Medieval Notary Manuscripts & Law Books

AN IMPORTANT COLLECTION OF CRIMINAL LAW COUNSELS

CIPOLLA, BARTOLOMEO. Consi. Cepo. Consilia Criminalia celeberrimi ... domini Bartholomei Cepole Verone[n]sis: nuper dilgentissime [!] ex manuscripto exe[m]plari ipsius authoris recognita [et] eme[n]data. Additis quoq[ue] Summarijs ac Repertorio non mediocri dilige[n]tia elaborato Feliciter incipiunt. Impressum Lugduni, Antonius du Ry per Iacobum Iunctam, 1531 (at colophon: 1530) (Lyon: Giunti, 1531).

8vo (175 x 115 mm), ancient vellum, ff. [12] 172.
Architectural title-page printed in red and black, woodcut head-letters. Text in Gothic type.

Important, early and renewed edition of this celebrated collection of legal advices in criminal law, arranged using newly discovered manuscripts.

References: OCLC 797899020. Baudrier, VI, 140; Von Gultlingen, III, p. 200, no. 75; IA 140.35.

FIRST EDITION OF CIPOLLA'S JURISPRUDENCE ON BUILDINGS IN THE RENAISSANCE

[Administrative Law, Buldings] Cipolla, Bartolomeo. D. Bartholomei Cepollae Veronensis v.i.d. praeclarissimi Commentaria in titu. ff. de aedilitio edicto, nunc primum in lucem edita. Cui accessere cuique legi & s. summaria, cum amplissimo [...] repertorio. Venice: [al segno della Fontana] 1550.

4to, contemporary limp vellum, ties renewed, ff. 167, [25, the last leaf is blank].

First edition of the Cipolla’s legal treatise collecting the building laws of the Renaissance.

The work was reprinted by Giunti in Lyon in the same year.

He gave rise to the phrase “Devices of Cepola”, due to the law-quirks of the Italian lawyer, teaching to elude the most express law and to perpetuate lawsuits.

Provenance: Inscription Priami Accursini Liber .

References: Not in Adams. Cnce, Censimento, 12577. OCLC, 21838181: only two copies in USA (Berkeley Law Library and Library of Congress).

CISNER, NIKOLAUS. De Otthone Tertio Imp. Eiusque Instituto Conciliorum Imperatoriorum, & Septemviris Electoribus oratio Nicolai Cisneri Ic. Et Camerae Imperialis Assessoris. Eiusdem De Friderico II. Imp. Nec Non De Conrado Ultimo Sueviae gentis Principe, quem Itali Conradinum vocant, Orationes elegantissimae. Argentorati (Strasbourg), sumptibus Lazari Zetzneri bibliopol., 1608.

Three works bound in 8vo (155 x 96), 19th century half calf, pp. 82, [2], 83-223, [3], 224-263 i.e. 272, [1].

Uncommon historical accounts of the famous German lawyer of the Renaissance on three famous sovereigns of the Holy Roman Empire and their reforms.
The first work is devoted to the Emperor Otto III and his utopian dream to renovate the ancient Imperial authority of the Roman Empire (Renovatio Imperii) through the new Christian thought. The other two works are devoted to Frederick II and to his nephew Conradin, the last of Hohenstaufen, beheaded in Naples in 1268.

Nikolaus Cisner or Kistner (1529 Mosbach - 1583 Heidelberg ) was a Palatine scholar of the Renaissance. He was rector of the University of Heidelberg, humanist, lawyer and poet.
br> Otto III (980 - 1002) was Holy Roman Emperor from 996 until his early death in 1002. A member of the Ottonian dynasty, Otto III was the only son of the Emperor Otto II and his wife Theophanu. Otto III was crowned as King of Germany in 983 at the age of three, shortly after his father's death in southern Italy while campaigning against the Byzantine Empire and the Emirate of Sicily. In 996, Otto III marched to Italy to claim the titles King of Italy and Holy Roman Emperor, which had been left unclaimed since the death of Otto II in 983. Crowned as Emperor, Otto III put down the Roman rebellion and installed his cousin as Pope Gregory V, the first Pope of German descent.

