Viatorium Utriusque Iuris

1493. Strasbourg: Johann Pruess, 1493.. Strasbourg: Johann Pruess, 1493. 1493 Strasbourg Imprint of a Notable Legal Handbook [Barbier, Jean]. Viatorium Utriusque Iuris. [Strasbourg: Johann Pruess, 1493]. [250] ff. Collation: a-c8; i-z8, [et]8, [con]8, A8; d-h8; B-E8, F10. Sections transposed due to contemporary binding error; text complete. Octavo (6" x 4"; 15 x 10.5 cm). ISTC ib00334000 (10 copies in North America, 5 in law libraries). **THIS DESCRIPTION IS TRUNCATED DUE TO CHARACTER LIMITS. PLEASE CONTACT US FOR A COMPLETE VERSION.** Contemporary calf over wooden boards, elaborate blind and gilt tooling to boards, skillfully rebacked retaining existing spine with raised bands and blind tooling, brass catches to fore-edges (clasps mostly lacking), endpapers renewed retaining original pastedowns, leather thumb-tabs to fore-edge of text block. Light rubbing, a few small nicks, tiny wormholes and nail remnants (from former bosses?) to boards, gilt mostly oxidized or rubbed away, light creasing and a few tears to retained spine, minor worming to retained pastedowns, early owner inscriptions to front pastedown. Text printed in 34-line gothic type (plus headline) in double columns, attractive contemporary guide initials in red and rubrications to first 49 leaves. Light toning to interior, faint dampstaining to edges of first and final 30 or so leaves, minor worming to first and final few leaves, text affected in places without loss to legibility, crack in text block between leaves E8-F1, all leaves secure. Brief contemporary annotations between misbound sections providing guidance to navigate the binding error. A handsome copy with interesting provenance. $12,500. * First printed between 1487 and 1490 in Lyon, this is a legal handbook that combines elements of Roman and canon law with the customary law of southern France (Languedoc). It enjoyed a fairly wide circulation. Its fifth edition appeared in 1500, and it went through eight more editions by 1595. All are scarce today. Our 1493 imprint does not identify the printer, who is identified without dispute in the standard references. The annotations on the front pastedown record that our copy initially belonged to a monastery in Andechs: "Iste liber attinet vene[rabi]li cenobio S. Nicolai Monasterii Anndex." It was then passed to the astronomer.