Mare Liberum in 1609. He was commissioned by the Dutch East India Company, which shared England's interest in freedom of the seas. Their interest was not so much the Americas but the other side of the globe, where the semi-private, semi-government Dutch East India Company was in the process of establishing an empire, particularly in what is today Indonesia. However, Grotius would soon be joined in his arguments for freedom of navigation by the leading English legal scholar of the day, John Selden. A pamphlet war would erupt, with those favoring freedom of the seas eventually winning out. In time, boundaries would be set at just a canon's fire distance from the coast, three miles from the shoreline.

An exhibition of materials from this critical time to freedom of the seas is taking place at the Lillian Goldman Law Library at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, from now through January 2010. Entitled Freedom of the Seas, 1609: Grotius and the Emergence of International Law, it includes numerous items from the collections of Yale, Harvard, and private collector Edward Gordon. It is curated by Gordon and Mike Widener, Yale's Rare Book Librarian. Gordon is a former President of the American Branch of the International Law Association who has taught courses at numerous universities.

You can learn more about this exhibition on the website of the Yale Law Library.

Rare Book Monthly

  • Sotheby's
    Bibliothèque Jacques Dauchez - Autour de Dubuffet
    5-19 June
    Sotheby’s, June 5-19: Bissière, Roger. Cantique à notre frère soleil de saint François. 1954. 1,000 - 1,500 EUR
    Sotheby’s, June 5-19: Céline, Louis-Ferdinand. La vie & l’œuvre de Philippe Ignace Semmelweis. 1924. Rare édition originale, avec envoi. Joint : La Quinine en thérapeutique, 1925. 4,000 - 6,000 EUR
    Sotheby’s, June 5-19: Céline, Louis-Ferdinand. Mort à crédit. 1936. Édition originale. Bel exemplaire sur Hollande. 2,500 - 3,500 EUR
    Sotheby's
    Bibliothèque Jacques Dauchez - Autour de Dubuffet
    5-19 June
    Sotheby’s, June 5-19: Chillida, Eduardo ─ Emil Cioran. Face aux instants. 1985. Un des 100 exemplaires sur Arches. Eau-forte signée. 600 - 800 EUR
    Sotheby’s, June 5-19: Dubuffet, Jean. Ler dla canpane. L’Art Brut, 1948. Édition originale. 3,000 - 5,000 EUR
    Sotheby’s, June 5-19: Dubuffet, Jean. L'Herne Jean Dubuffet. 1973. Un des 100 exemplaires du tirage de luxe avec une sérigraphie originale en couleurs. 1,000 - 1,500 EUR
  • Gros & Delettrez
    Livres & Manuscrits Arméniens
    Jeudi 12 juin 2025
    Paris, Francis
    Gros & Delettrez, June 12: BIBLE, Venise 1733, reliure arménienne
    Gros & Delettrez, June 12: CHARAKNOTS, manuscrit XVIIe-XVIIIe siècle
    Gros & Delettrez, June 12: CHARAKNOTS, manuscrit daté 1606, reliure arménienne
    Gros & Delettrez, June 12: CHARAKNOTS, manuscrit début XVIIIe siècle, reliure arménienne
    Gros & Delettrez, June 12: CHARAKNOTS, Amsterdam 1664
    Gros & Delettrez, June 12: CHARAKNOTS, Amsterdam 1702, reliure arménienne
    Gros & Delettrez, June 12: DICTIONNAIRE arménien, manuscrit XVIIe-XVIIIe siècle.
