Course Description
Intended for individual book collectors who collect in some aspect of the history of the law and for librarians who have custody of historical legal materials, this course will survey printed and MS materials in Anglo-American law and introduce its bibliography and curatorship. Topics include the history of the production and distribution of law books; catalogs and reference books; philosophy and techniques of collecting; and acquiring books, MSS, and ephemera in the antiquarian book trade. The objective of the course is to acquaint collectors and librarians with the tools and techniques needed to form focused collections of historical materials in Anglo-American law, and to equip historians and legal scholars in the use of such collections. Particular attention will be paid to planning collections in light of intended use and availability of materials and funds. Following introductory lectures on the role of legal materials in the development of the common law and on the terminology, physical make-up, and determinants of rarity of legal books and manuscripts, the instructors will devote a substantial portion of the course to the bibliography of the field. This analysis will include discussion of the history of the production and distribution of law books, a thorough introduction and evaluation of the principal bibliographies and reference books, and demonstrations of how these tools are used. Emphasis will also be given to the sources of acquisitions (used and antiquarian booksellers, book fairs, auctions, gifts). After a survey of the history and present state of the collection of rare legal materials by individuals and institutions, the course will conclude with discussion of strategies and techniques in collection development. The laboratory sessions will give students hands-on experience in using some of the basic bibliographical tools and antiquarian book price guides. Students will be expected to have a general knowledge of the history of Anglo-American law. In their personal statement, prospective students should describe briefly their knowledge of legal history and bibliography and their (or their institution’s) collecting and/or research interests.Advance Reading List
Preliminary Advices
Please read the following before coming to Charlottesville:
- Baker, John, “The Books of the Common Law” in The Cambridge History of the Book in Britain, Volume III, 1400-1557(Cambridge,1998), pp. 411-432 and “English Law Books and Legal Publishing” in The Cambridge History of the Book, Volume IV, 1557-1696 (Cambridge,1998), pp. 474-503, or Baker, John, “Legal Literature” in his Introduction to English Legal History, 4th ed. (London, 2002), pp. 175-194.
- Belanger, Terry, “Descriptive Bibliography,” in Book Collecting: A Modern Guide, ed. Jean Peters (New York, 1978), pp. 97-115.
- Carter, John, ABC for Book Collectors (London, 1980). Read preferably the latest (8th) edition, but earlier editions are fine. (The most recent edition of Carter’s ABC for Book Collectors is also available for downloading online without charge as a .pdf file.) See below for specific assignments.
- Friedman, Lawrence M. A History of American Law, 2nd edition (New York, 1985), pp. 90-104, 322-333, 621-632.
- Hoeflich, M. H. “Legal History and the History of the Book: Variations on a Theme,” 46 Kansas Law Review (1998), pp. 415-431.
- Simpson, A.W.B., “The Rise and Fall of the Legal Treatise: Legal Principles and the Forms of Legal Literature,” 48 University of Chicago Law Review (1981), pp. 632-679.
- Trimble, Marsha “Archives and Manuscripts: New Collecting Areas for Law Libraries,” 83 Law Library Journal (1991), pp. 429-450.
Please scan the following as well (Webster defines “scan” as “to examine intensively”):
- Cohen, Morris L., “Administration of Rare Materials,” in Law Librarianship, a Handbook (Rothman, 1983), v. 2, pp. 603-688.
- Widener, Michael (ed.) “Public Issues with Rare and Archival Law Materials,” 20 Legal Reference Services Quarterly (2001), pp. 1-189.
- Heaney, Howell J., “Rare Book Librarianship and Law Librarianship,” in Collecting and Managing Rare Law Books, ed. Roy Mersky (Dobbs Ferry, NY: 1981), pp. 55-69.
- Parrish, Jenni, “Law Books and Legal Publishing in America, 1760-1840,” 72 Law Library Journal (1972), pp. 355-365; scan rest of article.
- Bedard, Laura, “Creating and Maintaining Legal History Collections,” 24 Legal Reference Services Quarterly (2005) pp. 1-66.
- Topulos, Katherine, “English Legal History Research: A Guide to Core Academic Law Library Materials,” 24 (1/2) Legal Reference Services Quarterly (2005) pp. 73-101.
***John Carter, ABC for Book Collectors. 7th ed. with corrections and additions by Nicolas Barker. New Castle, DE: 1994). Copies are most easily available from Oak Knoll Books, 414 Delaware Street, New Castle, DE 19720 ($29 postpaid). The firm, which has the book in stock, will accept telephone orders. Call 302-328-7232.
One of the things that makes learning about rare books such a pleasure is that so many lucid authors have written about the subject. We know of no finer introduction to the terminology of any discipline than this book.
The contents of the ABC should be thoroughly mastered, for it is impossible to talk intelligently about rare books without an understanding of what is a very specialized terminology. A good way to approach this task is to study the preliminaries (everything before page 12) and the definitions of the terms printed in boldface in the list below. Then learn the definitions of the remaining terms on this page. Finally, read this irresistible book straight through.
The course will assume familiarity with the terms listed here. To place things in perspective, you may wish to read Belanger’s article first.
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Leaf
Recto
Verso
Format
Sheet
Gatherings
Signatures
Collation
Blank leaves
Forme
Folio
Quarto
Octavo
Duodecimo
Cover
Spine
Hinges
Joints
Edges
Margins
Uncut
Unopened
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Endpapers
Paste-down
Preliminary leaves
Fly-leaf
Half-title
Frontispiece
Title
Bibliography
Edition and impression
Issues and states
First edition
Association copy
Auctions
Bindings
Boards
Book-plate
Booksellers’ catalogues
Broadside
Calf
Catchword
Condition
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Disbound
Facsimiles and fakes
Fly-sheet
Foxed
Half bound
Imprint
Incunable
Inscribed copy
Law calf
McKerrow
Original state/condition
Presentation copy
Provenance
Publisher’s cloth
Rarity
Re-backed
Shoulder-note
Side-notes
Trade binding
Variant
Vellum
Wrappers
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Course History
- 1995–2006
Morris L. Cohen and David Warrington co-teach this course, as “Collecting the History of Anglo-American Law.”
- 1993
Morris L. Cohen and David Warrington co-teach this course, as “Rare Materials in Anglo-American Law.”
- 1990
Morris L. Cohen teaches this course.
- 1989
Morris L. Cohen and David Warrington co-teach this course, as “Rare Materials in Anglo-American Law.”