• Sotheby’s
    Fine Books from a Distinguished Private Library
    28 November 2023
    Sotheby’s, Nov. 28: Captain Thomas Brown | Illustrations of the American ornithology. £80000-120000
    Sotheby’s, Nov. 28: William Hamilton | Campi phlegraei. £40000-60000
    Sotheby’s, Nov. 28: Nicola Zabaglia and Domenico Fontana | Castelli, e ponti con alcune ingegnose pratiche. £6000-8000
    Sotheby’s, Nov. 28: Bible, German | Nuremberg: Koberger, 1483. £40000-60000
    Sotheby’s, Nov. 28: Bible, English | King James version. £8000-12000
  • Forum Auctions
    Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    30th November, 2023
    Forum Auctions, Nov. 30: Saint Jerome penitent, woodcut with contemporary hand-colouring and letterpress text beneath, [Augsburg], [Johann Froschauer], [c.1498]. £15,000 to £20,000.
    Forum Auctions, Nov. 30: Elimithar (Elluchasem) "Ibn Butlan". Tacuini sanitatis, first edition, Strasbourg, Johann Schott, 1531. £15,000 to £20,000.
    Forum Auctions, Nov. 30: [Missale Romanum], Latin, Incipit ordo missalis secundum consuetudinem Curiae Romani, manuscript in Latin, on vellum, 234ff. [c. 1400]. £15,000 to £20,000.
    Forum Auctions
    Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    30th November, 2023
    Forum Auctions, Nov. 30: Foyle copy.- [Shakespeare (William)]. Macbeth. A Tragedy: With all the Alterations, Amendments, Additions, and New Songs. As it is now Acted at the Theatre Royal, for Hen. Herringman, 1687. £5,000 to £7,000.
    Forum Auctions, Nov. 30: Dickens (Charles). A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas, first edition, first impression, first issue, Chapman & Hall, 1843. £12,000 to £18,000.
    Forum Auctions, Nov. 30: Lawrence (T.E.) Revolt in the Desert, working draft typescript, 1927. £10,000 to £15,000.
    Forum Auctions
    Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    30th November, 2023
    Forum Auctions, Nov. 30: Hampstead Bindery.- Phillips (Stephen). Marpessa, exquisitely bound by The Hampstead Bindery, almost certainly P.A. Savoldelli, 1900. £6,000 to £8,000.
    Forum Auctions, Nov. 30: Matisse (Henri).- Joyce (James). Ulysses, one of 1500 copies, this one of 250 signed by the author and artist, New York, The Limited Editions Club, 1935. £8,000 to £12,000.
    Forum Auctions, Nov. 30: Burroughs (Edgar Rice). Tarzan at the Earth's Core, first edition, signed presentation inscription from the author to his son, New York, 1930. £5,000 to £7,000.
    Forum Auctions
    Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    30th November, 2023
    Forum Auctions, Nov. 30: Fitzgerald (F. Scott). Tender is the Night, first edition, first printing, signed by the author, New York, 1934. £15,000 to £20,000.
    Forum Auctions, Nov. 30: Fleming (Ian).- Hooks (Mitchell) and David Chasman. Dr. No, British film poster, Stafford & Co Ltd, [1962]. £10,000 to £15,000.
    Forum Auctions, Nov. 30: America.- California.- Palou (Francisco). Relacion Historica de la Vida Y Apostolicas Tareas delVenerable Padre Fray Junipero Serra..., first edition, second issue, 1787. £6,000 to £8,000.
  • Swann
    Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books
    December 7, 2023
    Swann, Dec. 7: Samuel Augustus Mitchell, A New Map of Texas, Oregon and California with the Regions Adjoining, Philadelphia, 1846. $3,500 to $5,000.
    Swann, Dec. 7: 17th–19th-century case maps of various locations. $1,500 to $2,000.
    Swann, Dec. 7: Andreas Cellarius, Haemisphaerium Stellatum Boreale Cum Subiecto Haemisphaerio Terrestri, celestial chart, Amsterdam, 1708. $2,500 to $3,500.
    Swann
    Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books
    December 7, 2023
    Swann, Dec. 7: Vincenzo Coronelli, Set of engraved gores for Coronelli’s monumental 42-inch terrestrial globe, Venice, circa 1688–97. $18,000 to $22,000.
    Swann, Dec. 7: Lucas Janszoon Waghenaer, group of four navigational charts, Antwerp, 1580s. $2,000 to $3,000.
    Swann, Dec. 7: Thomas Bros, Block Book of Berkeley, Oakland, 1920s. $800 to $1,200.
    Swann
    Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books
    December 7, 2023
    Swann, Dec. 7: John Nieuhoff & John Ogilby, An Embassy from the East-India Company of the United Provinces, map of China, plan of Canton, London, 1673. $1,200 to $1,800.
    Swann, Dec. 7: Frederick Sander, Reichenbachia, St. Albans, 1888-1894. $5,000 to $7,000.
    Swann, Dec. 7: Two early illustrated works on horsemanship and breeding, Nuremberg, early 18th century. $700 to $800.
    Swann
    Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books
    December 7, 2023
    Swann, Dec. 7: John Gould, A Monograph of the Ramphastidae, or Family of Toucans. Supplement to the First Edition, London, 1834; 1855. $40,000 to $60,000.
    Swann, Dec. 7: John Pinkerton, A General Collection of the Best and Most Interesting Voyages and Travels in All Parts of the World, London, 1808–14. $1,500 to $2,500.
    Swann, Dec. 7: Oakley Hoopes Bailey, Hackensack, New Jersey, Boston, 1896. $800 to $1,200.
  • CHRISTIE’S
    Valuable Books and Manuscripts
    London auction
    13 December
    Find out more
    Christie’s, Explore now
    TREW, Christoph Jacob (1695–1769). Plantae Selectae quarum imagines ad exemplaria naturalia Londini in hortus curiosorum. [Nuremberg: 1750–1773]. £30,000–40,000
    Christie’s, Explore now
    VERBIEST, Ferdinand (1623–88). Liber Organicus Astronomiae Europaeae apud Sinas restituate. [Beijing: Board of Astronomy, 1674]. £250,000–350,000
    Christie’s, Explore now
    PROPERTY FROM THE COLLECTION OF ALICE & NIKOLAUS HARNONCOURT. Master of Jean Rolin (active 1445–65). Book of Hours, use of Paris, in Latin and French, [Paris, c.1450–1460]. £120,000–180,000
    Christie’s, Explore now
    A SILVER MICROSCOPE. Probably by Antoni van Leeuwenhoek (1632–1723), c.1700. £150,000–250,000
    Christie’s, Explore now
    AN ENGLISH HORARY QUADRANT
    C.1311. £100,000–150,000