    Gros & Delettrez, June 12: EVANGILE, manuscrit 1735-1737, reliure arménienne
    Gros & Delettrez, June 12: LIVRE DE PRIERES, Grégoire de Narek, manuscrit
    Gros & Delettrez, June 12: GEOGRAPHIE, Ghoukas INDJIDJIAN, Venise 1802-1806
    Gros & Delettrez, June 12: MANUSCRIT THEOLOGIQUE, XVIe-XVIIe siècle
    Gros & Delettrez, June 12: MASHTOTS, manuscrit XVIIIe-XIXe siècle, reliure arménienne
    Gros & Delettrez, June 12: LETTRE ENCYCLIQUE, manuscrit XIXe siècle
    Gros & Delettrez, June 12: NOUVEAU TESTAMENT, Amsterdam 1668, reliure arménienne
  • Finarte
    Books, Autographs & Prints
    June 24 & 25, 2025
    Finarte, June 24-25: ALIGHIERI, DANTE / LANDINO, CRISTOFORO. Comento di Christophoro Landino Fiorentino sopra la Comedia di Danthe Alighieri poeta fiorentino, 1481. €40,000 to €50,000.
    Finarte, June 24-25: ALIGHIERI, DANTE. La Commedia [Commento di Christophorus Landinus]. Aggiunta: Marsilius Ficinus, Ad Dantem gratulatio [in latino e Italiano], 1487. €40,000 to €60,000.
    Finarte, June 24-25: ALIGHIERI, DANTE. Il Convivio, 1490. €20,000 to €25,000.
    Finarte
    Books, Autographs & Prints
    June 24 & 25, 2025
    Finarte, June 24-25: BANDELLO, MATTEO. La prima [-quarta] parte de le nouelle del Bandello, 1554. €7,000 to €9,000.
    Finarte, June 24-25: LEGATURA – PLUTARCO. Le vies des hommes illustres, grecs et romaines translates, 1567. €10,000 to €12,000.
    Finarte, June 24-25: TOLOMEO, CLAUDIO. Ptolemeo La Geografia di Claudio Ptolemeo Alessandrino, Con alcuni comenti…, 1548. €4,000 to €6,000.
    Finarte
    Books, Autographs & Prints
    June 24 & 25, 2025
    Finarte, June 24-25: FESTE - COPPOLA, GIOVANNI CARLO. Le nozze degli Dei, favola [...] rappresentata in musica in Firenze…, 1637. €6,000 to €8,000.
    Finarte, June 24-25: SPINOZA, BARUCH. Opera posthuma, 1677. €8,000 to €12,000.
    Finarte, June 24-25: PUSHKIN, ALEXANDER. Borus Godunov, 1831. €30,000 to €50,000.
    Finarte
    Books, Autographs & Prints
    June 24 & 25, 2025
    Finarte, June 24-25: LIBRO D'ARTISTA - LECUIRE, PIERRE. Ballets-minute, 1954. €35,000 to €40,000.
    Finarte, June 24-25: LIBRO D'ARTISTA - MAJAKOVSKIJ, VLADIMIR / LISSITZKY, LAZAR MARKOVICH. Dlia Golosa, 1923. €7,000 to €10,000.
    Finarte, June 24-25: LIBRO D'ARTISTA - MATISSE, HENRI / MONTHERLANT, HENRY DE. Pasiphaé. Chant de Minos., 1944. €22,000 to €24,000.
  • Rose City Book & Paper Fair
    June 14-15, 2025
    1000 NE Multnomah, Portland
    ROSECITYBOOKFAIR.COM
  • Swann, June 17: Lot 13: Arthur Rackham, Candlelight, pen and ink, circa 1900.
    Swann, June 17: Lot 28: Harold Von Schmidt, "I Asked Jim If He Wanted To Accompany Us To Teach The Hanneseys A Lesson.", oil on canvas, 1957.
    Swann, June 17: Lot 96: Arthur Szyk, Thumbelina, gouache and pencil, 1945.
    Swann, June 17: Lot 101: D.R. Sexton, The White Rabbit And Bill The Lizard, watercolor and gouache, 1932.
    Swann, June 17: Lot 127: Miguel Covarrubias, Bradypus Tridactilus. Three-Toed Sloth, gouache, circa 1953.
    Swann, June 17: Lot 132: William Pène Du Bois, 2 Illustrations: Balloon Merry Go Round On The Ground And In The Air, pen and ink and wash, 1947.
