The Institutes of Cape Law – Book I: The Law of Persons by A. F. S. Maasdorp – 1903 First Edition

The Institutes of Cape Law: Being a Compendium of the Common Law, Decided Cases, and Statute Law of the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope – Book I: The Law of Persons by A. F. S. Maasdorp is an important early South African legal work, published by J. C. Juta & Co. in Cape Town in 1903. This first edition represents an early stage of a work that subsequently developed into the long-running Maasdorp’s Institutes of South African Law, making it particularly interesting to collectors of South African legal history and Africana.

Andries Ferdinand Stockenström Maasdorp was an important figure in the development and documentation of South African law and is identified on the title page as Chief Justice of the Orange River Colony. This first volume of The Institutes of Cape Law is devoted to The Law of Persons, bringing together common law, decided cases and statute law applicable to the Cape Colony at the beginning of the twentieth century.

Published more than 120 years ago, this original 1903 volume has considerable historical interest beyond its purely legal content. It is an excellent example of early South African legal publishing and would make a worthwhile addition to collections devoted to Africana, Cape Colony history, Roman-Dutch law, South African jurisprudence, antique legal books and early Juta publications.

Condition – Very Good

Very Good 1903 hardcover. Original cloth boards are shelf worn, with rubbing and wear to the edges, corners and spine extremities. Gilt spine lettering remains clearly visible. Internally with a prior ownership inscription in ink on the endpaper, dated 11 June 1904. Page discolouration and foxing are present