I may have skipped over earlier responses that may have covered this, but
the cornerstone of your furnishing plan will be the necessary books.
What period in the 19th century? There will be more legal treatises
available later in the century than earlier.
How long had the lawyer been practicing? An established lawyer will tend to
have a larger library than a recently minted lawyer. The longer they
practiced, the larger their library tended to be.
Be careful that you try to get editions appropriate to your period. A ragtag
looking bunch of volumes is quite appropriate for many lawyers' offices.
Second hand books were cheap and plentiful and only the wealthiest or most
successful attorneys would have a uniformly bound set of law books. Earlier
editions are just as good as editions published during your period of
interpretation, particularly state Supreme Court Reports and similar.
Although curators would cringe at this next thought, "crispy fried" volumes
rescued from fires can be used just as effectively as clean, crisp
mint-looking volumes. The leather might be charred, but the pages are all
good (I have a bunch myself.) Depending on who the lawyer was, replacing
books that were still usable after a fire may not have been an option. I
have some crispy fried law books over 150 years old that are more than
useful as research tools and for display. They cost less too. OK curators -
Cringe.

Also, make sure the books you get are appropriate for your area. Keep an eye
on eBay and search for "law books" or "law book" or similar search terms
under books, antiquarian and rare. You will find plenty there. I have some
19th century volumes of Indiana Reports in my personal library. Not many. I
focus on NJ but have a fairly large run of Nebraska, Missouri, Massachusetts
and Kentucky Reports as well as some New York, Maine and Pennsylvania
Reports. All obtained via eBay and all reasonably priced. I think the three
cases of Nebraska Reports set me back maybe $50.

Essential titles for an early to mid 19th century attorney or reader would
be Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England. St. George Tucker's
Blackstone was the first standard US edition of Blackstone, but Chitty's
Blackstone was more common in the mid- later 19th century and remained an
essential foundation text for legal study to the turn of 20th century (I
have an 1892 edition.). Other essential volumes, especially for an older
attorney, would be Lord Edward Coke's First Institutes on the Laws of
England, commonly known as Coke's Institutes: J.H. Thomas's edition, known
as Thomas' Coke, was the standard by the 1820s; by the 1830s James Kent's
Commentaries on American was as essential to the American law student as
Blackstone and Coke. Any combination, or all of the three, would be most
appropriate in your situation, but they are harder to find in good condition
and are valued accordingly.
Also, there were many books of forms of pleadings and writs, many of them
local, some of them more generic for their time. There were legal journals
and publications, again some regional and some not.
There were also treatises and books providing instruction to justices of the
peace, sheriffs and constables, many of whom were not lawyers. I would put
books like this in the "essential" column. Particularly for younger
attorneys.

Any volume of these would be appropriate on a lawyer's desk. At Historic
Allaire Village we would keep a newspaper or an appropriate ledger or
account book open on the desk in Mr. Allaire's office during visiting hours.
After hours, the books were closed and put away with any newspaper that was
displayed. The windows were uv-filtered and had drapes to minimize light
exposure.

I could probably go into more regional specifics, but you get the point.

Don't forget to include the books as a major part of your furnishing and
interpretive plan for a lawyer's office.


Scott D. Peters
Historically Speaking
ALHFAM -FPIPN vice-chair for trivia, errata and miscellany
[log in to unmask]

"The ordinary distinctions in society are often vague, and imply no just
pre-eminence: rank and titles are
adventitious things and instead of designating merit or virtue, are
frequently the baubles of imbecility, or
the sparkling decorations of meretricious pageantry"

William Griffith, on behalf, and by order of the New-Jersey Society for
promoting the gradual Abolition
of Slavery, Twelfth Month (December) 20th, 1803

----- Original Message -----
From: "Amy West at Higgins Armory" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, October 01, 2003 7:13 PM
Subject: Re: Law Office Resources Needed/Furnishings


> At 12:02 AM 10/1/03 -0400, you wrote:
> >----- Original Message -----
> > > From: "Jeremy T. Chrabascz" <[log in to unmask]>
> > > To: <[log in to unmask]>
> > > Sent: Thursday, September 25, 2003 3:44 PM
> > > Subject: Law Office Resources Needed/Furnishings
> > >
> > >
> > > > Does anyone know of any good resources or contacts for historic law
> > > offices
> > > > and/or the practice (reading) of law in the 19th century?  I will,
> > > > specifically, need to develop a furnishings plan for one of our new
> > > > (reconstructed) sites in conjunction with some interpretive exhibit
> > > panels.

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