Frederick II (1194 – 1250), was one of the most powerful Holy Roman Emperors of the Middle Ages and head of the House of Hohenstaufen. His political and cultural ambitions, based in Sicily and stretching through Italy to Germany, and even to Jerusalem, were enormous. However, his enemies, especially the popes, prevailed, and his dynasty collapsed soon after his death. Historians have searched for superlatives to describe him, as in the case of Donald Detwiler, who wrote: «A man of extraordinary culture, energy, and ability – called by a contemporary chronicler stupor mundi (the wonder of the world), by Nietzsche the first European, and by many historians the first modern ruler – Frederick established in Sicily and southern Italy something very much like a modern, centrally governed kingdom with an efficient bureaucracy».

Conrad (1252 – 1268), called the Younger or the Boy, but usually known by the diminutive Conradin (German: Konradin, Italian: Corradino), was the Duke of Swabia (1254–1268, as Conrad IV), King of Jerusalem (1254–1268, as Conrad III), and King of Sicily (1254–1258, de jure until 1268, as Conrad II).

Provenance: 19th century monogrammed stamp (G.S.) of a not identified owner.

References: OCLC 311976440.

SWISS EDITION OF CLARO'S PROCEDURE ON CIVIL AND CRIMINAL LAW
THE FOUNDATION OF COMMON CRIMINAL LAW IN EUROPE

Claro, Giulio (and others). Ivlii Clari Alexandrini Ivris-Consvlti, Longe Clarissimi, Philippi II. Hispan. Regis Supremi Consiliarij, ac Regentis dignissimi Opera Omnia, Sive Practica Civilis Atqve Criminalis : Cum doctissimis Additionibus Perillustrium Iurisconsultorum DD. Ioan. Baptistae Baiardi Parmensis ... Hisque nouißimè accesserunt Notae, & Animaduersiones ... DD. Ioan. Harprecti, Et Manfredi Goveani. Genevae: Chouët, 1666.

Folio, contemporary stiff vellum with handwritten title at five raised bands spine, pp. [24], 904, [92].
Title page in red and black.

The collected works by Giulio Claro, as to say the most important procedure of both civil and criminal law of his age.

With the additions of then jurists Giovanni Battista Baiardi, Antonio Droghi, Hieronymus Giacharius, Manfredus Goveanus, Jean Guyot, Johann Harpprecht, Bernardino Rossignoli.

Giulio Claro (or Clarus) (1525–1575) was an Italian jurist. He was born in Alessandria and took up the study of law in Pavia as early as 1536. After receiving a doctorate in 1550, Claro was appointed a Milanese Senator by Philip II in 1536, a royal pretor in Cremona in 1560/61, president of the Milanese Magistrato straordinario delle entrate in 1563 and regens of the Consejo d'Italia in Madrid in 1565.
Claro's work, together with that of Deciani and Farinacci, provided the theoretical foundation for the common criminal law of Europe. That common law held sway until it was attacked by Enlightenment legal critics such as Feuerbach and replaced by national penal codes in the 19th century.

References: OCLC 64758707 locates two copies in US libraries, at Cornell University Library (Ithaca, NY) and Harvard Law School Library.

TWO COLLECTION WORKS BY THE JURISCONSULT ANTONIO CONCIOLI, ONE WITH CRIMINAL COURT DECISIONS AND ONE WITH BOTH CRIMINAL AND CIVIL ALLEGATIONS, INCLUDING A TREATY ON THE STATUTES OF GUBBIO

[1.]: Concioli, Antonio. Antonii Concioli I.C. Cantianensis [...] Resolutiones criminales alphabetico ordine dispositae [...] cum triplici indice, nempe titulorum, resolutionum, & materiarum, in Resolutionibus praedictis contentarum. Quibus in hac secunda Veneta editione accessit in fine tractatus ad Statuta Eugubii cum Additionibus I. C. Francisci Romaguerae gerundensis. Venetiis: apud Nicolaum Pezzana, 1700.
[together with:]
[2.]: Concioli, Antonio. Antonii Concioli [...] Allegationes forenses civiles, et criminales [...] cum indice refertissimo, & ad quamlibet allegationem summariis. Venetiis: apud Nicolaum Pezzana, 1700.

[1.]: Folio (334x228 mm), full vellum binding, five raised bands at spine, calligraphic title at bottom edge; pp. [20], 436, [40]. Title page in red and black types. Florentine lily in red and black colors at title-page. Xylographic head-pieces.
Alone work itself, belonging to the Opera omnia by the same Author, as clearly written at false title-page.
[2.]: Folio (334x228 mm), full vellum binding, five raised bands at spine, calligraphic title at bottom edge; pp. [12] leaves, pp. 364, [40]. Title page in black types with a Florentine lily in black colors. Xylographic head-pieces.

