Modus legendi abbreviaturas in utroque iure

Chancery folio (250 x 185mm.), 32 leaves (of 34), a⁸ b-d⁶ e⁸, double column, 41 lines, gothic type, modern red morocco by the Cockerell Bindery (note at back of book with details of previous binding, sheep-backed boards, and dated February 1986), modern brown buckram folding box, numerous manuscript annotations in different hands (some trimmed), lacking a1 (title-page) and blank leaf a5, occasional soiling

Law Society of England and Wales

Goff M748; HC 11470; BSB-Ink M-509; Bod-inc M-292; GW M24966; ILC 1609; Mendham M245

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, where appropriate
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

This legal treatise was first published in c. 1475 and was regularly reprinted in Paris, Germany and the Low Countries during the fifteenth century; most editions are recorded in only a handful of copies, though there are eighteen copies of this edition listed in ISTC. The author is named in the text (in an acrostic) as Werner von Schussenried.

Aegidius van der Heerstraten was active between 1485 and 1488. The manuscript pagination indicates that this was once part of a Sammelband.