Praxis rerum criminalium, prætoribus, proconsulibus, magistratibus, reliquis’que id genus [...]

Large 8vo (22,5 x 17 cm), [16] ff., 508 pp., [32] ff. ; contemporary soft vellum, title handwritten on spine, inventory number pasted to spine, laces (one broken, binding stained, traces of handwritten inscripion in red ink on upper cover)

Illustrated with 73 woodcuts , some full-page, including the portrait of Damhouder and his coat of arms.

New Latin edition of the important work on criminal law by the Flemish jurisconsult Joost de Damhouder (1507-1581), which strongly influenced the practice of criminal law. Originally published in French in 1554 under the title "La practique et enrichidion des causes criminelles...", the work caused a scandal at the time of its publication because it was accused of plagiarism, but this did not prevent it from being a great success, thanks in particular to its engravings (several of which were judged to be licentious, in particular the scenes of adultery on p.263, fornication on p.294, incest on p.299, rape on p.302, etc.). These describe crimes, tortures and the stages of legal proceedings, with a depiction of a judge in a courtroom in the last plate.

Provenance: double blue wet stamp of the Grenoble lawyers' library on the title and second leaf, handwritten ownership marks on the title, one of which is crossed out in ink. Some handwritten annotations in brown ink in the margins, some soiling, the engravings slightly enhanced in red ink, some pages browned.

Brunet II, 479; Graesse II, 322