Wednesday, Oct. 2: Rare Books Open House!

All are invited to the Riesenfeld Center's first rare books open house of the semester, next Wednesday, 12 p.m. to 3 p.m.! 

Come out and enjoy free snacks and drinks, and see treasures from the library's rare books and special collections.  

We will have out some new acquisitions and new treasures!

When: Wednesday, October 2nd, 12 p.m - 3 p.m.
Where: Riesenfeld Rare Books Research Center
What: Rare books, snacks and prizes!

(*The Center is in N30, on the subplaza past Sullivan Cafe and N20.)

Wednesday, Sept. 25: Fall Exhibits Open House!

All are invited to the Riesenfeld Center's fall exhibits open house, this Wednesday, 12 p.m. to 4 p.m.! 

The exhibits honor the career and achievements of Judge Diana E. Murphy ('74) (1934-2018) and trailblazers like her, based on the recent donation of Judge Murphy's judicial and professional papers. 

"A Legacy Preserved: The Papers of Judge Diana E. Murphy"

and

"Women in the Law: Pioneers of the Courtroom"

Come out and see the exhibits, enjoy snacks and refreshments, and take a quiz to win a Supreme Court bobblehead! 

When: Wednesday, September 25th, 12 p.m - 4 p.m. 
Where: Riesenfeld Rare Books Center 
What: Spring exhibits, snacks, refreshments, and a quiz to win a Supreme Court bobblehead! 

Tuesday, Sept. 17: Constitution Day!

Come out and celebrate Constitution Day in the Law Library!

Stop in the Library Lobby for donuts and coffee, and fill out a crossword puzzle about the US Constitution for prizes!  Bonus: take a selfie with James Madison!

When: Tuesday, September 17, 11 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Where: The Library Lobby
What: Donuts, Coffee and a Contest for Prizes! 

New Donation: The Archive of Former Dean Pirsig

Recently we have added a unique and important new collection to the Law School Archives, of material related to former Dean Maynard Pirsig. Born in 1902, Pirsig graduated from the Law School in 1925, before studying at Harvard and in England. He returned to enjoy an extraordinary teaching career at the Law School, spanning the period from 1933 to 1970, and served as its fourth dean, from 1948 to 1955. During his deanship, Pirsig was lauded for his faculty recruitment and the development of new programs. After Minnesota, he taught law at Mitchell Hamline Law School until 1993, remaining involved with legal teaching into his nineties. During his tenure at Minnesota, and among other service and scholarship, Pirsig authored two foundational teaching texts, pioneering the field of judicial administration and legal ethics in law school curricula.

Over the years, Maynard Pirsig's family has carefully gathered and preserved important documents related to Pirsig's life and career, and these have now been generously donated by the Lindberg and Pirsig families. David Lindberg, a noted artist and Maynard Pirsig's grandson, has also carefully digitized most of these documents and images related to Pirsig's student days and career at Minnesota. This valuable trove of material adds important archival documents related to the Law School's history, and to one of its most illustrious graduates. Particularly notable are photos and slides that document former Dean Pirsig's career, which will be added to the Law Library's photographic archives. In addition, many of the extensive written descriptions of the material, on an accompanying spreadsheet, are based on the memories of the writer Robert Pirsig, Maynard's son, which have been recorded by Robert's wife, Wendy. The spreadsheet forms a kind of biographical narrative for Maynard's life, including material related to other family members.

The Law Library is very grateful to add to its collections this material, which represents a wonderful testament to the life and career of former Dean Pirsig and his legacy at the Law School.

   - Ryan Greenwood, Curator of Rare Books and Special Collections

New Rare Acquisitions: A Clarence Darrow Letter and More

The Law Library and Riesenfeld Center have recently added several notable items to its collection of letters, writings, and other material by the great American trial lawyer, Clarence Darrow. The new letter in particular augments the Library’s preeminent national collection of autograph letters by Darrow, and captures his deeply-held views on capital punishment.

