Commentaries on American Law
New York: O. Halsted, 1826-1830.
First edition. Volumes 1-4, complete. Bound in period calf with two partial binder's unprinted cloth dust jackets. A few jacket remnants to paste downs of all volumes. Jackets from this era are extremely uncommon in any condition; these are remarkable survivals despite their very rough shape. Books were individually-bound at this time and jackets came about as a means of protecting the binder's work in transit and storage. Fair condition overall: spines missing from volumes I and II, calf battered and worn; boards either detached, hanging on by a thread, or starting. Moderate-to-heavy foxing to contents, which are nonetheless complete; a little waviness to pages. Former owner's name written on front board of Volume II. Label of Volume III present still; another of the labels is laid in but the others have perished. Jacket remnants are extremely fragile and prone to chipping; stained; poor condition. While these volumes are in need of some serious conservation work and present as what the kids call "a hot mess," they are nonetheless of historical significance as early American binder's jackets, likely from the 1830s. Kent's Commentaries was the foremost American legal text of its time, forging a unique approach yet inspired by its famous English ancestor, Blackstone.
Price: $12,500