Concioli Antonio (1602-1680) was a distinguished scholar and a talented jurist. He was appointed lieutenant of the city of Urbino. He wrote many works which are still considered in jurisprudence.

Provenance: Private library of a Verona noble family, whose roots are in Mantua and in which there were distinguished lawyers and jurists.

References:
[1.]: IT\ICCU\MODE\018173 (9 copie). OCLC, 644947285 (one copy in Spain) and 60668737 (one copy in USA, University of Kansas Archives, Kenneth Spencer Research Library, Lawrence).
[2.]: IT\ICCU\MILE\005640 (7 copies). OCLC, 82282522 (one copy in USA, University of California Berkeley Law Library), 23160226 (one copy in USA, Columbia University Law School, Diamond Law Library, New York) and 807795967 (one copy in Spain).

RARE EDITION OF LYON OF THE ACTS OF THE COUNCIL OF TRENTO WITH A BULL OF PIUS IV AND THE INDEX OF BANNED BOOKS
APPARENTLY NO COPY IN USA

Concilio di Trento. Sacrosancti et oecumenici Concilii Tridentini, sub Paulo 3. Iulio 3. & Pio 4. pont. max. celebrati, canones et decreta. Accesserunt duorum eruditiss. virorum D. Ioan. Sothealli theologi, et Horatij Lutij iuriscons. vtilissimæ ad marginem annotationes [...] Additæ præterea sunt ad finem, Pij 4. pont max. Bullæ, vna cum triplici vtilissimo Indice. Item catalogus et Index librorum prohibitorum [...]. Lugduni: apud hæredes Gulielmi Rouillii sub Scuto Veneto, 1610.

8vo, 160x100 mm, full eighteenth century brown calf binding, with gilt title and decorations at a five raised band spine, marbled paper at guards, red colored edges, silk bookmark; 2 parts; pp. [32], 253, [51]; 110. Two title-pages, both with woodcut devices, the first in red and black types, the second in black. Xyl. initials and head-pieces. Text in Latin.

Fine copy of this rare Lyon edition of the Proceedings of the Council of Trent, including a second part (“The index of banned books”), with its own title-page: Index librorum prohibitorum, cum regulis confectis per patres à Tridentina synodo delectos: auctotitzte Pii 4. Primum editus, postea verò à Sixto 5. auctus. Et nunc demum S.D.N. Clementis papæ 8. iussu recognitus, & publicatus [...].

The first Index of banned books was published by Pope Paul IV in 1559 at the request of the Inquisition, and confirmed in 1564. The Congregation of the Index was established in 1571. The Index was updated regularly until 1961, by addition of the Congregation of the Inquisition or the Pope.

Plein veau brun du 18e s., dos à nerfs richement décoré. Bel ex. de cette rare édition lyonnaise des actes du Concile de Trente avec un « Index librorum prohibitorum ». Le premier Index romain fut publié par le pape Paul IV en 1559 à la demande de l'Inquisition, et confirmé en 1564. La Congrégation de l'Index fut instituée en 1571. L'Index fut régulièrement mis à jour jusqu'en 1961, par ajout de la Congrégation de l'Inquisition ou du pape.

Provenance: Ex-libris label glued at first paste-down (initials: J.L.; a donkey with spectacles looking at a bookshelf).

References: IT\ICCU\CFIE\008640 (only one copy). OCLC, 461054829 (one copy in France but apparently without the Index of banned books). Apparently no copy in USA.

18TH CENTURY EDITION, PUBLISHED IN PADUA, OF THE CANONS AND DECRETA ISSUED DURING THE COUNCIL OF TRENT

Council of Trent, Canons. Sacrosanctum Concilium Tridentinum cum citationibus ex utroque testamento, juris pontificii constitutionibus, aliisque S. Rom. Eccl. Conciliis . Patavii (Padova), ex typographia Seminarii apud Joannem Manfrè, 1722.

8vo (167x108 mm), half calf on colored paper, orange label with title and colored decorations, pp. [16], 420. FTitle page printed in red and black, woodcut head-letters.

