Cosmin Vasile
Junior Numismatic, Antiques & Militaria Appraisal Office
246C. "Caragea's Law", first edition in Greek, Vienna, 1818, with the engraved portrait of the ruler Ioan Caragea, extremely rare piece for the elite of Wallachian society, collection item
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246C. "Caragea's Law", first edition in Greek, Vienna, 1818, with the engraved portrait of the ruler Ioan Caragea, extremely rare piece for the elite of Wallachian society, collection item
Starting price:
EUR 700
Sold
EUR 4.750
19.5 x 12.5 cm
Research information
BRV III p. 1000
The complete title of the work is "Legislation of the Most Exalted and Pious Lord and Ruler of all Ungro-Wallachia, Ioan Gheorghe Caragea Voivode", published in Vienna in the print shop of Ioan (Bartolomeu) Zweck, in 1818. Technically, the format is in-8°, 4 p. introductory + 132 p. + 4 unnumbered f. (the last one is blank). A plate is inserted between p. 88–89. The main text begins at p. 9; the final sheets contain the table of contents, arranged by chapters and in alphabetical order (analytical index).
This is a Greek edition printed in Vienna of the well-known "Caragea's Law," drafted after the model of the Napoleonic Code and considered the first modern legislative code of Wallachia.
The translation into Neo-Greek belongs to the scholar Athanasios Christopoulos and was intended for the new administrative environment introduced at the beginning of the 18th century, in the context where Greek was the language of the chancellery in the Romanian Countries during the Phanariote regime. The same year also saw the release of the Romanian edition, based on this version. The Code remained in force until the Organic Regulations era.
The title page is adorned with the princely coat of arms of Wallachia. At the end of the introductory sheets, there is a portrait of Ioan Gheorghe Caragea, engraved in Vienna in 1818, by Blasius Höfel, accompanied by the country's coat of arms (crusader eagle, crowned, placed over the symbols of power and supported by lions), as well as the ruler's initials and the date 1812. The volume also includes a folded plate.
The work was printed in the press of Bartholomäus Zweck, characterized by a neat and good quality layout. The binding is period-made out of cardboard, with a leather spine, decorated and gilded. The copy is in a good state of conservation.
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SESSION
Brought to you by
Cosmin Vasile
Junior Numismatic, Antiques & Militaria Appraisal Office
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