Over at Concurring Opinions, Mike Widener and I are conducting a virtual tour of our “Law’s Picture Books” exhibit at the Grolier Club. We introduce the tour here.
I hope you can join us!
Mark S. Weiner
The website and blog of Mark S. Weiner
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This kind review of “Law’s Picture Books” appeared online today in the Wall Street Journal (on a gated site) and will be published in print tomorrow. The review, by the esteemed critic Edward Rothstein, calls the exhibit “unusual” and “eye-opening,” and it’s quite insightful about our intentions—hurrah!
Also today, these photographs of the exhibit have been posted to the Grolier Club Flickr gallery.
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A small addendum for professional historians following up on the review and finding themselves here. In his completely understandable enthusiasm for the dramatic story of David S. Terry, Rothstein writes that the exhibit “tells us” that he was shot and killed by Justice Stephen Field. Scholars familiar with the details of the case will appreciate that we instead write that “Terry was shot and killed”—of course, Terry in fact was killed by Justice Field’s bodyguard, giving rise to the case of In re Neagle (1890). The case is a confusing one, as is the passive voice. My hat’s off to Rothstein for his insightful review, which brings together a great body of complex historical material.
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[update October 24, 2017]
Our exhibit has now been reviewed in the New Yorker—which hails it as “fascinating”—the Wall Street Journal—”eye-opening”—and the Frankfurter Allgemeine—”courageous.”
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My latest post for the Niskanen Center, about President Trump’s encouraging fans to boycott the NFL, is here.
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On the occasion of the public opening of “Law’s Picture Books” at the Grolier Club in New York, I’m posting all five of the exhibition videos, created under the imprint of Hidden Cabinet Films. In the exhibition hall, the video appear on a big-screen monitor through a nifty digital interface, but you can watch them at home, too. And if you can’t stroll up to the corner of 60th and Park to see the exhibit, you can order its accompanying 200-plus-page, full-color catalogue.
“Explore the mystery of law and sight.” With a soundtrack by Moby! This video explores some big questions that the exhibit poses about law and visual culture. ~ 5 minutes.
“How does the purpose of a legal illustration shape its relation with its accompanying text?” This video considers one of the exhibit’s underlying analytic themes. ~ 3 minutes.
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In a short opinion piece today in Project Syndicate, I reflect on Stephen Bannon’s departure.
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I’m delighted to announce that the catalogue for “Law’s Picture Books” is now available directly through The Lawbook Exchange or through other online booksellers. The 220-page volume is based on an exhibition that I’ve co-curated with rare book librarian Mike Widener for the Grolier Club in New York. The exhibit opens to the public on September 13. If you can’t come and see the exhibit in person, the book includes images of every book on display, as well as their accompanying captions—plus more.
From the publisher:
“Illustrated law books” may seem like an oxymoron. After all, law is conceptual, analytic, and so very wordy! Yet for the past decade, over a thousand illustrated law books have been assembled in the Yale Law Library — spanning eight centuries and four continents. Law’s Picture Books began as a major exhibition of that collection at the Grolier Club in New York City, curated by Rare Book Librarian Michael Widener and legal historian Mark S. Weiner. In challenging the stereotype of legal literature as a dreary expanse of dry text, this book will surprise and delight both bibliophiles and members of the legal community. This handsome full-color book is enhanced by the essays “Collecting Yale Law Library’s Picture Books,” (Michael Widener), “Reflections on an Exhibition,” (Mark S. Weiner), “Ars Memoria in Early Law: Looking Beneath the Picture,” (Jolande E. Goldberg, Law Library of Congress), and “Law’s Picture Books and the History of Book Illustration,” (Erin C. Blake, Folger Shakespeare Library).
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Because what the world needs now is more talking animals—and a good laugh—I’ve created an exhibit about images of animals in legal literature for the Rare Book Room at Yale Law Library.
The exhibit includes books from around the world—including Argentina, Russia, the Netherlands, England, and the United States—more than half of them printed before the nineteenth century and the earliest published in 1529. One section of the exhibit focuses entirely on books with images of dogs. Other sections include “Gentle Creatures,” “Predators,” “Swimmers,” and “Beastie.”
From the introductory text: (more…)
Mark S. Weiner 