Intriguing Initials and a Year Book of Henry IV and V

This new acquisition is a Year Book containing cases from the reigns of Henry IV (reigned 1399-1412) and Henry V (1413-1422) and was printed in London by Thomas Wight in 1605.  It has a lovely contemporary calf binding with the initials "EC" blind-stamped onto the upper and lower covers.   Could this volume be from the library of the great English common lawyer, Sir Edward Coke?  The title is included in A Catalogue of the Library of Sir Edward Coke (Yale, 1950), and it indicates the three copies listed remain at the Holkham Library in Norfolk, England (Holkham has been home to the Coke family since 1609).  Those copies are all of earlier Richard Tottell editions of this book.  Perhaps this is a fourth? Apparently there are books in the Coke collection stamped with his initials, so I am curious if the stamps on this volume matches the others!

Regardless of its provenance, the Wight edition is a beautiful example of early 17th century English printing.  The photo above features the initials on the upper cover (zoomed in), and more photos can be viewed on our Facebook page! 

Bookplating Day in the Rare Book Room!

Graduation has passed, and the quiet of summer has descended upon the law library.  I usually use this time to catch up on some housekeeping tasks in the Rare Book Room.  Today's task: bookplating!  Every book that we are fortunate enough to acquire or to receive by gift receives a bookplate indicating its home in the Daniel R. Coquillette Rare Book Room, and, if appropriate, the name of the donor.  If our donor has his or her own bookplate, that is affixed to the book as well. 

This morning, my colleague Gaby and I made some Japanese wheat paste to use as our adhesive for the bookplates and made a day of it!  In the photo, Gaby is placing the appropriate bookplates in a book recently donated by Professor Michael H. Hoeflich. 

Recent acquisition: Joseph Story letter on bankruptcy law

This exciting acquisition is a letter from Joseph Story, the influential Harvard Law professor and legal scholar who served as an associate justice on the United States Supreme Court from 1812 until his death in 1845.  Story penned this letter to one William Tudor, Esq. in the midst of his tenure on the Supreme Court. 

The contents show a rare glimpse into the opinion of an active Supreme Court justice on a matter before the U.S. Congress.  Story was a longtime supporter of federal bankruptcy legislation.  The first federal Bankruptcy Act, adopted in 1800, had been repealed in 1803. When this letter was written, Congress was considering a new bankruptcy bill, which Story clearly supported.  His correspondent, William Tudor, had asked for Story's support in securing a position as a Commissioner of Bankruptcy under the new legislation, if passed.  Story voices his support while noting that it's unclear who would have the power to make the appointment--the executive or the judiciary.  In the end, the law that was the subject of the letter failed to pass, but another one that Story actually helped draft was ultimately passed by Congress in 1841.  

The other pages of the letter are featured on our Facebook page.  Those interested in Justice Story and his writings would enjoy visiting the beautiful digital suite on Story created by the special collections staff at the Harvard Law Library.  

Legal History Roundtable with Michael Hoeflich--Thursday, April 18th

Michael Hoeflich holds a B.A. and M.A. from Haverford College, a J.D. from Yale Law School and the M.A. and PhD from Cambridge University. He has taught at the University of Illinois, Syracuse University, and the University of Kansas and was dean of the law schools at Syracuse and Kansas. He is currently the John H. & John M. Kane Professor of Law at the University of Kansas. Among his publications are Roman and Civil Law & the Development of Anglo-American Jurisprudence (1998) and Legal Publishing in Antebellum America. 1780-1870 (2010).

Professor Hoeflich will discuss his work, "“From Scriveners to Secretaries: Legal Document Production in Nineteenth Century America."  

The Roundtable offers an opportunity for Boston College faculty and faculty from other area institutions, students, and members of the Boston College community to meet and discuss a pre-circulated paper in legal history. Meeting several times each semester, the Roundtable seeks to promote an informal, collegial atmosphere of informed discussion.

