Wednesday, July 2, 2008

It's Not Just a Good Idea...It's the Law


This summer the long arm has extended its reach to West Street - not a reference to the BPD's orchestration of the Celtics' victory parade or even our neighbors across the street at the Massachusetts Bar Association, but the arrival of an interesting group of new additions to the Law sections on the shop's 2nd and 3rd floors. Included are numerous scholarly analyses of courts and torts from the usual suspects at Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard, and Yale, but also contributions from centers of legal - and NCAA - excellence like Stanford, UNC-Chapel Hill, and the Univ. of Michigan (Go Blue!). Also among the arrivals are studies of the history and development of laws and legal systems, with titles covering Roman, English, American, and even Massachusetts legal history.


One gem from the selection on display in the Rare Book Room is a three volume, leather-bound set of the spirited late 19th Century periodical, The Green Bag: A Useless but Entertaining Magazine for Lawyers (Boston, 1889-1891. $250, 3v). Filled with biographical features and articles on cases and decisions of the day, the magazine includes pieces treating subjects ranging from "Women Lawyers in the U.S." to the less socially substantial "Foot-ball in Law." Accompanying the text are scores of black and white portraits capturing contemporary legal personages at their most deliberative and distinguished, offering a fashionable panoply of 19th Century American lapels, neckties, and facial hair. Come on by for a closer look!

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