18th century edition of the Canons and Decrees issued during the Council of Trent.

References: IT\ICCU\RMLE\014310.

THE COLLECTED WORKS OF THE MOST IMPORTANT MEDIEVAL SPANISH JURIST

Covarruvias y Leyva, Didacus. Opera omnia cum authoris tractatu in tit. de frigidis & maleficiatis, septem quaestionibus distincto, quibus an matrimonium cum hoc impedimento constare possit, accurate explicatur. Multis in locis a cl. ic. Cornelio Brederodio auctus, illustratus vt passim hanc notam designatur. Accesserunt hac postrema editione Joannis Vffeli [...] in varium resolutionum libros notae vberiores. Antwerpiae, apud Ioannem Keerbergium, 1610.

A large folio folum (390x250x105 mm), contemporary pigskin binding with blind-tooled decorations, pp. [12], 610, [2]; [8], 548, [48].

The collected works of one of the most renowned jurists of the Spanish Middle Age in a giant folio edition with handsome binding. References: OCLC, 65108241 locates only a copy in US libraries, at Yale Law School Library.

FINE EDITION OF CUJAS' COLLECTED WORKS IN A BEAUTIFUL CONTEMPORARY BINDING

Cujas, Jacques. Iacobi Cuiacii Iurisconsulti, Operam quae de iure fecit et edi volvit. Ab ipso autore postremun recognita & libris quibusdam aucta. Genevae, apud Philippum Albert ex Alex, Pernet. 1609.

Four volumes bound in a volume in-folio (350x220 mm), contemporary brown calf, gilt borders at each cover, gilt title and decoration at spine (some repairs), pp. [16], 80, col. 81-404, pp. [12], col. 579, pp. [14], col. 788, pp. [18], col. 664, pp. [106].
Text in Latin on two columns, some passages in Greek.
Engraved dead-letters and head-pieces; a fine full-page engraved illustration of Arbor cognationum(genealogical tree).

Scarce imprint of Cujas' collected works, one of the last edition published under the direct supervision of the great French lawyer.

Provenance: Signature Ludovicus de (cancelled surname) at title-page.

References: OCLC 7098049 locates in USA only the copy of University of Rochester (NY).

CORTI'S TREATISE ON FEUDAL LAW
NOT IN USA

CORTI, FRANCESCHINO. Fran. Curtii iunioris ... Tractatus feudorum. Correctus atque adnotationibus, quae commentariorum vice esse possunt, illustratus a Ioanne Hauichorstio Monasterien. I.C. Adiecto indice rerum memoriam dignarum locupletissimo. Editio tertia, prioribus accuratior, & luculentior. Coloniae Agrippinae, apud Theodorum Baumium sub signo arboris, 1583.

8vo (160 x 95 mm), contemporary limp vellum with gilt nobiliar coat of arms at both covers, traces of ties, red edges, pp. [14], 550, [34].
Roman and Italic type.

Scarce and beautiful imprint of the third edition of Corti’s renowned treatise on feudal law.

References: OCLC locates only 10 copies worldwide (no copy in USA), 2 in Italy (ICUU).

ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT 16TH CENTURY'S TREATISE ON DONATIONS

CUTELLI, MARIUS. D.Marii Cutelli siculi catinensis V.I.D. ex supremorum ipsius Regni Tribunalium advocatis. Tractationum de donationibus contemplatione matrimonii, aliisque de causis inter parentes, et filios factis. Tomus primus et secundus. Editio secunda. Cui hac impressione additae fuerunt in fine quamplurime Sac. Rom. Rote decisiones, non antea evulgate, ad materiam conferentes. Venetiis, apud Bertanos, 1668.

2 parts bound together in a volume in folio, near contemporary half vellum, pp. 8, 191; 26, 263.

Woodcut head-letters, woodcut tail-pieces. Text on two columns.

Second edition, enlarged with a wide collection of Rota decisions, of this most wanted monograph in donations, one of the most important of 16th century.

References: OCLC locates 7 copies worldwide, 1 in Italy (ICUU) at University of Siena.

