REPUBLIC OF THE HEBREWS - ELZEVIR Petrus Cunaeus (Petrus Van der Kun, 1586-1638), De Republica Hebraeorum libri III. Leiden, Elzevir 1632, 12 f. n. c. including frontispiece, 502 p.c. and one f. of errata in one vol. in 24 ep. full white vellum covers, smooth spine with handwritten title, engraved title-frontispiece. A fine copy in strictly period condition of this book, one of the most sought-after in the Elzevirian "Republics" collection. Small marginal cut on the frontispiece to remove an exlibris dated 1660. Remains on the first flyleaf an exlibris dated Montlhéry 1692. For Cunaeus, who bases his reasoning on the Bible, Flavius Josephus and Maimonides, the Jewish state is the model towards which all states should strive, and his book greatly inspired the institutions of the fledgling republic of the Netherlands. It was also a real bestseller at the time, with multiple editions and translations into the main European languages from the 17th century onwards (Willems 362, note).