Rare Book Monthly

Book Catalogue Reviews - December - 2015 Issue

Early English Law from the Lawbook Exchange

English Law.

The Lawbook Exchange has released a catalogue of English Law 1501-1877. This includes some of the earliest material relating to the law of England. Several items are printed editions of treatises that preceded the invention of printing, at times by several centuries. It is also worth noting that while officially a catalogue of English law, American law would have been essentially the same in the years before the Revolution. These are a few of these old books and other paper and ephemeral items relating to antiquarian English law.

 

A logical starting point is what is essentially the first English law book, Tractatus de legibus et consuetudinibus regni Angliae, Tempore Regis Henrici Secundi Compositus... The book was anonymously written, though the author is believed to be Ranulf de Glanville. Glanville was a 12th century justice and close advisor to King Henry II. Henry is credited with organizing the English legal system, though it was Glanville who did most of the footwork. The original manuscript is given a completion date of 1189, and it certainly wouldn't have been later. Henry II died that year, and his son and new King, Richard I, threw him out of office and imprisoned Granville until he paid a ransom. He died the following year participating in the Crusades. Glanville's book is not one of case law, but is instead a procedural guide for the courts. It has long been highly regarded and remained in use for centuries. Item 65 is the first printed edition of this by then 365-year-old text. It was published circa 1554 by Richard Tottel, who served for many years as the exclusive publisher of the English common law. Item 65. Priced at $12,500.

 

The most notable of all English law books is the one commonly known as Blackstone's Commentaries. Published from 1765-1769 in four volumes, it is a thorough treatise on the then confusing mass of tradition forming the common law, an attempt to make sense of it all and elicit its underlying principles. However, this most famous of English legal tracts was not William Blackstone's first. In 1753, Blackstone took on the task of giving lectures on English law at Oxford. This was something novel at the time, and was so well received he undertook to publish a synopsis of those lectures. Item 11 is that book, An Analysis of the Laws of England. Like his later Commentaries, the Analysis was designed to explain the principles of English law, rather than being a compendium of case law. It would provide the outline for his Commentaries a few years later. The Analysis was first published in 1756, and quickly sold out. Item 11 is the sixth and final edition of the Analysis published by Blackstone, in 1771. It is this edition that is contained in many editions of the Commentaries published after Blackstone's death. $750.

