Finlandia (Signed by 15 members of the I.L.A. Rivers Committee on the occasion of the adoption of their report in Helsinki on 8/19/1966)

Reino Kalliola

Published by Werner Soderstrom Osakeyhtio, Helsinki, 1959

About this Item

Apparent First Edition (NAP). Text in 5 Languages: Finnish, Swedish, English, German, and French. This book was formally owned by Cecil Olmstead who was President of the American Branch of the ILA (International Law Association) from 1962 to 1973 and served as President of the ILA from 1972 to 1974. In the 1950s, there were several serious international river disputes, in particular those over the Indus, the Jordan, the Nile, and the Columbia rivers. At that time, however, there were no accepted rules of international law applicable to these disputes. This state of affairs led the ILA to embark in 1954 on a study of the legal aspects of the use of the waters of international drainage basins. Three committees of the ILA were engaged in this work. The first, from 1954 to 1966, produced the 1966 Helsinki Rules, a code expressing the ILA's view of the law on the subject. Cecil Olmstead was the chairman of the ILA Rivers Committee. This book was a gift to him: 'With the deep appreciation of all members of the I.L.A. Rivers Committee for your work on the occasion of the Adoption of their Report, Helsinki 19/8/66'. Below that 15 members of the committee signed their names. By reading a few articles about the work of the Rivers Committee I was able to match the signatures to 8 of them: Professor F. J. Berber of Germany, Hon. Mujibur Khan of Pakistan, John Gallup Laylin and Robert D. Hayton of the U.S., K. W. Cuperus of the Netherlands, Charles B. Bourne and Louis Mortimer Bloomfield of Canada, (proponents of some John F. Kennedy assassination conspiracy theories have alleged that Louis Mortimer Bloomfield was linked to the shooting through the Office of Strategic Services, the Central Intelligence Agency, and the Swiss trade organization Permindex). Another signature is of a Dr. Henri Zurbrugg of Switzerland. (Further time would likely reveal the names of the remaining seven, although some of their signatures are challenging). The book is in very solid condition. You can see the covers in the photographs. The gilt lettering on the front and spine is still quite bright. There isn't much wear to call out, a couple of creases on the spine and a little bit of spotting on the rear cover. The book is square and tight and solidly bound. The pages of text and illustrations are clean and are not creased. There are color and black-and-white photographs on just about every page. They are very beautiful and in very good condition. There is some soiling on the illustrated inside covers and end papers, some spotting on the verso of the end papers and on the half-title page. After that there is just a little bit of age toning on the bottom margins of some of the early pages. For anyone with an interest in the International Law Association and particularly in the work of the ILA Rivers Committee in Helsinki this should be a very special item. I don't think it's a stretch to describe it as a singularly unique item. Seller Inventory # 001242

Bibliographic Details

Title: Finlandia (Signed by 15 members of the I.L.A...

Publisher: Werner Soderstrom Osakeyhtio, Helsinki

Publication Date: 1959

Binding: Hardcover

Condition: Very Good

Edition: 1st Edition