Of the dominion, or, ownership of the sea two books. In the first is shew'd, that the sea, by the lavv of nature, or nations, is not common to all men, but capable of private dominion or proprietie, as well as the land. In the second is proved, that the dominion of the British sea, or that which incompasseth the isle of Great Britain, is, and ever hath been, a part or appendant of the empire of that island. Written at first in Latin, and entituled, Mare clausum seu, De dominio maris, by John Selden ... Translated into English; and set forth with som additional evidences and discourses
A 1652 London legal treatise by John Selden, translated by Marchamont Nedham, arguing for English dominion over the seas, written for lawyers, statesmen and readers of maritime law. Its pictures are small woodcut decorative initials and printer's ornament bands, with interlaced scrollwork, letters framed by foliage, and a central cartouche flanked by winged birds, offering a designer dense, symmetrical models for borders and capitals.