RARE ALEXANDER DA IMOLA'S COMMENTARY IN JUSTINIAN'S DIGEST
THE BURKHARD STADTMANN COPY THEN PASSED TO GEORG RITTERHAUSEN

Tartagni, Alessandro. Aureu[m] opus excellentissimi. u.i. monarche Alexandri de Imola: super .j. [et] .ij. ff. vete. Summa cu[m] cura: o[mn]iq[ue] industria ex fidelissimis exe[m]plaribus excerptu[m] [et] in pristinu[m] nitore[m] eme[n]datu[m]. Cu[m] apostillis doctissimor[um] Doc. Fran. de Curte [et] Bernar. de Landriano: [et] cu[m] in numeris addi. q[uae] in alijs codicibus impressis no[n] reperiebant. Additis e[s]t addi. Do. Ant. Fra[n]cisci de Doc. necnon summarijs per spect. i.u. interpretem D[omi]n[u]m Nicolaum de Lacu compositis. Postremo aute[m] cu[m] vtilissimo Repertorio alphabetico singulares conclusiones dictor[um] per Alex. co[n]tine[n]te ac cu[m] copiosissimis additionib[us] Henrici Ferrandat Niuernen[sis] in hac vltima impressione in lucem editis.. (at colophon:) Lugduni : Impressa per Iacobum Mareschal. Impensis nobilium mercatorum Lugdunensium., Anno salutis dominice. M. ccccc. xx. de mense Decembris. (Lyon: Mareschal, 1520).
BOUND WITH:
Tartagni, Alessandro. Cu[m] apostillis doctissimoru[m] doctorum domini Francisci de Curte [et] Bernardini de Landriano. Et cu[m] alijs innumeris additionibus per d[omi]n[u]m Antoniu[m] Franciscum de Doctoribus Patauinum noviter editus. Postremo aut[em] cum singulari repertorio alphabetico conclusiones dictorum per Alex contine[n]te ac cum copiosissimis additionibus Hen. Ferrandat Niuern[ensis]. in hac vlti[m]a impressione in lucem editi. (at colophon:). Lugduni: Impensis nobilium mercatorum Lugdunensium, Anno a Virginis Partu .M. cccccxx. die xiii de mense Decembris (Lyon: Sachon, 1520).

Folio, original ancient wooden boards (monastic binding), renewed calf spine with five raised bands and blind-tooled decorations, metal clasps, handwritten title at edge, ff. 168, [2]; ff. I-CXLIII, 145-202 (misnumbered), 1-106, (2, the last is blank).
Title pages printed in red and black, with woodcut border; fine woodcut initials.

Very rare Alexander Da Imola's commentary on both Justinian's Digestus Vetus and Digestum Novus with the additions of Francesco Corte, Bernardino da Landriano, Antonfrancesco Dottori and Henri Ferrandat.

Alessandro Tartagni also called Alessandro da Imola (1424-1477) was an Italian jurist and canonist. He taught at Pavia, Bologna, Ferrara and Padua. His fame is due to the commentaries on Justinian's Digest and Code —but also in Decretals, showing a mastery of both Civil and Canon Law.

Provenance: 1. Contemporary signature Sebastianus Hallerius.

VERY RARE DA IMOLA'S COMMENTARY IN JUSTINIAN'S DIGEST
NO COPIES IN USA

[Roman Law] Tartagni, Alessandro. Alexander de Imola In secundam Digesti veteris. Prima [-secunda] pars commentariorum Alexandri Tartagni Imolensis ... super Digesto veteri ... Cui accesserunt annotationes praeclarissimorum uirorum domini Francisci de curte, domini Bernardini de landriano, ac domini Francisci de doctoribus ... Adiecto insuper amplissimo domini Hieronymi Loreti Repertorio. Venetiis: [al segno della corona] 1541.

Folio, modern limp paperboards, leaves printed on both sides in double columns.

Very rare Tartagni's commentary on Justinian's Digestum Vetus.

Alessandro Tartagni also called Alessandro da Imola (1424-1477) was an Italian jurist and canonist. He taught at Pavia, Bologna, Ferrara and Padua. His fame is due to the commentaries on Justinian's Digest and Code —but also in Decretals, showing a mastery of both Civil and Canon Law.

References: Censimento, CNCE 49234. No copies in USA: OCLC, 44596200 locates a copy of the other part, the Digestum Novum, at University of Iowa Libraries.

