Constitutions of the Major European States. Vol. 1–5. 1791. Includes the text of the Constitution of May 3.

[DELACROIX, Jacques Vincent] - Constitutions of the Principal States of Europe and the United States of America, by M. de la Croix. Vol. 1–5. Paris, 1791. Published by Buisson. 8vo, [4], LX, 484; [4], 408; [4], XII, 428; [4], 387; [2], IV, 364. Paperback.
E. –. Scuff marks on the cover; creases on the endpapers of three volumes; minor stains. Untrimmed copy. This five-volume work on the constitutions of the world at that time had two editions published in the same year, 1791 (Vol. 6 appeared in 1801 and is missing here). In the copy presented here, Volumes 1–2 come from the second edition, while the remaining volumes come from the first. The work is significant for Polish affairs due to its text and extensive commentaries on the Constitution of May 3, as well as articles concerning the political system and government of the Polish state. Thus, Volume 1 contains texts (pp. 181–350) on the state of our nation, the First Partition, the situation of the Jews, and a commentary on a work published in 1781 by the political writer Gabriel Bonnot de Mably concerning Poland. In Volume 3, on pp. 283–340, Delacroix included the French text of the Polish constitution adopted on May 3, 1791, accompanied by an introduction and extensive commentary. The first two volumes are devoted primarily to the Constitution of the United States (the world’s first); our constitution is mentioned immediately afterward. The author of the work was J. V. Delacroix (1743–1832)—a lawyer in the French Parliament, a civil court judge, and an encyclopedist—who took a keen interest in the reform of the criminal justice system.