"THE FOUNDATION OF MODERN INTERNATIONAL LAW" AND AN IMPORTANT INFLUENCE ON THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION: 1654 FIRST EDITION IN ENGLISH OF GROTIUS' MASTERPIECE

GROTIUS, Hugo. Of the Law of Warre and Peace with Annotations. III Parts. And Memorials of the Author's Life and Death. London: Printed by T. Warren, for William Lee, 1654. Thick octavo, contemporary full speckled calf, raised bands. Housed in a custom clamshell box. $14,500.

First edition in English of this cornerstone treatise on law and government, with engraved frontispiece portrait, in contemporary calf.

"The name of Grotius must always be pre-eminent when we speak of the establishment of the law of nations as a distinct body of doctrine" (NYU, 569). De Jure Belli ac Pacis, first published at Paris in 1625, "was the first attempt to lay down a principle of right, and a basis for society and government, outside of Church or Scripture… Grotius' principle of an immutable law… was the first expression of the 'droit naturel… the foundation of modern international law" (PMM 125). This then-radical notion later played an important role in the build-up to the American Revolution, as colonial leaders cited Grotius as the first and greatest authority on international law. "No legal work ever enjoyed a more widely extended reputation, and none ever exercised such a wonderful influence over the public morals of Europe" (Marvin, 23). This first edition in English, somewhat abridged from the original Latin, was translated by Clement Barksdale; the first complete English translation, by Evats, was published in 1682. With separate title page for Memorials of the Author's Life and Death. Without four leaves of publisher's ads at rear; text complete. Revolutionary America 170. See Sowerby, Library of Thomas Jefferson 1404. CBEL I:844. Lowndes, 950. Street & Maxwell I:361. Wing G2119. Early owner signature of "John Mouliot at Queen Hithe, 1762" on frontispiece; occasional early ink marginalia.

Contemporary calf binding with expert restoration, especially to spine and joints, but still quite attractive. A very good copy of this landmark.