 

This next book on English law ultimately had a greater influence on America than on England, though that influence came almost a century later. Item 29 is English Liberties: Or, the Free-Born Subject's Inheritance... by Henry Care, published in either 1680 or 1682. During the 1670's, Care was regarded as a hack, a writer of a myriad of cheap books on various subjects. In 1678, he began writing a series of virulently anti-Catholic papers, and became a promoter of the faked "Popish Plot." However, a few years later, he became a voice of tolerance, and a supporter of the Catholic King, James II. He described James as being a tolerant leader. Nonetheless, James was overthrown in the Glorious Revolution of 1688, and we do not know how Care felt about this as he died that same year. Whether the high-minded Care of the Liberties and tolerance, or the intolerant Care of his anti-Catholic period, is more the mark of the man is unclear. It may be that Care's principles were mostly guided by what was in his own personal and financial interests. His Liberties contains important tracts such as the Magna Carta, which Care considered the source of English law, the Habeas Corpus Act, and other such material. Ultimately, the book would have its most dramatic impact on the American colonists, particularly when they tired of English rule. William Penn used it in sourcing his book on liberty, George Mason when writing the Virginia Declaration of Rights, and Jefferson owned two copies and likely considered it when drafting the Declaration of Independence. $2,850.

 

Item 81 describes the answer to a long unsolved mystery from the early 19th century. It is A Full and Accurate Account of the Inquest Held Upon the Remains of Richard Hemming... published in 1830. Rev. George Parker was murdered in Oddingly, Worcestershire, in 1806. Witnesses' descriptions of his killer matched that of Richard Hemming. There was a problem. Hemming was nowhere to be found. Years and years went by until, in 1830, his remains were discovered in a barn. It was just a skeleton. He had been there a long time – 24 years. At the time Hemming was killed, the barn had been leased by one Thomas Clewes. He confessed, and cited two others as accomplices. It seems the three farmers had hired Hemming to kill Rev. Parker over a dispute involving tithes. Then, one of them, perhaps to assure Hemming's silence, killed him. A trial was held, and most people expected the three to conclude their lives at the end of a rope, but contradictions in testimony, and lack of evidence beyond Clewes' confession, got them acquitted. $850.

 

The Lawbook Exchange may be reached at 732-382-1800 or law@lawbookexchange.com. Their website is www.lawbookexchange.com

Rare Book Monthly

  • Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 12-13: Roberts (David) & Croly (George). The Holy Land, Syria, Idumae, Arabia, Egypt and Nubia. Lond. 1842 - 1843 [-49]. First Edn. €10,000 to €15,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 12-13: Incunabula: O'Fihily (Maurice). Duns Scotus Joannes: O'Fihely, Maurice Abp… Venice, 20th November 1497. €8,000 to €12,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 12-13: An important file of documents with provenance to G.A. Newsom, manager of the Jacob’s Factory in Dublin, occupied by insurgents during Easter Week 1916. €6,000 to €9,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 12-13: WILDE (Oscar), 1854-1900, playwright, aesthete and wit. A lock of Wilde’s Hair, presented by his son to the distinguished Irish actor Mícheál MacLiammóir. €6,000 to €8,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 12-13: Heaney (Seamus). Bog Poems, London, 1975. Special Limited Edition, No. 33 of 150 Copies, Signed by Author. Illus. by Barrie Cooke. €4,000 to €6,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 12-13: Binding: Burke, Thomas O.P. (de Burgo). Hibernia Dominicana, Sive Historia Provinciae Hiberniae Ordinis Praedicatorum, ... 1762. First Edition. €4,000 to €6,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 12-13: COLLINS, Michael. An important TL, 29 July 1922, addressed to GOVERNMENT on ‘suggested Proclamation warning all concerned that troops have orders to shoot prisoners found sniping, ambushing etc.’. €3,000 to €4,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 12-13: Scott Fitzgerald (F.) The Great Gatsby, New York (Charles Scribner's Sons) 1925, First Edn. €2,000 to €3,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 12-13: Yeats (W.B.) The Poems of W.B. Yeats, 2 vols. Lond. (MacMillan & Co.) 1949. Limited Edition, No. 46 of 375 Copies Only, Signed by W.B. Yeats. €1,500 to €2,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 12-13: Miller (William) Publisher. The Costume of the Russian Empire, Description in English and French, Lg. folio London (S. Gosnell) 1803. First Edn. €1,000 to €1,500.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 12-13: Miller (William) Publisher. The Costume of Turkey, Illustrated by a Series of Engravings. Lg. folio Lond.(T. Bensley) 1802. First Edn. €800 to €1,200.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 12-13: Mason (Geo. Henry). The Costume of China, Illustrated with Sixty Engravings. Lg. folio London (for W. Miller) 1800. First Edn. €1,400 to €1,800
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