The text is mostly in Latin, with portions in Spanish; the printer has made use of nicely cut head- and tailpieces as well as a striking woodcut printer’s vignette (“De forti dulcedo”) on the red and black title-page. RLIN and OCLC show only two U.S. holdings of this edition.

Provenance: Front free endpaper with bookplate of Michael J. O’Farrell, the first Bishop of the Diocese of Trenton; also with bookplate noting O’Farrell’s gift of the book to an institution.

•  Palau 103253. Contemporary limp vellum, cockled and lightly soiled, with ties now lacking; spine with faded inked title. Title-page dusty, thin, and holed, with lower outside corner torn away, touching one letter and a red rule; date altered to 1601 by erasure of the first “C” in the roman-numeralled date! Leaves browned, foxed; instances of early inked marginalia and blots. Uncommon, as well as interesting for its contemporary use and its later provenance. (12184)

As the first and most significant volume of an original set of three offering also the works and commentaries of other popes (and one professor), this present volume offersGratian's Decretals in entirety.

Although no printer's name appears on the title, there is a large printer's device, of a ship at sea in an architectural frame. The text is in Latin with a few instances of Greek, decorated with elaborate head- and tailpieces, ornaments, and initials. Diagrams of family trees appear on pp. 1122 and 1127.

•  VD17 12:197825P. On the Decretum, see: A. Winroth, The Making of Gratian's Decretum (Cambridge Univ. Press, 2000).   Contemporary flexible vellum with yapp edges and early ink title to spine; vellum a little rubbed, one wormhole on the uppermost spine band. Pencillings and “M.A” in early ink on front fly-leaf, a few small ink spots to title-leaf and another. Portion of lower margin of one leaf torn away, natural flaws and minor worming to a few others. Browning, variously, due to iron in water used to make the paper, and some general foxing. Though one volume only of a set, complete in itself and a good book!  (30129)

Both the first and this second edition are little held in the U.S.: We trace three copies of the first and three of the second, one of which has been deaccessioned.

Provenance:  Three 18th-century ownership inscriptions on title-page: Jehoua Portis, Lib. Richbach, and Joh[ann]is Buys. 19th-century pressure-stamps of a Pennsylvania theological library, deaccessioned.

•  Full modern calf old style: Spine with raised bands, accented with gilt beading and blind rules, rules extending onto boards to Vs and ending with trefoils; blind double fillets beyond. Gilt center device in each spine compartment and a green title label lettered in gilt. Waterstaining in inner margins, extending into text on pp. 136–61; otherwise, expectable age-toning only. All edges red.  (25847)

The text is printed in Latin, double-column, with a handful of large woodcut initials, a few tail ornaments, and one letterpress diagram. The title-page, printed in red and black, features Blaeu's large device of an astrolabe flanked by Time and Hercules. An index on the final two pages lists Grotius's correspondents and the corresponding letters, which are arranged chronologically in the text.

•  Meulen, Grotius, 1210; Brunet, II, 1766; Graesse, III, 163.   Contemporary northern-European style vellum over boards ruled in blind, panels with blind-stamped central cartouches, spine with seven raised bands and remnants of later paper labels, red speckled edges; vellum soiled and lightly rubbed at extremities with corners bumped. Ex-library with bookplate on front pastedown and later library marking in pen on second leaf; light foxing, a light waterstain across the lower outer corner of perhaps a dozen leaves, and scattered darker stains, with a few leaves browned; small tear in outer margin of title-leaf and another margin, small hole from natural flaw in outer margin of one leaf and small bit of paper torn away from lower corner of another. Very mild worming in middle of two leaves and final leaf, the latter repaired; additional very minor, “slim” worming mostly to margins at rear.A solid, handsome important book.  (30293)

Grotius saw his book published for the first time in 1625 at Paris: It studies the legality of war and immediately established itself as a foundational work on the topic. Modern scholars regard it asfoundational in international law.

This edition contains added scholarship from Joannes Fredericus Gronovius (1611–71) and Jean Barbeyrac (1674–1744). In addition to De jure belli ac pacis the reader will find two other important Grotius tracts at the rear of the volume: Mare liberum and Libellus singularis de aequitate, indulgentia et facilitate, meaning the volume treats not just of law of war, but natural law, international law, maritime law, and law of the sea.

There are two issues of this edition, the other having “Ex Officina Wetsteniana” on the title-page in place of “Apud Janssonio-Waesbergio.” In both editions the title-page is printed in black and red, and of course, they have the same pagination. The work has side- and shouldernotes, an engraved portrait of Grotius, and an added engraved title-page.

•  Meulen & Diermanse (1950 ed), Grotius, 602.   Modern quarter claret-colored morocco with gilt-accented raised bands; gilt center device in each spine compartment. Marbled paper sides. Library pressure-stamps on title-page, no other markings; light age-toning and occasional spotting or foxing. A very nice copy with all edges decorated — more than “speckled,” not quite “marbled,” definitely attractive.  (26526)

WorldCat and CICCLA combine to locate two copies of which one is in the U.S.

Click the images for enlargements.

Provenance:  Ex-John Carter Brown Library; sold as duplicate.