UNCOMMON SECOND EDITION OF THIS COLLECTION OF ELEMENTS OF ROMAN CIVIL LAW

Dall'Olio, Giuseppe. Elementi delle leggi civili romane divisi in quattro libri, ed esposti nell'italiana favella dall'abate Giuseppe Dall'Olio romano. Nelli quali s'indica il diritto naturale [...]. Seconda edizione corretta, ed accresciuta. Libro primo [-quarto]. [...]. Roma: per Luigi Perego Salvioni Stampator Vaticano alla piazza di Sant'Ignazio, 1795.

8vo (230x152 mm), editorial paperback binding; 4 vols; pp. XXVIII, 174, [1] folded plate; VIII, 165, [3]; XXIV, 262, [2]; VIII, 176. Xyl. initials and head-pieces. Text in Italian.

Provenance: Family’s ink stamps at title-pages, not readable. Many handwritten ownership signatures (Jo Filippo Monetti, 1824; Jo Alessandro Moscatelli, Ponzano, 1824; Lorenzo Liberati; Vincenzo Di Silvio).

References: IT\ICCU\RLZE\013607 (7 copies). OCLC, 62140886 (3 copies in USA).

THE SERVITUDES ON ARABLE LANDS IN NORTH-ITALY

Dandini, Francesco Ercole.Herculis Francisci Dandini com. et jc. et in Patavino gymnasio Pandectarum, Codicis Justinianei et novellarum Constitutionum interpretis De servitutibus prædiorum interpretationes per epistolas ad loca quædam libri VII & VIII Pandectarum illustranda pertinentes. Verona: typis Seminarii, 1741.

Folio, contemporary printer's wrappers, pp. [12], 178.
Title page printed in red and black, engraved head-letters, engraved head and tail pieces.
Captions: Epistola ... Hercules Franciscus Dandinus Josepho Torello.

Very scarce and sumptuous Verona imprint of the first and only edition of the jurist Ercole Dandini regarding the laws on property, especially on Servitudes of arable lands.

Ercole Francesco Dandini (1695-1747) was an Italian lawyer who taught (from 1735 to his death) civil law at University of Padua.

References: OCLC 428014319 located only a copy in US libraries, at University of Michigan Law Library (Ann Arbor, MI). Apparently, never appeared in auction.

THE COLLECTED VERDICTS OF THE ROYAL COURTS OF NAPLES IN THE RENAISSANCE

D'Afflitto, Matteo. Decisiones Sacri Consilii Neapolitani. Lyon: apud Haeredes Iacobi Giuntae, 1548.

Large 8vo, stiff vellum (restored) with handwritten title at spine, ff. [64, index], 375, [1, blank].
Two separate title-pages (the Index before the text), text on two columns. Woodcut head-letters.

Valuable edition of the collection of verdicts of the Royal Courts of Naples with the commentary of the renowned jurist Matteo D’Afflitto.

Published for the first time in 1509 with the participation of D’Afflitto’s cousin Michele, this work became necessary to the forensic activity in Naples and was frequently reprinted.

Matteo D’Afflitto, scholar of Civil and Feudal Law at the University of Naples, was one of the most renowned Neapolitan jurists of all times.

Provenance: Many ancient handwritten notes both at back cover and at the last leaf, blank.

References: OCLC 246332932 (3 copies in USA: University of California, Berkeley Law Library; University of Minnesota, Minneapolis and Washington University in St. Louis).

A FOUNDING TEXT ON THE DISCIPLINE OF THE HOMICIDE
AND THE REHABILITATION OF THE GUILTY

DE ANGELIS, FRANCISCUS JOSEPHUS. Franc. Josephi De Angelis ... Tractatus criminalis de delictis, in tres partes divisus, pars prima; in qua agitur de omnibus fere delictis, necnon de judicum competentia in procedendo in quocumque ipsorum, & poenis exequendis, imponendis, ac temperandis, tam de jure civili, & pontificio, quam municipali regni Neapolis, ac consuetudine aliorum locorum. Cum novo indice titulorum, & rerum notabilium. Venetiis, apud Paulum Balleonium,1705.

[BOUND WITH]

Franc. Josephi De Angelis ... Tractatus criminalis de delictis pars secunda, in qua agitur de delictis propriis diversorum, ad proprium esse spectanctibus, vel ratione personae, vel muneris, seu proprii officii. Cum novo indice titulorum, ac rerum notabiliumVenetiis, apud Paulum Balleonium,1705.

