Finals Study Break: Tuesday, December 12!

Come out next Tuesday for a study break during finals!  

 

Grab coffee and fresh-baked donuts outside the Riesenfeld Rare Books Center. 

 

When: Tuesday, December 12, 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. 

Where: Outside the Riesenfeld Rare Books Center (N30, on the subplaza past Student Orgs. in N20)

What: Coffee and donuts!  

 

Good luck on finals, and best wishes for the holidays from the Law Library!

 

 

 

 

New Darrow Acquisitions & Darrow’s Library

The Riesenfeld Center has recently acquired several new items relating to Clarence Darrow’s interests and career, as well as those of his wife, Ruby. These items join the Law Library’s Darrow collection, which includes more than 1,000 letters, as well as books, speeches, debates, trial briefs and transcripts, and other material about Darrow and his noteworthy career and life. To learn more about Darrow, you can visit our award-winning digital research site, which makes available extensive material from our collection.

 

Two of the library’s newest acquisitions are pamphlets featuring some of Darrow’s work. The first, an issue of the leftist periodical The Debunker published in 1931, features Darrow’s essay, “Absurdities of the Bible.” Darrow, a known agnostic, delves into a handful of stories from the Bible, including the creation of Adam and the performing of several miracles. Darrow states that “I am an agnostic because I trust my reason…Anybody who can believe those old myths and fables isn’t governed by reason.”

Another new pamphlet to the collection relates to Benjamin Gitlow, a communist whose civil liberties Darrow defended in a noted ‘Red Scare’ trial in 1920. Gitlow, a member of the Labor Committee of the Communist Labor Party and a staffer for the left-wing magazine The Revolutionary Age, was tried under New York’s Criminal Anarchy Act of 1902. This was done on the grounds that the magazine’s printing of the Left Wing Manifesto constituted encouragement of the violent overthrow of the government. Darrow was hired as part of the defense team, and his speech in Gitlow’s defense is excerpted in this pamphlet. Ultimately, Gitlow was found guilty and sentenced to five to ten years of hard labor, being released in 1922 after successful appeals.

We have also acquired several books belonging to Darrow and members of his family. The first, Darrow’s wife Ruby’s copy of The Summing Up, by Somerset Maugham, connects to several letters in our collection, in which Ruby discusses Maugham, his books, and his relationship to Darrow. This copy features pasted-in newspaper clippings related to Maugham and penciled-in annotations by Ruby, showing her admiration for Maugham and proving this to be a well-read copy of his work. We also acquired two books belonging to Darrow’s son, Paul. The Seven Little Sisters Who Live on the Round Ball that Floats in the Air was a Christmas gift inscribed to Paul from Darrow in 1889, when Paul was six. The other, Sailor on Horseback, by Irving Stone, was inscribed to Paul and his wife with a note about Stone’s biography on Darrow that was to come: “I pledge myself to give everything I’ve got to make the Clarence Darrow biography at least as good as this book, and I hope a great deal better.”

Two other books with inscriptions to Darrow also join our collection. The Life and Adventures of Carl Laemmle, by John Drinkwater, includes a warm inscription written to Darrow by the author. Laemmle was an influential German-American film producer, who produced Mystery of Life (1931), a film about evolution, which Darrow narrated and appeared in. The Child You Used to Be was sent by the author, Leonora Pease, to Darrow. While most of our collection includes kind notes to Darrow, this one includes a criticism of Darrow’s novel, Farmington: “To Clarence Darrow--A man who wrote a human boy’s book, with allusions in it to little girls, all dressed up and sitting in a row like dolls or painted angels, I offer this c[h]ronicle of real ‘little girlhood.’”

This assortment of books joins our growing collection of materials owned by Darrow and members of his family. We are excited to have created a new collection designation for these materials, which allows for browsing the interests and relationships found through this associative ownership. All of these new acquisitions provide additional context and depth to what we know about Darrow’s beliefs, career, and relationships, viewed through the collection.

 

- Sophia Charbonneau, Special Collections Assistant 

 

Thursday, November 9: Book Talk by Professor John Bessler on the Death Penalty

On Thursday, November 9, please join us for a book launch event for Professor John Bessler (U. Baltimore School of Law), sponsored by the Law School's Human Rights Center. 

 

Bessler's talk, based on his recently published book, "The Death Penalty's Denial of Fundamental Human Rights," will detail how capital punishment violates universal human rights-to-life; to be free from torture and other forms of cruelty; to be treated in a non-arbitrary, non-discriminatory manner; and to dignity. 

 

The talk will open with remarks on the history of the death penalty and torture, and capital punishment reform, featuring books from the Arthur C. Pulling Rare Books Collection at the Riesenfeld Center.

 

Professor Bessler will be joined by discussants Amy Bergquist and Professor Ryan Greenwood. 

 

Click here for more information or to register for the event.

When: Thursday, November 9 at 4:00-5:00 p.m.

Where: Mondale Hall, Room 35

 

Reception with light snacks to follow.

 

1 standard CLE credit is available. Event code #493912.

 

 

Wednesday, November 1: Halloween Open House!

Come out to the Riesenfeld Rare Books Center's Halloween Open House on Wednesday, November 1st, from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m.! 

