DSC_0031This is a very common looking book from the outside, it was probably bound in the in the low countries  in the seventeenth century. It doesn’t tell me much more, but that is a start.

Finding and buying books, as a dealer is the most fun part of my day. There are various methods of finding books and these range from being very systematic, to just buying a pile of books that ‘turn up’. There is an old french idiom ” acheter (un) chat en poche”  which becomes the english  don’t “buy a pig in a poke”  Some times it is ok to buy a ‘poche’ of books and it can be fun and  full of good surprizes, other times… not so much. Today I will go through a few books which all reveal the complications of buying books..

The first book I begin with looks promising, it is a sammelbande, always something I like. The first work bound in this Vellum binding is :

Pauli Voet, Gisb. F. Juris in Acad. Ultraject. antecessoris, & Vianensis Cameræ Senatoris, De usu juris civilis et canonici in Belgio unito, deque more promovendi doctores utriusque juris, &c. liber singularis.

Ultrajecti : Ex officina Johannis à Waesberge, anno M D C LVII.

This looks interesting to me, Voet, came from a line of important Jurists and i remember he did something about Private and International law, I’ll look that up later. First I need to see if this book is all there. Collation, this is a process I go through for every book I sell, most books go through the process three times, once before I buy the book, then after i buy the book, and finally when I catalogue the book. I compare ,usually from on line catalogues, the copy in hand to other listed copies, if I am lucky there is a list of the signatures, but most often there is just page counts.

This Voet book collates  *3,A-M8,N6, or by page count [vi], 299 p, I’m assuming the first blank is original. I check with a few copies in google books and internet archives and it is blank indeed.

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Which brings us to the next title bound in here, but first a neat little discovery, when I look at the fore edge I see a color change…. maybe these books were bound separately  before this binding?

DSC_0027So now with the next title, Same Author, Different Printer, Different date.

Pauli Voet I. C. Ac Philosophiæ in Academ. Ultraj. Profess. Ordinarii. De Duellis, Licitis & illicitis, Liber singularis.

Ultrajecti [Utrecht] : Ex officina Gisberti à Zyll., MDCXLVI.

So this book was printed 11 years before the  book bound first. , This one looks interesting too Dueling law must have some sort of contemporary applications?

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Now for the next collation,  ±4, A-P¹² (lackingQ-Q⁸) R⁴. and page count [6], 384 p. ????

This does not match any copies of this title I can find? The ±4 matches the title  but the rest while on Dueling doesn’t match the collation or page counts of other copies which are [3] Bl., 256 [i.e. 265] S., [2] … So what gives? what book do we have here? The next book bound in here Has no title page…

but  it collates    A-I¹², K-L¹², M³ and the page count is 256 {i.e. 265] [2].  So The title page and 3 preface leaves from the second work goes with the Third book.

So what is book two really? it is on dueling, and I hope by Voet, so lets see if he wrote other books on Duelling.

Yes! he did.

 De Duellis. Ex omni Jure decisis casibus, Liber Singularis, editione iteratâ auctus, & emendatus.

Ultrajecti : Ex officina Johannis à Waesberge, anno M D C LVII

and its page count is [4] Bl., 384. So we are missing a title page it should look like this :

9694833708Where to from here? I need to recap for myself, the first book is ok , complete and , lets see if it is rare?  So about 20 copies world wide.. not rare rare..

The second book  (without the title)

De Duellis. Ex omni Jure decisis casibus, Liber Singularis, editione iteratâ auctus, & emendatus.

also not so rare, and this book is also lacking quire Q.

The third work, of which the title and first 3 leaves  of book two really belong to, is :

Pauli Voet I. C. Ac Philosophiæ in Academ. Ultraj. Profess. Ordinarii. De Duellis, Licitis & illicitis, Liber singularis

Is a little more rare and complete ( though the pages are spread out a bit), none the less it is “(un) chat en poche”

It would make a great teaching example!

324G  Voet, Paul. 1619-1667

Pauli Voet, Gisb. F. Juris in Acad. Ultraject. antecessoris, & Vianensis Cameræ Senatoris, De usu juris civilis et canonici in Belgio unito, deque more promovendi doctores utriusque juris, &c. liber singularis
{Bound with ]
Pauli Voet I. C. Ac Philosophiæ in Academ. Ultraj. Profess. Ordinarii. De Duellis, Licitis & illicitis, Liber singularis1646)
[Bound after ]
 De Duellis. Ex omni Jure decisis casibus, Liber Singularis, editione iteratâ auctus, & emendatus.

Ultrajecti : Ex officina Johannis à Waesberge, anno M D C LVII
and
Ultrajecti [Utrecht] : Ex officina Gisberti à Zyll., MDCXLVI
and
Ultrajecti : Ex officina Johannis à Waesberge, anno M D C LVII          $1,900

Three books bound together., .    *3,A-M8,N6
[with]
±4, A-P   (lackingQ-Q ) R .
[with]
A-I  , K-L  , M   This copy is bound in full contemporary lace cased construction vellum.

Bibliografia del Duello, p. 55.