Rare and Archival Collections

In addition to its comprehensive research collection of historic and contemporary U.S. legal materials, the library boasts a significant rare book collection of more than 2,500 volumes, including first editions of legal classics, a number of manuscripts and incunabula, and the Williams collection of historical legal documents. In many ways the uniqueness of the library's holdings is the result of the significant support it received from John Henry Wigmore and Elbert H. Gary, who were responsible for acquiring several unique collections, such as the Gary Collection of Continental Law (1903), the Gary Collections of International Law, and the Collection of Ancient, Oriental and Primitive Law (1906–1907). In the fall of 1996, the Law School and library received selected papers of Arthur J. Goldberg (B.A. '29, LL.B. '30), the bulk of which covers the three-year period (1962–1965) Goldberg served on the United States Supreme Court and includes drafts of judicial opinions as well as comments, notes, and correspondence by him and other justices. Selected papers from the archive have been digitized and are accessible through the library's web site. The library also holds a collection of historical legal documents from alumnus Dean Hansell, including the four legal instruments displayed in the library's entryway.