Tractatus politico-juridicus...

Very rare First Edition of this legal treatise on trade and commerce.

Marquard (1610-68) was Mayor of Lübeck from 1663 until his death five years later. After being knighted by the Order of Knights of St. Mark in 1635 for outstanding diplomatic work in Padua, he returned to his native city and became a city council member. Having served as the town judge for many years he was appointed Mayor.

First edition of this commercial treatise dedicated to America and the colonies.
His work is considered 'un ouvrage extremement important pour l'histoire du droit commercial dans tous les pays' [an extremely important work for the history of commercial law in all countries] (Leclerc). Marquard is thought to be the first writer to use the legal term ius mercatorum or 'the law of the merchant' which 'constructed...a system that incorporated the specialism of merchantile usages and justice into the sphere- entirely judicial- of privileges'. The text 'considerably modified the perspective of previous commercial doctrine' by systematizing a set of legal rights for traders (Fortunati, 143). Volume One, written in Latin, also provides a mercantile history of Russia, Germany, England and other European countries. Volume Two is written in German and contains a variety of important documents including the text of the 'Argonautica Gustaviana', which details the history of the Swedish South Company and its settlements in Pennsylvania under the leadership of William Usselincx. As well as including references to commerce with the New World it includes charters and agreements with colonial companies (European Americana).