The talk will be held in the Law Library Conference Room (279), which is located behind the Rare Book Room.  Please take a look at the current exhibit in the Rare Book Room, which features books on Roman law that were gifted to the law library by Professor Hoeflich in 2009 and 2012.

Refreshments will be served starting at 4:15pm, and the talk will begin at 4:30pm. 

New acquisition: Granville Sharp's "A Tract on Duelling" (1773)

Granville Sharp (1735-1813) is perhaps best known as the initiator of the British abolitionist movement and an important force in bringing the end of slavery in Great Britain. His antislavery work "The law of retribution, or, A serious warning to Great Britain and her colonies : founded on unquestionable examples of God's temporal vengeance against tyrants, slave-holders, and oppressors," published in 1776, was massively influential in Britain and the rebelling American colonies. We proudly hold that title as well, thanks to a generous gift from Professor Daniel R. Coquillette.

This new acquisition is the second and final edition of Granville Sharp's Tract on Duelling, in which he rails against the legal acceptance of the practice of duelling. Sharp collects the writings of none less than Sir Edward Coke, Sir Matthew Hale, Lord Chief Justice Holt, and Henri Bracton to support his argument. Sharp wrote pamphlets on a variety of topics, and many, including this one, are quite impassioned. He goes right to the point in his Preface, writing that

"[t]he intention of the following Tract is to prove that the plea of sudden Anger cannot remove the imputation and guilt of Murder, when a Moral Wound is willfully given with a weapon:

That the indulgence allowed by the Courts to voluntary Manslaughter in Rencounters, and in sudden Affrays and Duels, is indiscriminate, and without foundation in Law:

And that the impunity in such cases of voluntary Manslaughter is one of the principal causes of the continuance and present increase of the vase and disgraceful practice of Duelling."

Sharp ends the tract with even stronger language, stating that it is disgraceful that the protectors of duelling "still persist in the unreasonable and unjust practice of punishing lesser crimes with more severity than the crying Sin of voluntary Manslaughter, which, as I have already proved in my preface, is absolutely unpardonable in this World, by the Law of God!"

Roman Law Exhibit on Display!

In December 2009 and December 2012, Michael H. Hoeflich, John H. & John M. Kane Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of Kansas School of Law, donated his fine collection of antiquarian and modern Roman law books to the Boston College Law Library. Professor Hoeflich is a well-known scholar in many areas of law and legal bibliography, including legal history, comparative law, ethics, contracts, art law, and the history of law book publishing. His 1997 book, Roman and Civil Law and the Development of Anglo-American Jurisprudence in the Nineteenth Century, is a classic in the field.

Dating from 1536, Professor Hoeflich’s collection of over 500 titles includes both seminal and lesser-known works on Roman, civil, and canon law in Latin, German, French, and English. The collection is both broad and deep, reflecting his knowledge of and passion for Roman law, bibliography, and the bookmaker’s art. All of us at the Boston College Law School and Law Library are profoundly grateful to Professor Hoeflich for his generous donation.

The exhibit was curated by Laurel Davis, Curator of Rare Books/Legal Reference Librarian. It is largely based on a 2011 exhibit by Karen Beck, now Curator of Special Collections at Harvard Law Library. The current exhibit includes many books that were previously displayed, but it also incorporates some lovely works from Professor Hoeflich’s most recent gift.

Please visit the exhibit webpage to view photos of selected items from the recent gift, as well as the exhibit handout! The physical exhibit will remain on display throughout the spring semester.

Rare Book Room closed over Spring Break (week of March 4th)

The Rare Book Room will be closed the week of March 4th for exhibit work. We plan to reopen on Monday, March 11th, with an exhibit on some of our beautiful Roman law books. The exhibit will feature books that have been donated by a great friend of the Rare Book Room, Professor Michael H. Hoeflich, John H. & John M. Kane Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of Kansas School of Law. Please come see the new exhibit and use the room for studying or research when we reopen!