International research project focuses on the oldest book in the Liechtenstein Institute’s research library
11 Dec 2024 - Mitteilung
Hugo Grotius’ work “De jure belli ac pacis” (On the Law of War and Peace) is the focus of a five-year research project at the Max Planck Institute. The book is considered the foundation of modern international law. The Liechtenstein Institute’s copy comes from Gerard Batliner’s private library and was donated to the Institute.
The aim of the research project is to compile a census bibliography of all surviving copies of the first nine editions to mark the 400th anniversary of the first publication in 1625. This involves documenting and analyzing the annotations that countless owners – politicians, private individuals and scholars of international law - have left in their copies over the centuries.
To date, 111 copies of the 1646 edition have been identified worldwide. Among them is the copy in the library at the Liechtenstein Institute, which is on an international list between Japan and the Netherlands.
