Rare Book Monthly

Book Catalogue Reviews - November - 2007 Issue

Law and Legal History from The Lawbook Exchange

Lawbook51

The latest catalogue from The Lawbook Exchange.


By Michael Stillman

The Lawbook Exchange
has issued its Catalogue 51 of Law and Legal History -- Recent Acquisitions. The catalogue combines a small group of recent scholarly publications with a much larger number of antiquarian books. This time, there are quite a few which date back to the 16th century, as well as others which republished ancient Roman law from over a millennium earlier. These are books for those with a serious interest in the law, whether as academic or collector. However, there are a few items that may appeal to those of not quite so scholarly a bent. Here are some of the titles offered this month.

Item 21 is a second issue of the first treatise on English law, De Legibus et Consuetudinibus Angliae (on the Laws and Customs of England). The author was Henry de Bracton (or Henrici de Bracton), and his great work was not printed during his lifetime, as de Bracton died in 1268, almost two centuries before the invention of the printing press. He was an English jurist, and his work displays the influence of older Roman law, but with its own English character. It is generally regarded as the finest English legal work of the Middle Ages. The book was first published in 1569, with this copy being the follow-up second printing of 1640. Priced at $1,500.

It's hard to comprehend how humanity could find itself less civilized 700 years later, but here is photographic proof: Justice at Nuernberg: A Pictorial Record of the Trial of the Nazi War Criminals by the International Tribunal at Nuernberg, Germany, 1945-46. Here is a chance to stare into the eyes of evil. In a forward, U.S. Chief of Counsel Robert Jackson writes, "...this collection will convey an impression of the setting for the trial that would hardly be obtainable from the printed word alone." The text is by Anne Keeshan, photographs by Charles W. Alexander. Item 64. $150.

Item 24 is The Great Rights, edited by Edmond Cahn and published in 1963. This book contains essays on the Bill of Rights by four Supreme Court justices, Chief Justice Earl Warren, and Associate Justices William O. Douglas, Hugo Black and William Brennan. This copy is signed by all four and is inscribed, "To: O. Roy Chalk." Oscar Roy Chalk (the New York Times said he detested the name "Oscar") was a flamboyant entrepreneur and financier, at one time owning the Washington transit system, New York's Spanish-language newspapers, an airline, a railroad in Central America, and a banana plantation. He once gave his wife an emerald of almost 38 carats, which they later donated to the Smithsonian. He was also a supporter of the civil rights movement of the 1960s, which perhaps explains his receiving a book signed by four justices who believed the U.S. Constitution also supported civil rights. $1,250.

Rare Book Monthly

  • <b><center>Swann Auction Galleries<br>Focus On Women:<br>At Auction June 1, 2023</b>
    <b>Swann June 1:</b> Sojourner Truth, <i>Narrative of Sojourner Truth, a Northern Slave,</i> first edition, Boston, 1850. $10,000 to $15,000.
    <b>Swann June 1:</b> Jane Austen, <i>Pride and Prejudice,</i> London, 1817. $6,000 to $8,000.
    <b>Swann June 1:</b> Cindy Sherman, <i>Secretary,</i> gelatin silver print, 1978; printed 1993. $6,000 to $8,000.
    <b>Swann June 1:</b> Fanny Stevenson, Archive of Photographs & Letters, 1866-1904. $4,000 to $6,000.
    <b>Swann June 1:</b> Charlotte Perkins Gilman, <i>The Forerunner,</i> Volumes I-VII; Family Association Set; Four Volumes Signed or Inscribed by the Author, New York, 1909-16. $3,000 to $5,000.
  • <b><center>Sotheby's<br>The Joanne Woodward & Paul Newman Collection<br>26 May - 12 June</b>
    <b>Sotheby’s, May 26 – Jun. 12:</b> "Cool Hand Luke" | Paul Newman Academy Award® Nomination Plaque. USD$2500 - $3500
    <b>Sotheby’s, May 26 – Jun. 12:</b> "Hud" | Bound presentation script incorporating photographic stills. USD$1000 - $1500
    <b>Sotheby’s, May 26 – Jun. 12:</b> "The Long, Hot Summer" | Movie Poster. USD$1000 - $1500
    <b>Sotheby’s, May 26 – Jun. 12:</b> Joseph Heller | "Catch-22," inscribed to Woodward & Newman by author. USD$500 - $800
    <b><center>Sotheby's<br>The Joanne Woodward & Paul Newman Collection<br>26 May - 12 June</b>
    <b>Sotheby’s, May 26 – Jun. 12:</b> George H. W. Bush | Typed Letter Signed, Issuing a "Pardon" to Paul Newman. USD$1500 - $2000
    <b>Sotheby’s, May 26 – Jun. 12:</b> William Jefferson Clinton | Inscribed Color Photograph. USD$1000 - $1500
    <b>Sotheby’s, May 26 – Jun. 12:</b> Ken Kesey | Typed letter to “Paulnewman,” asking for further compensation for "Sometimes a Great Notion". USD$1000 - $1500
    <b>Sotheby’s, May 26 – Jun. 12:</b> "They Might Be Giants" | Costume sketches by Edith Head. USD$1000 - $2000

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