The Lawbook Exchange has published their Catalogue 112. It's subject is Incunabula. Law Books from the First Fifty Years of Printing. Obviously, these are all very old books. Each was printed during the fifteenth century, the “newest” one coming from 1500. Those dates don't reflect the age of these works. Many were written a couple of centuries earlier. They had existed only in manuscript. They needed to wait for Gutenberg to reach a wider audience.
Their importance is shown by the fact that they exist in print at all. A book sufficiently respected to be printed a couple of centuries after being written had to survive a test of time. On the other hand, printing also made it easier for newer texts to be created and spread around, meaning that legal texts that had survived centuries had a shorter future ahead. The Renaissance was on, and nothing, the law included, would ever be the same.
These books, as would be expected, were written in Latin. Most of us, myself included, can't read Latin, and if we could, my guess is the language has evolved such as to make these challenging reads even for those who do. I think I can understand English, but Chaucer is beyond my comprehension. The result is that I can't provide individual descriptions of these books. Then again, I suspect many if not most of the collectors who come to own these books will not be able to read them either. Suffice to say the appeal is in holding something so old, and appreciating their significance, the artistry of the type, and in some cases, illustrations. Even if you can understand their meaning, the laws are way out of date anyway. Some were written by popes and other ecclesiastical figures so they do not correspond well to today's civil law. Today, these books are best appreciated as physical objects, rather than sources of legal wisdom.
A couple of these books have later distinguishing features. They were owned by Alexandre P. Rosenberg and contain his bookplate. His bookplate was designed by his friend, Pablo Picasso. Anything that can justly be described as a Picasso is going to be valuable. One includes the bookplate of noted American printer and author Theodore Low DeVinne.
The Lawbook Exchange may be reached at 732-382-1800 or law@lawbookexchange.com. Their website is www.lawbookexchange.com.