•  Medina, Guatemala, 1677.   Original plain wrapper. Without the coat of arms leaf. Upper corners bumped/dog-eared/creased, leaves with the odd spot or big of soil; generally, a clean copy.  (28208)

•  Willems 1565.   Contemporary vellum, spine with early hand-inked author, title,and publisher; lightly dust-soiled, three corners bumped. A few light smudges towards back of volume, pages otherwise very clean; one leaf torn from upper margin and repaired, affecting a handful of letters, sense unobstructed. Some lower corners nicked.A nice, one might say “classic” little Elzevir.  (27495)

Bound with Lancellotti's work is a summary of titles of chapters of canon law compiled by Thomas Naogeorg (1508–63). Naogeorg's wanderings took him from being a Dominican to being a Lutheran to being a Calvinist. Along the way, during his Lutheran phase, he studied canon law for a year (1551) at Basel, during which time he compiled and published this work, likely as a student's guide. He is better known for his plays, in which he sharply attacks the Papacy.

The two works here were first published by the firm of Guillaume Rouillé, in 1587 and 1588 respectively, and may have been intended to be bound together, as witnessed by the Library of Congress copy. The title-page transcriptions of the earlier editions (except for the date and "hæredes"), and their signatures, pagination, and arrangement, match those of these present 1614 editions. There are italic shouldernotes, and woodcut headpieces and initials.

•  On Lancellotti, see: New Catholic Encyclopedia, VIII, 356. Contemporary calf, covers framed in gilt double fillets, rebacked with calf, spine with gilt-stamped leather title-label and gilt-stamped compartment decorations; corners and edges rubbed, sides with small cracks and scuffs. All edges speckled brown. Bouquiniste's paper label on front pastedown and front free endpaper lacking. Two words inked long ago in two margins, and one page with old pencilled underlining. (3797)

The text is printed in roman and italic, with side- and shouldernotes; it is decorated with elegant woodcut initials against a floriated background, one factotum, a handful of head- and tailpieces, and a couple of small vignettes. The woodcut printer's device on the title-page has the monogram “AT” beneath a dolphin & anchor combination with the motto festina tarde, reminiscent of the Aldine device.

This edition is not in NUC Pre-1956, and WorldCat locates just one copy in the U.S. (with a variant imprint, “A Cologny”).

Evidence of readership: A short biography of Lipsius in French has been written on the fly-leaves in early ink.

•  Early vellum over flexible boards, somewhat stained and rubbed; evidence of four ties, and ink title to spine. Cropped close with very minor loss to a couple of running headlines and side- or shouldernotes; a few corner-tips torn away and a few stains only; instances variously of slightest perceptible worming and outer margin of pp. 585–98 holed by an insect affecting the sidenotes on those leaves, with lesser evidence of the same gnawing to rear pastedown and back cover.  (29885)

Provenance: 19th-century ownership signatures on front pastedown or front fly-leaf of John T. Wait (Dec. 14, 1839), Luther Spalding (undated), and W.H. Richards.

•  Evans 29025; ESTC W29507; Sabin 44848. On Cobbett, see: The Dictionary of National Biography, XI, 142–45. Contemporary sheep, framed in blind with a roll of a rope design, spine with gilt-stamped title-label; leather worn at edges and front cover expertly reattached, spine worn with chipping. Ownership inscriptions as above. Minor spotting and offsetting.

Click the image for an enlargement.

Signed by each Mexican Inquisitor with his paraph and with the woodcut seal of the Inquisition in the lower left corner

Very uncommon: We trace only one copy in the U.S. — at the University of California at Berkeley.

•  Not in Medina, Mexico.   Several holes of various sizes, including one very large one in the middle of the first column, with loss of paper costing words and whole sentences. Otherwise, light staining and some instances of soiling most notably around the holes, only. Priced accordingly.  (17028)

This is the third edition, following the first of 1817; the set is in the publisher's original bindings, and an uncut copy. Vol. I opens with an oversized, folding, hand-colored “Map of Hindoostan” done by Aaron Arrowsmith, while vol. II opens with an oversized, folding map of Persia, Afghanistan, etc.

•  NSTC 2M27509.   Publisher's dark red cloth, spines sunned to not-red with printed paper labels (chipped); cloth worn and wrinkling, some joints splitting, three spine heads reinforced. Ex–social club library: 19th-century bookplates, call number on endpapers, pressure-stamp on title-pages, no other markings. Vol. I map with short tear along one fold and with tear from inner margin, repaired some time ago; vol. II map waterstained, with tear from inner margin. Vols. I and II with light to moderate waterstaining to lower portions, most pronounced at endpapers; vol. II map stained; vols. III and IV with endpapers stained; vol. IV with upper and lower margins of one internal signature and last few leaves stained; vol. VI with upper edges of portion towards back stained. A few instances of scattered spotting; three leaves with short edge tears; first few leaves of vol. VI creased. Page edges untrimmed. Definitely a “used” set, but not one so “distressed” as recital of faults may imply; overall, internally mostly clean and certainly sound for use.  (28162)

•  Palau 221275; Sabin 60899.   Modern quarter brown calf over marbled paper boards, with red and green spine labels. A clean, very nice set, with only a bit of minor dampstaining and the odd spot or paper flaw in all the many volumes. All edges red.  (25829)

There are two issues: in this issue on p. [1], the catchword is “hendidos,” and in the other catchword is “hendi-.”

WorldCat locates only the copy at the John Carter Brown Library.

•  Removed from a volume. Light brown stain in lower margin and an even lighter stain in top one; old foliation number neatly inked in upper outer corner of recto. A good exemplar.  (28246)

No copies found via WorldCat or COPAC.

•  Removed from a bound volume; now in modern wrappers. Old foliation neatly inked in upper outer corners; clean, with wide margins.  (28222)

No copy traced via WorldCat or COPAC.

•  Removed from a volume and laid into modern wrappers. Light stain in outer margin of last leaf with a trace of same showing on a few more inward; old foliation neatly inked in upper outer corners; generally clean, with good margins. One inked, contemporary marginal note.  (28234)