Billings Learned Hand (1872-1961): Distinguished alumnus of Harvard College and Harvard Law School. Chief Judge on the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. One of the twentieth century’s most noted jurists … … and a secret fashionista. The Harvard Law School Library’s Historical & Special Collections has the papers of Judge Hand. One of our most heavily used collections, …
Believe it or not, Historical & Special Collections is home to some law-related games, including playing cards and materials created to help students learn the law. This set of educational cards, published in Halle, Germany in 1709, was intended to teach students civil law. Our set consists of 34 cards, numbered 2 through 35. Each card contains several …
The HLS Library’s exhibit, What (Not) to Wear: Fashion and the Law closes at 5 pm on Friday, August 12. Come learn about poisonous clothing, proper law attire, and fashionable litigation! The exhibit is on view weekdays from 9 to 5 in the Caspersen Room, fourth floor of Langdell Hall. See you there!
June 24, 2016 marks the 25th anniversary of Cohen v. Cowles Media Co., 501 U.S. 663 (1991), in which the U.S. Supreme Court decided that freedom of the press does not exempt journalists from following generally applicable laws. Dan Cohen (HLS ’61), a Republican campaign associate in the 1982 Minnesota governor’s race, gave information about another party’s candidate …
852 RARE Bonus Edition: The 25th Anniversary of Cohen v. Cowles Media Read More »
Help us celebrate the closing of the Harvard Law School Library’s exhibit, One Text, Sixteen Manuscripts: Magna Carta at the Harvard Law School Library, by joining us for a program on Magna Carta through the ages. A light lunch will be served, but due to space limitations attendance is limited to 45. Thursday, March 10, 2016, Noon – 1:30 pm, Caspersen …
The HLS Library’s Caselaw Access Project aims to provide free online access to our Library’s entire collection of U.S. court decisions. Every day we’re transforming over 100,000 pages into digital images. Eventually those images will become machine-readable text that lawyers, citizens, researchers and developers of all stripes will be able to access and use. But along the way we’re …
Caselaw Access Project: What We’re Finding in the Case Reports Read More »
First written in 1215, the ideas of liberty and human rights contained in and derived from England’s Magna Carta (the Great Charter) have persisted for 800 years. They have provided inspiration for developments in law now enshrined in constitutions and treaties across the world. The survival and resonance of those ideas is reflected in the manuscripts in this …
Welcome to campus! Longtime followers of Et Seq. may know that the Library’s Historical & Special Collections staff often submit posts under the heading “852 RARE.” With the start of a new academic year, we wanted to provide a quick reminder of how the name “852 RARE” came to be. The name pays homage to the MARC (Machine Readable Cataloging) designation for …
852 RARE: A Refresher from Historical & Special Collections Read More »
If you find yourself in or around Langdell Hall next week, stop by the Caspersen Room to see our two exhibits, both in their final week. It was a Dark and Stormy Semester: Portrayals of Harvard Law School in Literature and By Popular Demand, an exhibit of items from Historical & Special Collections selected by HLS students, are both …
In December 1818, Robert Johnston, age 24, was executed for robbing Mr. John Charles of some £600 in pounds and notes, plus a watch key and chain. This single crime, trial, and execution ignited a swarm of controversy – evidence of which can be found in our collections. We recently acquired a pamphlet, Letter to the Magistrates of …
852 RARE: A Controversial Execution in 1818 Edinburgh Read More »