Stop by to see spooky treasures from our collection - including witch trials, murder trials, a macabre torture manual, and other sensational works - and pick up snacks, drinks, and Halloween candy!

When: Wednesday, Nov. 1st, 12 p.m - 3 p.m.
Where: Riesenfeld Rare Books Center
What: Spooky rare books, snacks, drinks, candy!


(The Center is in N30, on the subplaza past Student Orgs. in N20.)

New Exhibits Open House: Wednesday, September 27!

All are invited to an open house for two new Law Library exhibits:

 

"Jewels of the Collection: Treasures of the Riesenfeld Rare Books Research Center"

 

and 

 

A Celebration of the 100th Anniversary of the American Law Institute

When: Wednesday, September 27, from 12 p.m. - 3 p.m.
Where: Riesenfeld Rare Books Research Center (N30, Subplaza level).
 
Cookies, brownies, bars, bagged snacks and drinks will be available!
 

"Jewels of the Collection: Treasures of the Riesenfeld Rare Books Research Center," showcases the depth of the Arthur C. Pulling Rare Books Collection. This centerpiece of the Library's special collections features more than 35,000 volumes printed between the fifteenth century and today. The new exhibit introduces the treasures found in the Riesenfeld Center and highlights its diverse strengths. The items reflect a historical legal legacy that is both national and global in its scope.

 

The ALI traveling exhibit commemorates the 100th Anniversary of the American Law Institute (ALI) and the contributions of Law School faculty to ALI’s important work. Founded in 1923, the American Law Institute has aimed to reduce the uncertainty and complexity of American law and to improve the administration of justice through its publications, including Restatements, Principles and Model Acts and Laws. These have provided clarity and guidance for judges, lawyers, and legislators across many fields of American law. The exhibit documents a selection of contributions of Law School faculty to ALI projects.

 

The exhibit, "Jewels of the Collection: Treasures of the Riesenfeld Rare Books Research Center," was curated by Ryan Greenwood and Joy Brown. 

 

 

New Law Library Exhibits: Celebrating the American Law Institute and Treasures of the Riesenfeld Center

Two new exhibits are open in the Riesenfeld Rare Books Research Center this academic year. 

 

The first commemorates the 100th Anniversary of the American Law Institute (ALI) and the contributions of Law School faculty to ALI’s important work. Created by ALI, the exhibit has traveled to Michigan, Texas, the University of Chicago, and several other law schools. The second exhibit, "Jewels of the Collection: Treasures of the Riesenfeld Rare Books Research Center" celebrates the depth and richness of the Law Library's special collections.

Founded in 1923, the Institute has endeavored through its publications to reduce the uncertainty and complexity of American law and to improve the administration of justice. Its influential publications include the Restatements, Principles and Model Acts and Laws. These have provided useful guidance for generations of judges, lawyers, and legislators across many fields of American law.  

 

The exhibit documents a selection of contributions of Law School faculty to ALI projects, tracing back to the tenure of Dean Everett Fraser (1920–1948). Faculty involvement was particularly promoted under the deanship of Professor Robert Stein (‘61) (1979–1994). Stein himself has served on ALI's governing Council, on the Drafting Committee for the Uniform Commercial Code, and has been an Adviser on the Restatement of the Law Second, Property and Restatement of the Law Third, Trusts. The UCC, a comprehensive set of laws governing commercial transactions in the United States, has been uniformly adopted by the states and represents one of ALI’s most significant achievements. 

 

Many other Law School faculty members have also played prominent roles in creating ALI publications, serving as Reporters, Advisers, or members of Consultative Groups for Restatements of the Law, Model Codes and Principles. 

The work of the American Law Institute, a cornerstone of American jurisprudence, will remain beneficial long beyond its centenary. In the same way, Minnesota faculty will continue to make important contributions to ALI’s mission.

 

The second exhibit, "Jewels of the Collection: Treasures of the Riesenfeld Rare Books Research Center," showcases the depth of the Arthur C. Pulling Rare Books Collection. This centerpiece of the Library's special collections features more than 35,000 volumes printed between the fifteenth century and today. The new exhibit introduces the treasures found in the Riesenfeld Center and highlights its diverse strengths. Some of the exhibit treasures have been selected as important contributions to law and history, or as landmark “firsts” of legal literature. Others are notable for their associations with famous authors and owners, or as unique artifacts and works of art. The items reflect a historical legal legacy that is both national and global in its scope. 

 

The exhibit, "Jewels of the Collection: Treasures of the Riesenfeld Rare Books Research Center," was curated by Ryan Greenwood and Joy Brown.  

 

For more information about the exhibits or to schedule a tour, please contact Ryan Greenwood (rgreenwo@umn.edu; 612-625-7323).

 

 

  

Wednesday, September 20: Celebrate Constitution Day!

Come out and celebrate Constitution Day in the Law Library lobby! 

Stop by and grab donuts and coffee on September 20, and pick up a crossword puzzle about the US Constitution for prizes.

Don't forget to take a selfie with James Madison!   

When: Wednesday, September 20, 11 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Where: Law Library Lobby
What: Donuts, Coffee, and Prizes!