The First Part of the Institutes of the Lawes of England. Or, A Commentarie upon Littleton, Not the Name of a Lawyer Onely, but of the Law It Selfe Author: Coke, Edmund Place Published: London Publisher: Printed for the Societie of Stationers Date Published: 1628 Description: [7] (of 8), 395, [1] pp. (Folio) 28.2x19 cm (11x8½"), period calf, raised bands. First Edition. Enduring monument to English common law, being the first edition Edmund Coke's commentary on the "Tenures" of Sir Thomas de Littleton (d.1481). Known as Coke upon Littleton, the text remains relevant today, being cited in a U.K. Supreme Court case as recently as 2020, and several times in important cases in the 21st century. With this work, English common law, as opposed to royal prerogative, "firmly established itself as the basis of the constitution of the realm" (Printing and the Mind of Man). Lacks initial blank, folding table of consanguinity, and the one or two portraits, as often found. Front free endpaper partially clipped, with two signatures dated 1730 and 1755; verso of final leaf and rear free endpaper with notes in an early hand. PMM 126; ESTC S113366; STC 15784. Coke's commentary is as wide-ranging as it is pedantic, with the single word "Land" triggering a 4-page treatise-in-a-treatise on the various meanings and uses of the terms which in some way signify land in Latin. The text itself reprints Littleton's treatise on land law in the original Law French, with established English translation, and Coke's copious notes and commentary in a total of three columns with additional legal citations printed in the margins. Dozens of editions with as many further commentaries layered upon have been published since, yet the 1628 edition remains close at hand when deciding crucial contemporary legal disputes. Condition: Binding moderately worn, joints cracked and hinges starting; first leaf of text after preface (fol. 1) rather worn, previously detached and re-inserted, but text overall quite clean with just a bit of browning at the edges throughout and dampstaining after fol.373; very good. Item#: 355651 Headline: Coke on Littleton, first edition 1628
The First Part of the Institutes of the Lawes of England. Or, A Commentarie upon Littleton, Not the Name of a Lawyer Onely, but of the Law It Selfe Author: Coke, Edmund Place Published: London Publisher: Printed for the Societie of Stationers Date Published: 1628 Description: [7] (of 8), 395, [1] pp. (Folio) 28.2x19 cm (11x8½"), period calf, raised bands. First Edition. Enduring monument to English common law, being the first edition Edmund Coke's commentary on the "Tenures" of Sir Thomas de Littleton (d.1481). Known as Coke upon Littleton, the text remains relevant today, being cited in a U.K. Supreme Court case as recently as 2020, and several times in important cases in the 21st century. With this work, English common law, as opposed to royal prerogative, "firmly established itself as the basis of the constitution of the realm" (Printing and the Mind of Man). Lacks initial blank, folding table of consanguinity, and the one or two portraits, as often found. Front free endpaper partially clipped, with two signatures dated 1730 and 1755; verso of final leaf and rear free endpaper with notes in an early hand. PMM 126; ESTC S113366; STC 15784. Coke's commentary is as wide-ranging as it is pedantic, with the single word "Land" triggering a 4-page treatise-in-a-treatise on the various meanings and uses of the terms which in some way signify land in Latin. The text itself reprints Littleton's treatise on land law in the original Law French, with established English translation, and Coke's copious notes and commentary in a total of three columns with additional legal citations printed in the margins. Dozens of editions with as many further commentaries layered upon have been published since, yet the 1628 edition remains close at hand when deciding crucial contemporary legal disputes. Condition: Binding moderately worn, joints cracked and hinges starting; first leaf of text after preface (fol. 1) rather worn, previously detached and re-inserted, but text overall quite clean with just a bit of browning at the edges throughout and dampstaining after fol.373; very good. Item#: 355651 Headline: Coke on Littleton, first edition 1628
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.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
