François Marc (latinizzato in Franciscus Marcus) - Dn. Franc. Marci Decisionum aurearum, in sacro Delphinatus Senatu iampridem discussarum, ac - 1562

"Dn. Franc. Marci Decisionum aurearum" (or simply Decisiones aureae) is a famous Renaissance legal work written by the French jurist François Marc (latinized as Franciscus Marcus), adviser at the Parliament of the Dauphin (sacred Delphinatus Senatus). The 1562 edition has the following editorial characteristics:
• Content: It collects and comments on the jurisprudential decisions of the Parliament of the Dauphinate (Grenoble). This work was considered a fundamental source of common law and judicial practice of the 16th century.
• Structure: It is generally divided into two parts (pars prima and pars secunda). The Lyon edition of 1562 saw the publication of the first part in that year, often followed by the second part in 1564. Only the first part is for sale.
• Publisher: It was published in Lyon (Lugduni) by the prestigious heirs of Jacopo Giunta (apud haeredes Iacobi Iuntae).
• Format: It is a folio-format volume, printed predominantly in italic and Roman type, adorned with woodcut initials and bearing the Giunta printer’s mark on the frontispiece.
The work enjoyed enormous success among jurists of the era, so much so that it was reprinted many times across Europe also by other famous printers (such as Gaspare Bindoni in Venice in 1566). It consists of 506 pages (4 initial unpaginated pages, 436 numbered pages containing the main text of the decisions, 66 final unpaginated pages dedicated to the index of terms and topics treated).
The book features a halo in the upper left portion of the frontispiece, which gradually fades as one moves through the following pages. Aside from this and modest browning on some leaves, the paper is in good condition. The binding is full brown leather; it shows some abrasions along the edges of the boards."