Anglo-American Law

Two pages from the Abbreviamentum statutorum, the very first printed book of English law. From the collection of Anthony Taussig.

Abbreviamentum statutorum [London: John Lettou & William de Machlinia, 1481 or 1482], the very first printed book of English law. From the collection of Anthony Taussig.

The Library’s holdings in historical Anglo-American law are among the strongest in North America. Highlights include the earliest printed book of English statutes, an excellent collection of early abridgements and the first justice of the peace manual. Manuscript case reports, early US session laws, and a strong collection of works by noted American jurists, including Joseph Story and James Kent, are also part of the collection. Recent acquisitions from the private library of noted collector Anthony Taussig have added scarce and sometimes unique English law books from the 16th-18th centuries.