COMMENTARIES ON AMERICAN LAW. VOLUMES I, II, III, IV. by Kent, James

Baton Rouge: Claitor's Publishing Division, 1975. Hard covers, in good condition, Vols I-IV. No jackets. General shelf and handling wear, including minor marks to boards, creasing to spine heads and feet and and light bumping to corners. Vol.I. has small mark to title page base, and front and rear pastedowns to Vols. II-IV are wrinkled. Slight discolouration to page block. Within, pages are tightly bound, and content is clean and bright. CN. Hardcover. Good/No Dust Jacket. Used.

1826. 1st ed vols. I-III only of four. 1st ed vols. I-III only of four. Volumes I-III of Kent's Commentaries, First Edition Kent, James [1763-1847]. Commentaries on American Law. New York: O. Halsted, 1826-1828. Volumes I-III of a four-volume set. Octavo (8-3/4" x 5-1/2"). Contemporary calf, blind fillets to boards, lettering pieces and blind fillets to spines. Light rubbing and scuffing to boards, moderate rubbing to extremities, light gatoring to spines, some wear to spine ends, boards beginning to separate, corners bumped and somewhat worn, a few endleaves loose. Some toning and light foxing to text, faint dampstaining to a few leaves in each volume, early owner signature (Charles S. Hempstead) to front free endpapers, small early owner stamp (of Hempstead) to title pages and a few other leaves in each volume. $2,500. * First edition. Probably the single most important interpretation of American law. Marvin ranks it above Blackstone's Commentaries, writing that "England has only furnished one… Read More

New York: Published by O. Halsted, 1830. [2], vi, [2], 508; viii, 528; viii, 413; viii, 550 pp. Title leaf of each volume with an old rubberstamp. Otherwise, light foxing and a Very Good text. Bound in matching modern, bright cloth, with gilt-lettered morocco spine labels. The first edition of a classic American legal work. "England has only furnished one Blackstone, and the American rival equals him in classic purity and elegance of style, and surpasses him in extent and copiousness of learning. What do Sir William Blackstone's Commentaries contain... which are discussed with such richness and accuracy by Chancellor Kent? Scarcely nothing, and a comparison... shows the American author to have surpassed his rival in comprehensiveness of research, and fulness of illustration, and to have equalled him in clearness and cogency of reasoning" [Marvin]. Larned calls it a "great work... marked by a firm grasp of essentials, by explicit statement of fundamental principles, and by a clear, unaffected,… Read More