LOT 2214

General Books - De L'Esprit Des Lois - Nouvelle Edition - Volume I

1781 A.D.

6 3/4 x 4 in. (403 grams, 17 x 10.2 cm).

Anonymous; attributed to Charles Louis de Secondat, Baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu - Amsterdam, 1781, hardback with full-calf binding, marbled endpapers and edging, 430pp; two maps (detached). [No Reserve]

Property of an Essex gentleman.

The work 'On the Spirit of Laws' is an extended essay on political theory and comparative law, originally published anonymously due to its radical content. It gained great influence outside France through translation into many other languages. In 1751 the Roman Catholic Church added it to its Index Librorum Prohibitorum (List of Banned Books).
Montesquieu spent about ten years researching and writing the text which deals with a range of topics including law, society and the more general study of humanity (anthropology). He maintained that political institutions needed to reflect the social and geographical aspects of the originating community in order to succeed. The work calls for a constitutional system of government with separation of the various powers, preservation of legality and of civil liberties, and the abolition of institutional slavery. The first edition proved highly controversial and had to be amended (whence the 'Nouvelle Edition' here) including removing certain pages which contained incautious statements on the institution of monarchy, on Cardinal Richelieu, and on the government of other countries.
The maps are detached from the book; both are dated 1764, by Robert de Vaugondy. The larger is a map of the world with parts of North and South America, Africa and Australia left blank. The smaller encompasses Europe and 'European Russia' with Ukraine marked as 'Little Tartary'.