Essay on Paternal Power | Chrestien de Poly | Complete 2-Volume Set 1820

A complete two-volume edition of Essai sur la puissance paternelle by the French jurist Jean-Prosper Chrestien de Poly, printed in Paris by Adrien Egron in 1820.

In this extensive legal and political work, Chrestien de Poly examines the historical and legal position of paternal authority within the family. The work was published during the French Restoration, shortly after the major changes brought about by the French Revolution and the Code civil in family and private law.

Chrestien de Poly, vice-president of the Tribunal de la Seine and knight of the Legion of Honor, addresses, among other things, the historical development of paternal authority, the status of minor and adult children, marriage and emancipation, property law, inheritance law, and various forms of disinheritance. Thus, the work constitutes an interesting primary source for the history of French family and civil law in the early 19th century.

The original edition consists of two volumes, both of which are present here. Tome Premier contains 599 pages and Tome Second contains 520 pages. The second volume concludes with the printed statement “Fin du second et dernier volume”.

Both volumes are housed in matching early 19th-century half-leather bindings with marbled boards. The leather spines feature gilt titles, volume numbers, lines, and floral ornamentation. The bindings show clear signs of use and age, but have retained their characteristic original appearance.

The text blocks themselves have remained particularly well-preserved for their age. The paper is clearly legible and shows only scattered foxing, discoloration, and other normal signs of age.

A complete, more than two hundred years old French legal edition from the Restoration period, interesting to collectors of antiquarian legal books, French history, and early 19th-century bookbindings.

• Title: Essai sur la puissance paternelle
• Author: Jean-Prosper Chrestien de Poly
• Volumes: Tome Premier & Tome Second
• Completeness: complete two-volume edition
• Publisher/printer: Adrien Egron
• Place: Paris, France
• Year: 1820
• Language: French
• Tome I: 599 pages
• Tome II: 520 pages
• Subject: French civil law, family law, and paternal authority
• Period: French Restoration, early 19th century
• Binding: contemporary half-leather bindings with marbled boards
• Decoration: gilt spines with ornamentation and volume numbers
• Dimensions: approx. 21 × 13.5 cm per volume
• Thickness Tome I: approx. 2.7 cm
• Thickness Tome II: approx. 3.5 cm
• Condition of text blocks: very good for their age, with light foxing and signs of age
• Condition of bindings: clear wear to leather, edges, corners, and spines
• Overall condition: fair to good antiquarian condition