Special Collections
Accessing Special Collections
The Wolf Law Library Special Collections consist of rare books and archives. Research access to materials is by appointment only. Review our Special Collections Usage Guidelines for what to expect when using items from these collections for your research.
For more information, please contact Linda Tesar regarding rare books and Kathryn Monk regarding archives.
Rare Books at the Wolf Law Library
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 Law Library's rare book collections cover every imaginable legal topic. 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.
View additional information and digital exhibits for the following collections:
The Nicholas J. St. George Rare Book Room
Open to the public weekdays, 8 a.m. - 4:45 p.m.
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 Law Library's various rare book collections.
The George Wythe Boswell-Caracci Room
Open to the public weekdays, 8 a.m. - 4:45 p.m.
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 a virtual tour of the Wythe Room, and more on George Wythe, his library and his life, visit Wythepedia: The George Wythe Encyclopedia.
Wolf Law Library Archives
The Law Library is committed to preserving and sharing William & Mary Law School's history as America’s oldest law school by maintaining archival collections that document the institution’s legacy, people, and contributions to the legal profession. Many items have been digitized and are available through the Scholarship Repository.