Legal Research

UW Law Library Releases Digitized Papers of J. Willard Hurst, Father of Modern American Legal History

The University of Wisconsin Law Library is very pleased to announce the release of the J. Willard Hurst Collection which details the career of the man commonly identified as the father of modern American legal history.

The collection primarily spans the years 1932 through Hurst's death in 1997. The bulk of material dates between 1946 and 1980 when Hurst was a professor at the University of Wisconsin Law School, where he developed the field of American legal economic history through his scholarship and teaching. The collection provides insight into the evolution of Hurst's view of legal history and his role in developing a community for legal historians.

The collection includes Hurst's personal outlines and notes; course texts; publications; publication reviews; research notes; correspondence (incoming and outgoing letters); personnel records; photographs; audio recordings; and typewriter. Correspondence, topical outlines and notes, and audio recordings compose a bulk of the collection.

In anticipation of high research demand, the majority of materials in this collection have been digitized and are freely available on the Law Library website. Researchers may browse the collection by series; search the detailed finding aid; or view the complete finding aid in PDF.

The complete collection, including those materials which have not been digitized, is available at the UW Law Library. Contact the library staff for assistance.

Full post as published by WisBlawg - From the UW Law Library on June 22, 2009 (boomark / email).