[BOUND WITH]

Franc. Josephi De Angelis ... Tractatus de habilitatione reorum, in quo de habilitatione in genere; juratoria cautione; consignatione per chlamydem ... exacte explicatur. Opus omnibus, qui criminalibus incumbunt maxime utile, ac necessarium. Venetiis, apud Paulum Balleonium,1705.

3 parts in a volume in folio, contemporary limp vellum with calligraphic title at spine, pp. [8], 240, [28]; 120, [2], 125-162; 87, [1].

Title page printed in red & black, woodcut head-letters, woodcut head and -tail pieces. Text on two columns.

Scarce and fine edition of one of the founding texts about the legal discipline of the homicide, followed by another important work regarding the rehabilitation’s procedure for the guilty.

Taken a degree in utroque iure in Naples, De Angelis started a long a successful career as criminal lawyer and, at the end of his activity he printed this voluminous treatise, that was an example for completeness and methodicalness of exposition. Among the other worthy of note is the treatise on rehabilitation of a guilty and on precautionary measures.

References: OCLC locates only 5 copies worldwide and 8 complete copies in Italy (ICUU).

VERY SCARCE ITALIAN «BLOODY MURDER» CONTAINING THE DEATH SENTENCE OF A LAWYER FOR THE MURDER OF HIS BROTHER

Relazione del delitto di omicidio e della condanna alla pena capitale del Dott. Giuseppe Gaspari. Verona, 29 Agosto, 1835 (printed by Libanti in Verona).

4to, printed on blue paper, pp. 4. A small woodcut with a skull and crossbones at the top of the text.


Very scarce «Bloody Murder» of the death sentence of a lawyer, Giuseppe Gaspari (born 8 may 1775) from Cologna Veneta (a village 20 km east from Verona, on the road to Venice), sentence executed by hanging on 29 August of 1835.

This documents tells the history of Gaspari, his childhood («he was proud and fierce»), his career as a lawyer and the continuous harassments against his father and his brother Sebastiano. On 13 September 1834, he starts to Cologna with a knife and the following morning, a Sunday, and waits for the arrival of his brother in the main square of the village, sitting at a coffee shop and pretending to write. When the brother arrives, he grabs him by the jacket with the left hand and with the right vibrates two stabbings, piercing his heart, and then a third stab wounds to the left thigh. Then he washes the knife at the fountain, declaring to have been satisfied with his revenge, and starts spontaneously towards the prison, leaving a widow and six children.

Styled at the time as "Last Dying Speeches" or "Bloody Murders" this kind of imprints «were sold to the audiences that gathered to witness public executions in 18th and 19th century (especially in Britain). These ephemeral publications were intended for the middle or lower classes, and most sold for a penny or less. Published by printers who specialized in this type of street literature, a typical example features an illustration (usually of the criminal, the crime scene, or the execution); an account of the crime and (sometimes) the trial; and the purported confession of the criminal, often cautioning the reader in doggerel verse to avoid the fate awaiting the perpetrator» (Crime Broadsides Project).

A classic Italian murder, committed by a lawyer.

References: For scholars and collectors interested in this topic, we suggest to see the beautiful «Crime Broadsides Project» of The Harvard School Library, a digitization of more than 500 broadsides.

FUNDAMENTAL COLLECTION OF DECISION OF THE PARLIAMENT OF BORDEAUX (FRANCE)

De Bohier, Nicolas.Decisionum aureum in sacro Burdegal. senatu olim discussarum ac promulgatarum Pars prima. [et secunda] Quas nunc demum, adhibitis nonnullis summi nominis iureconsultis, & accuratius emendatas, & summariis vtilissimis, indiceque locupletissimo illustratas, in gratiam studiosorum il lucem damus. Huc accesserunt doctissimae simul ac utilissimae additiones ab eodem autore editae in tractatum Ioannis Montani. Venetiis, iussu F. Sansouini, 1568.

A thick volume 4to (200x150 mm), contemporary limp vellum, handwritten titles at spine, pp. [56], 949, [1].
Two separate title-pages; two half-page illustrations.

Important collection of Decisions of the Parliament of Bordeaux (France), edited by Nicolas de Bohier, viscount Pommiers, president of the parliament in Bordeaux and renowned lawyer.
The work had a great success and was reprinted many times during the 16th century.

Provenance: Some cancelled contemporary signatures at title-page.

References: CNCE 7055. Apparently no copies of this edition in USA.