Rare Books & Special Collections

The Nicholas J. St. George Rare Book Room

From the first printed edition of the first English law treatise, to presentation volumes inscribed by some of the greatest legal scholars of the twentieth century, the library's Special Collections cover every imaginable legal topic. Within the collection of nearly 2,900 volumes, particular treasures include two rare editions of the Digest of Justinian printed in Florence (1553) and Lyons (1566), an early 16th century version of Lyttleton’s Tenures in Englysshe, and multiple volumes previously owned by Virginia founding fathers. The Rare Book Room has on permanent display the family Bible of Chief Justice John Marshall, a circa 1825 portrait of Marshall, by John Wesley Jarvis, and the Law School mace, a replica of the royal mace in the British House of Commons. Rotating exhibits feature selections from the library's various rare book collections.

Nicolas J. St. George Rare Book Room
The George Wythe Boswell-Caracci Room

George Wythe, William & Mary's — and America's — first law professor, assembled one of the most important libraries in eighteenth-century Virginia. His collection included Western classics, history, philosophy, science, mathematics, and law. The library's George Wythe Collection re-creates the library of this signer of the Declaration of Independence and Chancellor of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Representing about 370 of the roughly 500 titles thought to have been in Wythe's library, the George Wythe Boswell-Caracci Room houses legal titles such as Sir William Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England, classics such as Homer's Iliad and Odyssey in Greek and Latin, and mathematical treatises such as Sir Isaac Newton's Arithmetica Universalis. While most volumes in this collection represent the same titles and editions Wythe owned, the library does feature four volumes from Wythe’s personal collection.

For more details on Wythe, his library, and his life, visit Wythepedia: The George Wythe Encyclopedia.