Anthony Taussig collection of English legal manuscripts
Scope and Contents
A collection of approximately 400 manuscript items, including letters; letterbooks; copies of statutes, pleadings, opinions and precedents; King's Bench reports; abridgments and commonplace books of cases; and other papers, documenting the development and practice of English law and the evolution of the English legal system from the thirteenth into the twentieth century. Included are an early copy of Henry de Bracton's De legibus Anglie; a fourteenth-century pocket compilation of "Statuta vetera" that opens with a copy of the Magna Carta; case reports from the sixteenth through the nineteenth centuries; letters, opinions and notes by a range of English legal figures, including William Blackstone, Edward Coke, Edward Law, Lord Thurlow, and Francis Wedderburn; and guides to court proceedings and practice from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
In addition, the collection contains a letterbook of Wiliam Tidd; papers of Sir Michael Foster and his heirs, including correspondence related to the Corn Riots of 1753 and Foster's work on habeas corpus; and correspondence and other documentation related to the operation of the Poor Laws in England.
Dates
- [circa 1280-1956]
Creator
- Taussig, Anthony (Collector)
Language of Materials
In English, with some Latin and French.
Conditions Governing Access
The materials are open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
The Anthony Taussig collection of English legal manuscripts is the physical property of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University. Literary rights, including copyright, belong to the authors or their legal heirs and assigns. For further information, consult the appropriate curator.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Purchased from Anthony Taussig on the Hazel M. Osborn and the James Marshall and Marie-Louise Osborn Funds, 2012.
Arrangement
Arranged by Taussig catalog number as assigned in A Catalogue of the Legal Manuscripts of Anthony Taussig.
Extent
48.29 Linear Feet (73 boxes)
Catalog Record
A record for this collection is available in Orbis, the Yale University Library catalog
Persistent URL
Abstract
A collection of approximately 400 manuscript items, including letters; letterbooks; copies of statutes, pleadings, opinions and precedents; King's Bench reports; abridgments and commonplace books of cases; and other papers, documenting the development and practice of English law and the evolution of the English legal system from the thirteenth into the twentieth century. Included are an early copy of Henry de Bracton's De legibus Anglie; a fourteenth-century pocket compilation of "Statuta vetera" that opens with a copy of the Magna Carta; case reports from the sixteenth through the nineteenth centuries; letters, opinions and notes by a range of English legal figures, including William Blackstone, Edward Coke, Edward Law, Lord Thurlow, and Francis Wedderburn; and guides to court proceedings and practice from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
Bibliography
- Baker, John H. and Taussig, Anthony. (London: Selden Society, 2007).
Processing Information
This finding aid will be updated over time to reflect changes as individual manuscripts are cataloged.
This finding aid includes all manuscripts listed in A Catalogue of the Legal Manuscripts of Anthony Taussig. Items with Taussig catalog numbers 401 and higher are not listed in the published catalog.
Titles that were not acquired by the Beinecke Library or that have been individually cataloged are noted as such.
- Blackstone, William, 1723-1780
- Bracton, Henry de, -1268
- Coke, Edward, Sir, 1552-1634
- Forms (Law) -- Great Britain -- Early works to 1800
- Foster, Michael, Sir, 1689-1763
- Law -- England
- Law -- England -- Early works to 1800
- Law -- England -- Sources
- Law -- Great Britain
- Law -- Great Britain -- Early works to 1800
- Law -- Great Britain -- Sources
- Law -- Interpretation and construction
- Law -- Interpretation and construction -- Early works to 1800
- Magna carta -- Early works to 1800
- Maitland, Frederic William, 1850-1906
- Poor laws -- Great Britain
- Poor laws -- Great Britain -- Early works to 1800
- Rosslyn, Alexander Wedderburn, Earl of, 1733-1805
- Statutes -- Great Britain
- Taussig, Anthony
- Thurlow, Edward Thurlow, Baron, 1731-1806
- Tidd, William, 1760-1847
- Title
- Guide to the Anthony Taussig collection of English legal manuscripts
- Status
- Under Revision
- Author
- by Beinecke staff
- Date
- October 2013
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English.
Part of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library Repository
Location
121 Wall Street
New Haven, CT 06511
Opening Hours
Access Information
The Beinecke Library is open to all Yale University students and faculty, and visiting researchers whose work requires use of its special collections. You will need to bring appropriate photo ID the first time you register. Beinecke is a non-circulating, closed stack library. Paging is done by library staff during business hours. You can request collection material online at least two business days in advance of your visit, using the request links in Archives at Yale. For more information, please see Planning Your Research Visit and consult the Reading Room Policies prior to visiting the library.