    Swann, June 17: Lot 137: Lee Lorenz, Confetti Hourglass, mixed media, 1973.
    Swann, June 17: Lot 181: Norman Rockwell, Portrait Of Floyd Jerome Patten (Editor At Boy's Life Magazine), charcoal, circa 1915.
    Swann, June 17: Lot 188: Ludwig Bemelmans, Rue De Buci, Paris, casein, watercolor, ink and gouache, 1955.
    Swann, June 17: Lot 263: Maurice Sendak, Sundance Childrens Theater Poster Preliminary Sketch, pencil, 1988.
  • ALDE, June 18: CHAPPE D'AUTEROCHE (JEAN). Voyage en Sibérie fait par ordre du Roi en 1761 contenant les mœurs…, Paris, 1768. €4,000 to €5,000.
    ALDE, June 18: HENNEPIN (LOUIS). Description de la Louisiane nouvellement découverte au Sud-Ouest de la Nouvelle France…, Paris, 1688. €3,000 to €4,000.
    ALDE, June 18: LA BOULLAYE-LE GOUZ (FRANÇOIS DE). Les Voyages et Observations, Paris, 1653. €1,500 to €2,000.
    ALDE, June 18: LE BRUN (CORNELIS DE BRUYN DIT CORNEILLE). Voyage au Levant, c'est à dire dans les principaux endroits de l'Asie mineure..., Delft, 1700. €6,000 to €8,000.
    ALDE, June 18: SAINT-NON (J.-CL. RICHARD, ABBÉ DE). Voyage pittoresque ou description du royaume de Naples et de Sicile, Paris, 1781-1786. €3,500 to €5,000.
    ALDE, June 18: (CALVIN JEAN). SÉNÈQUE. Annei Senecae..., Paris, 1532. €2,000 to €3,000.
    ALDE, June 18: ADRIEN LE CHARTREUX. De remediis utriusque fortunæ, [Cologne, vers 1470]. €5,000 to €6,000.
    ALDE, June 18: GAZA (THÉODORE). [...] Introductivæ grammatices libri quatuor. Ejusdem de mensibus opusculum sanequampulchrum, Venise, 1495. €8,000 to €10,000.
    ALDE, June 18: LACTANCE. De divinis institutionibus. De ira Dei. De opificio Dei. De phoenice carmen, Rome, 1468. €30,000 to €40,000.
    ALDE, June 18: LUTHER (MARTIN). Der Erste [– Achte und letze] Teil aller Bücher und Schrifften des thewren, seligen Mans Doct. Mart. Lutheri, Iéna, 1555-1568. €5,000 to €6,000.
    ALDE, June 18: POLITIEN (ANGE). Omnia opera, et alia quædam lectu Digna, Venise, 1498. €8,000 to €10,000.
    ALDE, June 18: SIDOINE APOLLINAIRE. Poema aureum ejusdemque Epistole, Milan, 1498. €3,000 to €4,000.
  • SD | Scandinavian Art & Rare Book Auctions
    The Øiesvold Collection
    June 14, 2025
    SD | Scandinavian Art & Rare Book Auctions, June: 14: HIERONYMUS MÜNTZER (1437 – 1508): (Northern and Central Europe) No title recto. Nuremberg, 1493.
    SD | Scandinavian Art & Rare Book Auctions, June: 14: SIGISMUND VON HERBERSTEIN (1486 – 1566): «Commentari della Moscovia et partmente della Russia.» Venice, 1550.
    SD | Scandinavian Art & Rare Book Auctions, June: 14: SEBASTIAN MÜNSTER: «Cosmographiae universalis Lib. VI in quibus iuxta certioris […]» Basel, 1559.
    SD | Scandinavian Art & Rare Book Auctions, June: 14: SEBASTIAN MÜNSTER: «Deerwunder und seltzame Thier / wie die in den Mitnächtigen Länder im Meer […]» Basel, c. 1550.
    SD | Scandinavian Art & Rare Book Auctions, June: 14: WILLEM BARENTSZ (1550 – 97): «Deliniatio cartæ trium navigationum per Batavos, ad Septentrionalem plagem [...]» Amsterdam, 1598.

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