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Teaching & Research Support for Faculty

Rare Book Room Visits

Professor Daniel R. Coquillette holding a rare book, with three students looking on. T&R member Laurel Davis also serves as the Curator of Rare Books. She would love to work with you on a class visit for your students. Past examples include: books by writers like Hugo Grotius for the Law of War seminar; important early American imprints for American Legal History; and important early editions of the Magna Carta, Bracton, and Coke for English Legal History.

Reach out to Laurel at davislp@bc.edu for a tour and/or to brainstorm ideas for a Rare Book Room visit. 

The Rare Book Room

The Rare Book Room was dedicated in 1996 in honor of Daniel R. Coquillette, former law school dean (1985–1993) and recently retired J. Donald Monan, S.J. University Professor. His vision, as the room was being built, was an accessible, welcoming space in the center of the law library where students could engage with their history as members of the legal profession. His book donations comprise the core of the Rare Book Room’s holdings and are used regularly for exhibitions and class visits. 

Learning about the Collection

One of the best ways to get a sense of the Rare Book Room holdings is to browse through our exhibits. Additionally, all of our rare book and manuscript holdings are cataloged and searchable through the BC Libraries Catalog. And, of course, reach out to Curator Laurel Davis if you're curious about what we have! 

A few examples: 

  • Beautiful editions of major Roman law texts, including Justinian's Code, the Institutes, and the Pandects/Digest
  • Early printings of the Magna Carta and the early English statutes
  • First edition of Bracton's On the Laws and Customs of England
  • First English and American editions of Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England
  • Two sets of Litchfield Law School student notebooks 
  • Working library of books typically owned by English practitioners (16th-19th centuries) and colonial/early American practitioners
  • Important editions of early international law texts (e.g., Hugo Grotius, Alberico Gentili, Emer de Vattel, Samuel von Pufendorf)
  • The Robert E. Brooker III Collection of American Legal and Land Use Documents