Code Catherine (3 results)

Amsterdam: Chez Marc Michel Rey, 1771. (illustrator). First Edition. Amsterdam: Chez Marc Michel Rey, 1771. Attractive Early Amsterdam Edition of Catherine's Nakaz Catherine II [1762-1796], Empress of Russia. Instruction de Sa Majeste Imperiale Catherine II. Pour la Commission Chargee de Dresser le Projet d'un Nouveau Code de Loix. Amsterdam: Chez Marc Michel Rey, 1771. [vii], 229 pp. Copperplate portrait frontispiece. Octavo (7-3/4" x 4-3/4"). Later patterned-paper covered boards, calf lettering piece to spine, patterned endpapers. Minor wear to spine ends and corners, front joint starting at ends. Negligible light toning to text, dampstaining to bottom and fore-edges of text block, very faint in most places, in preliminaries somewhat darker. A nice copy. $1,250. * Second Dutch edition. This important text, also known as the Nakaz, or Instruction, is a statement of legal principles written by Catherine II from 1764 and 1766. Permeated with the ideas of the French Enlightenment, and copied mostly from the work of Voltaire, Montesquieu and Beccaria, it was compiled as a guide for the All-Russia Legislative Commission convened by the Empress in 1767 to create a new code to replace the 1649 Muscovite Code. Revised in consultation with Beccaria, Frederick the Great and Voltaire, the Nakaz proclaimed the equality of all men before the law and disapproved of the death penalty and torture. Unfortunately, her proposed code was never completed. Catherine's manuscript was written in French, and she later produced a Russian translation. Editions in German and Russian were published in Moscow in 1767. Several editions followed in nations ranging from Italy to Latvia. The first Dutch edition, in Dutch translation, was published in Amsterdam in 1769. The 1771 Amsterdam edition was the first Dutch edition in French. It is a scarce imprint. OCLC locates 2 copies in North American law libraries (Library of Congress, UC-Berkeley). Butler, The Nakaz of Catherine the Great 528 (entry 28).

Amsterdam, 1771. 2nd Dutch ed. (illustrator). First Edition. Amsterdam, 1771. 2nd Dutch ed. Early Amsterdam Edition of Catherine's Nakaz Catherine II [1762-1796], Empress of Russia. Instruction de Sa Majeste Imperiale Catherine II. Pour la Commission Chargee de Dresser le Projet d'un Nouveau Code de Loix. Amsterdam: Chez Marc Michel Rey, 1771. [vii], 229 pp. Frontispiece engraved copperplate medallion portrait of Catherine II by C.A. Boily. Octavo (7-3/4" x 4-3/4"; 19.68 x 12.06 cm). Contemporary mottled calf, blind rules to boards, gilt spine with lettering piece, edges rouged, marbled endpapers. A few minor scuffs to boards, moderate rubbing to extremities, spine ends worn, front joint starting at ends, corners bumped and somewhat worn. Light toning to text, dampstaining and light foxing to a few leaves, internally clean. An attractive copy. $1,250. * Second Dutch edition. This important text, also known as the Nakaz, or Instruction, is a statement of legal principles written by Catherine II from 1764 and 1766. Permeated with the ideas of the French Enlightenment, and copied mostly from the work of Voltaire, Montesquieu and Beccaria, it was compiled as a guide for the All-Russia Legislative Commission convened by the Empress in 1767 to create a new code to replace the 1649 Muscovite Code. Revised in consultation with Beccaria, Frederick the Great and Voltaire, the Nakaz proclaimed the equality of all men before the law and disapproved of death penalty and torture. Unfortunately, her proposed code was never completed. Catherine's manuscript was written in French, and she later produced a Russian translation. Editions in German and Russian were published in Moscow in 1767. Several editions followed in nations ranging from Italy to Latvia. The first Dutch edition, in Dutch translation, was published in Amsterdam in 1769. The 1771 Amsterdam edition was the first Dutch edition in French. This is a scarce imprint. OCLC locates 2 copies in North American law libraries (Library of Congress, UC-Berkeley). Butler and Tomsinov, Eds., The Nakaz of Catherine the Great 528 (entry 28).

First Edition. Early French-Language Edition of Catherine's Nakaz Catherine II [1762-1796], Empress of Russia. [Landres, J. Rodolphe Frey de, Translator]. Instructions Adressees par Sa Majeste L'Imperatrice de Toutes les Russies: A la Commission Etablie Pour Travailler a L'Execution du Projet d'un Nouveau Code de Lois. Traduit de l'Allemand. "A Petersbourg" [i.e. Yverdon, Switzerland]: [s.n.], 1769. 286 pp. 12mo. (6" x 4"). Early quarter vellum over marbled boards, untrimmed edges, a few unopenened signatures. Light soiling, corners lightly bumped and worn. Moderate toning to interior, somewhat heavier in places, some leaves have light foxing, a few have light dampstaining to margins, internally clean. Ex-library with a small inkstamp to title page. A handsome copy. $1,000. * Reissue of the first edition in French, published by the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences for private distribution in 1769. This important text, also known as the Nakaz, or Instruction, is a statement of legal principles written by Catherine II from 1764 and 1766. Permeated with the ideas of the French Enlightenment, and copied mostly from the work of Voltaire, Montesquieu and Beccaria, it was compiled as a guide for the All-Russia Legislative Commission convened by the Empress in 1767 to create a new code to replace the 1649 Muscovite Code. Revised in consultation with Beccaria, Frederick the Great and Voltaire, the Instruction proclaimed the equality of all men before the law and disapproved of death penalty and torture. Unfortunately, her proposed code was never completed. Catherine's manuscript was written in French, and she later produced a Russian translation. Editions in German and Russian were published in Moscow in 1767. The book was initially banned in France because it was too liberal, which is why the first French-language edition was produced in Switzerland (with a false imprint). French and Latin editions were eventually published in 1770. OCLC locates 6 copies of this imprint in North American law libraries (Columbia, George Washington University, Harvard, Library of Congress, UC-Berkeley, Yale). Butler, The Nakaz of Catherine the Great 531 (Entry 40).