A classical work 'On the Law of War and Peace': Hugo Grotius, De jure belli ac pacis (Paris, 1625) 

Catalogus librorum (…) Petri de Graaf (…), p. 31, no. 182 (Libri Juridici in Quarto)

Beside the first edition published in Paris in 1625, Hugo Grotius’ De jure belli ac pacis is present with other four editions in the catalogue (1626, 1631, 1646, 1647), which we can take as an indication that multiple collections merged into Pieter’s. 

Titlepage of Hugo Grotius’ De jure belli ac pacis (Paris, 1625)

Grotius’ works are frequently featured in Pieter’s book auction catalogue and aptly showcase the Dutch scholar’s extensive expertise across various fields. Among the law books, there are also two editions in quarto of his textbook Inleiding tot de Hollandsche rechtsgeleertheyd (The Hague, 1631 and Delft, 1657), and his De Mari Libero on sea jurisdiction. His religious works are represented by the Annotata ad vetus testamentum (Paris, 1644) and the Annotationes in Libros Evangeliorum (Amsterdam, 1641), his historical works by the Annales et historiae de rebus Belgicis (Amsterdam, 1657 or 1658) and the Annales & histoires du Paysbas (Amsterdam, 1662). Among his humanist works we find the Syntagma Arateorum (Antwerp, 1600) and the tragedy Sophompaneas (Amsterdam, 1635).

In his manuscript about the history of his family, Pieter recounts that in 1626 his father Cornelis travelled with his younger brother Dirck and Willem Nooms, Lord of Aarlanderveen, to France ‘to see the country as well as to learn the language’ (‘soo om ’t Lant te sien als tael te leeren’, ACA 76, inv. nr. 227, p. 351). In Paris, Cornelis paid a visit to Hugo Grotius, who ‘showed him much friendship’ (‘die hem veel vrintschap bewees’ ACA 76, inv. nr. 227, p. 5). This book may have been purchased by Cornelis on the occasion of this visit or, who knows, perhaps given him as a gift by Grotius himself?

Section of Pieter's family history manuscript related to the visit of his father to France and his meeting with Hugo Grotius (ACA 76, inv. nr. 227, p. 5).
(Note that this is not Pieter's handwriting; the manuscript is a collation of pages written by Pieter and by other people, including some of his ancestors).

USTC record: 6026902
Browse through De jure belli ac pacis (Paris, 1625)  on Google books

Consult and download the annotated transcription of Pieter de Graeff's book auction catalogue here.

References and further reading:

C. Piccoli, Pieter de Graeff (1638-1707) and his treffelyke bibliotheek: Exploring and reconstructing an early modern private library as a book collection and as a physical space (Leiden: Brill, 2025).

On the multi-layered concept of vriendschap in the early modern period, see L. Kooijmans, Vriendschap en de kunst van het overleven in de zeventiende en achttiende eeuw (Bert Bakker, 2016)

Written by Chiara Piccoli