The First and Only Edition
Treatise on the Laws of Literary Property. Comprising the Statutes and Cases Relating to Books, Manuscripts, Lectures; Dramatic and Musical Compositions; Engravings, Sculpture, Maps &c. Including the Piracy and Transfer of Copyright; With a Historical View, And Disquisitions on the Principles and Effects of the Laws.
London: Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, and Green, 1828.
Comprising the Statutes and Cases Relating to Books, Manuscripts, Lectures; Dramatic and Musical
Compositions; Engravings, Sculpture, Maps &c. Including the Piracy and Transfer of Copyright; With a Historical View, And Disquisitions on the Principles and Effects of the Laws. London: Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, and Green, 1828.
Full Description:
MAUGHAM, Robert. A Treatise on the Laws of Literary Property, Comprising the Statutes and Cases Relating to Books, Manuscripts, Lectures; Dramatic and Musical Compositions; Engravings, Sculpture, Maps &c. Including the Piracy and Transfer of Copyright; With a Historical View, And Disquisitions on the Principles and Effects of the Laws. London: Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, and Green, 1828.
First and only edition. Octavo (8 1/2 x 5 1/4 inches; 218 x 135 mm). xxii, [2], 261, [1, errata], [1, publisher's ad], [1, blank] pp. With half-title and publisher's advertisement leaf. We could find only one other copy besides the present on Rare Book Hub which was from 1871.
Modern quarter morocco over marbled boards. Red and brown morocco spine labels, lettered in gilt. Newer endpapers. Some light, even toning throughout. A few instanced of minor foxing. Previous owner's small bookplate to rear pastedown. Overall a very good copy.
"The first British legal treatise dedicated specifically to the law of copyright written by a strong advocate of the common law rights of the author. Maugham, in addition to providing a commentary upon the law of copyright, also used his work to lobby for both an extension to the copyright term (ideally resulting in a perpetual right) and a reduction in the library deposit requirements (arguing that authors should only be required to deposit one copy of their work for the British Museum). In proselytising the need for a change to the law in both areas he drew frequent comparisons with the law of other jurisdictions (in particular France and Germany). The work became a standard point of reference for many British and American authors who followed... Maugham's text provided a comprehensive summary of, and commentary upon, the current state of the law, not just in relation to works of literature, but also with respect to dramatic works, lectures, and artistic works (engravings, sculpture), and prerogative grants and the concept of Crown Copyright. This work can rightly be regarded as the first significant and substantial treatment of the subject within Britain. It was certainly the first treatise that was routinely relied upon as a point of reference in subsequent copyright texts, both in Britain and in the US, throughout the remainder of the nineteenth century. As to the specific tenor and focus of Maugham's text, it was essentially dominated by two particular issues: the duration of copyright; and the library deposit provisions." (Commentary on Maugham's Treatise on the Laws of Literary Property. Ronan Deazley)
HBS 69539.
$2,000.
Price: $2,000.00
Item #69539