Special Collections Exhibitions
The Special Collections Department coordinates the Library's exhibition program. These exhibitions, held in the Caspersen Room, contribute to the School's pedagogical mission in many ways. They advertise the scholarly resources available to the academic community. The material exhibited have an immediacy that cannot be experienced in any other way; a medieval manuscript, the first edition of Littleton's Tenures, a student notebook recording Professor Langdell's lectures; all evoke the time in which they were created.
Selected Catalogs from Past Exhibitions have been published and/or are available online.
The Library welcomes exhibition suggestions and assistance; contact Librarian for Special Collections David Warrington (warringt@law.harvard.edu).
Current Exhibition
|
||
A list of some past Caspersen Room exhibitions.
Online Exhibitions
See also Online Collections.
- Charles Hamilton Houston
- History In Deed
- "Sundry Good and Needful Ordinances" Food & Drink in the Law Library
- The Harvard Law School Library's Portrait Collection (An online version of a recent Caspersen Room exhibition.)
Caspersen Room
The Caspersen Room (formerly the Treasure Room) serves as an exhibition hall for material in the Library's collections. It was opened in 1948 as a memorial to the School's students and alumni who died in World War I and II. For over five decades the room has been a showcase for printed books, manuscripts, art works and memorabilia that document the history of the law and of the Harvard Law School.
The Caspersen Room is the permanent home for some of the School's finest paintings, including Isaac Royall and his family, painted in 1741 by the American painter Robert Feeke. Among the other noteworthy works of art are the striking portrait of Chief Justice Roger B. Taney by Emanuel Leutze, portraits of English barristers by Romney and Raeburn; the Dutch case clock owned by Dean Langdell; and the round desk built in 1927 for Dean Pound. The glass-fronted bookcases contain part of Dean Pound's personal library. The Caspersen Room is located on the fourth floor of Langdell Hall at Harvard Law School Library and is open from 9:00am to 5:00, Monday through Friday.