Written in August 1930 to Maria Sweet Smith, Darrow outlines in the letter his fierce opposition to a campaign against capital punishment proposed by Smith. Although a lifelong opponent of the death penalty, Darrow was unimpressed by Smith's approach, which argued that abolishing the death penalty would reduce crime. Smith suggested that they could convince potential donors to the campaign of the high economic costs of crime, an approach that Darrow rejected out of hand. He believed that an abiding mercy toward the human condition left little room to support capital punishment, and that reform must be pursued from that direction. As he saw it, the fight against the death penalty had to be led by “the poor and the humane and the idealists."

In addition to the letter, we have acquired several other items connected to Darrow's famous and contrarian views on crime and punishment. Among these are a British author's darkly satirical take on hanging and other forms of capital punishment, A Handbook on Hanging, which the author inscribed to Darrow in 1929, and a 1903 first edition of a symposium featuring Darrow's views on incarceration. We also recently picked up a 1993 reprint of one of Darrow's articles on crime and punishment, printed in an anarchist magazine. Darrow's writings and speeches, often articulating his trenchant and iconoclastic views, have remained popular and continue to be printed today.

To this material, we have also added photographs and other images of Darrow to our collections. These include an excellent caricature of Darrow by the American artist Aline Fruhauf (1907-78) and a photo of Darrow, John Thomas Scopes, and William Jennings Bryan at the infamous Scopes "Monkey" Trial, which is signed by each of the trial's great protagonists.

   - Ryan Greenwood, Curator of Rare Books and Special Collections

  


 

New Tumblr Posts: from the Glorious Revolution to D-Day

Capt. Horace Hansen, a prosecutor at the Dachau
war crimes trials, 1945-47, with Sen. Claude Pepper. 

We have a host of new and interesting posts by my colleague Ian Moret over on our Tumblr site.  Ian has done a great job to mine our collections for historical materials that might not otherwise be uncovered; and has highlighted material that we will feature in larger projects in the future.  In the former category is the fascinating trial of John Perrott, the last man hanged in England for bankruptcy.  Perrott failed to cooperate with the bankruptcy commissioners, a capital offense in mid-18th century England, being unable or unwilling to account for large sums borrowed from creditors.  See Ian's link to a great article on the subject of Perrott by law professor Emily Kadens.  There is also interesting documentation from our Darrow Collection, revealing property that Clarence Darrow held in Minnesota, as well as posts (and here, and here) on new acquisitions related to the Glorious Revolution in England, among others.  In the latter category, of material that we are developing into larger projects, there are several posts related to our Horace Hansen archival collection (most recently here, and here, for the D-Day anniversary).  Hansen, from St. Paul, MN, was a WWII war crimes prosecutor at the Dachau war crimes trials.  Hansen's archive represents a rich trove and legacy that we are developing into a digital exhibit and collection.  Thanks to Ian for these great posts!

   - Ryan Greenwood, Curator of Rare Books and Special Collections 

    

New Digital Exhibit: Celebrating Walter F. Mondale Hall

The University of Minnesota Law Library is pleased to announce the release of a new digital exhibit:

"A Foundation in the Law: Celebrating 40 Years at Walter F. Mondale Hall"

Last year marked the 40th anniversary of the Law School's Walter F. Mondale Hall, and gave occasion to celebrate the rich tradition of legal education that thrives within it. The Law Library celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Law School building with the opening of a commemorative exhibit.  We are pleased to announce that the exhibit is now available in digital format as part of the Law Library's Digital Special Collections.

Dedicated in the spring of 1978, the Law School building and the vision behind it provided the foundation for numerous achievements in the past four decades. During this time, the growth and diversification of the student body and faculty, the inception of new student programs and journals, the growth of the library, and the development of the Law School's clinics, centers and institutes, among other achievements, have contributed in transformative ways to the life of the Law School and its success.

In 2001, with the completion of a major addition, the Law School building was rededicated as Walter F. Mondale Hall, in honor of the Law School's illustrious graduate and great friend, The Honorable Walter Mondale ('56). The expansion added new spaces for research, teaching, student activities and library special collections, in support of the Law School's tradition of advancing ideas at the forefront of legal education. 

The Law Library’s new digital exhibit, “A Foundation in the Law: Celebrating 40 Years at Walter F. Mondale Hall,” ensures that the story of the Law School building will be preserved. We invite visitors to learn more about the building and its history on our digital site.

   - Ryan Greenwood, Curator of Rare Books and Special Collections