Details
BLACKSTONE, Sir William (1723-1780). Commentaries on the Laws of England. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1770-1770-1768-1769.
4 volumes, 4° (267 x 208mm). Half-title in volume I, 2 engraved tables in vol.II, 1 folding. (Vol.I without final blank, Kkk2 in vol.II torn, occasional light spotting or browning.) Contemporary speckled calf, spine and edges of boards gilt, spine in six compartments with raised bands, the second with red morocco lettering-piece, the third with volume number in gilt.
A VERY FINE COPY OF A MIXED SET. Vols. I & II fourth edition, vols. III & IV first editions. Blackstones's Commentaries 'were the product of his earlier lectures [at Oxford]: as a digest of historical growth and a co-ordination of the cumulative precedents of case-law, it is a miracle of organization, judgement, and common sense; it is the nearest thing to a constitution of England. Its wider importance was immediately recognized ... Translated into French, German, Italian, and Russian, it became the textbook of liberty and justice all over the world.' (N. Barker: The Oxford University Press and the Spread of Learning, Oxford: 1978 p.34). Cf.Rothschild 407-408. (4)
4 volumes, 4° (267 x 208mm). Half-title in volume I, 2 engraved tables in vol.II, 1 folding. (Vol.I without final blank, Kkk2 in vol.II torn, occasional light spotting or browning.) Contemporary speckled calf, spine and edges of boards gilt, spine in six compartments with raised bands, the second with red morocco lettering-piece, the third with volume number in gilt.
A VERY FINE COPY OF A MIXED SET. Vols. I & II fourth edition, vols. III & IV first editions. Blackstones's Commentaries 'were the product of his earlier lectures [at Oxford]: as a digest of historical growth and a co-ordination of the cumulative precedents of case-law, it is a miracle of organization, judgement, and common sense; it is the nearest thing to a constitution of England. Its wider importance was immediately recognized ... Translated into French, German, Italian, and Russian, it became the textbook of liberty and justice all over the world.' (N. Barker: The Oxford University Press and the Spread of Learning, Oxford: 1978 p.34). Cf.Rothschild 407-408. (4)