Law's Picture Books – Two Exhibitions and Some Online Videos
- by Michael Stillman
Two Exhibitions of Law's Picture Books.
"Most people would not look for illustrations in law books." So begins the description of two exhibitions curated by the Yale Law Library in one of the greater understatements you will hear. The exhibitions are designed to disprove the underlying assumptions behind that quote. There is one exhibition in New York, another in New Haven, and for those not close to either, there are some accompanying videos that can be viewed online.
Most people expect books about the law to be boring texts filled with legalese and certainly many are. A connection between artistic expression, the feelings and emotions they elicit, with the cold, brutal logic of the law seems a contradiction. However, Michael Widener, Rare Book Librarian at the Yale Law School Library, has put together a collection of law books that feature illustrations. Many are feats of artistic expression, while others are more technical in nature, some even comic. There are over a thousand items in the collection, compiled over the past decade, some of which are displayed in the exhibitions. The New York City exhibit, Law's Picture Books, "features 140 books and manuscripts containing a surprising and beguiling range of images that symbolize, describe, teach, argue, or criticize the law." The companion exhibition in New Haven, Around the World With Law's Picture Books, "showcases illustrated law books from fifteen countries on six continents in ten different languages."
Some illustrations can be soaring art. Frontispiece images were often depictions of Lady Justice, her balancing scales, or even more dramatic allegorical pictures of heavenly creatures bringing truth and justice for all. Deeper into the text, images were more likely to illustrate a particular facet of the law. Others feature cartoon characters, often used to satirize the law. After all, everyone knows what the law is.
The exhibition of Law's Picture Books is being hosted at the Grolier Club in New York and runs from now through November 18. Hours are 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Monday-Saturday. There is no charge. The Grolier is located at 47 East 60th Street. The exhibition is curated by Michael Widener and Mark S. Weiner, filmmaker and professor on leave from Rutgers University.
Around the World with Law's Picture Books is on exhibit at the Yale Law Library in New Haven through December 15. It is curated by Michael Widener and Emma Molina Widener.
Those involved in the book trade, either as booksellers or collectors, even those without a particular interest in the law, will find this particular video of much interest. It is Mr. Widener's trip to the annual ABAA New York Antiquarian Book Fair. It's a chance to see the fair and the interactions between an institutional buyer and numerous of the dealers from around the world with which he meets. vimeo.com/195856227
There is also a book available entitled Law's Picture Books: The Yale Law Library Collection, by Michael Widener and Mark S. Weiner. It is filled with information about illustrations in law books, and, of course, it is highly illustrated itself, with 166 color illustrations. For more information, see the review elsewhere in this month's issue of Rare Book Monthly.
Heritage, Dec. 15: Jerry Thomas. How to Mix Drinks, or the Bon-Vivant's Companion, Containing Clear and Reliable Directions for Mixing All the Beverages Used in the United States…
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Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("Martinus Luther") to His Friend the Theologian Gerhard Wiskamp ("Gerardo Xantho Lampadario"). $100,000 - $150,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: An Exceptionally Fine Copy of Austenís Emma: A Novel in Three Volumes. $40,000 - $60,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Presentation Copy of Ernest Hemmingwayís A Farewell to Arms for Edward Titus of the Black Mankin Press. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript Signed Integrally for "The Songs of Pooh," by Alan Alexander. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript of "Three Fragments from Gˆtterd‰mmerung" by Richard Wagner. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Preliminary Artwork, for the First Edition of Snow Crash. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("T.R. Malthus") to Economist Nassau Senior on Wealth, Labor and Adam Smith. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides Finely Bound by Michael Wilcox. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: First Edition of Lewis and Clark: Travels to the Source of the Missouri River and Across the American Continent to the Pacific Ocean. $8,000 - $12,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Artwork for the First Edition of Neal Stephenson's Groundbreaking Novel Snow Crash. $100,000 - $150,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: A Complete Set Signed Deluxe Editions of King's The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King. $8,000 - $12,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("John Adams") to James Le Ray de Chaumont During the Crucial Years of the Revolutionary War. $8,000 - $12,000.
Sotheby’s Book Week December 9-17, 2025
Sotheby’s, Dec. 17: Francesco Colonna. Hypnerotomachie, Paris, 1546, Parisian calf by Wotton Binder C for Marcus Fugger. €200,000 to €300,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 17: Nausea. De principiis dialectices Gorgias, and other works, Venice, 1523, morocco gilt for Cardinal Campeggio. €3,000 to €4,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 17: Billon. Le fort inexpugnable de l'honneur, Paris, 1555, Parisian calf gilt for Peter Ernst, Graf von Mansfeld. €120,000 to €180,000.
Sotheby’s Book Week December 9-17, 2025
Sotheby’s, Dec. 16: Salinger, J.D. The Graham Family archive, including autographed letters, an inscribed Catcher, a rare studio photograph of the author, and more. $120,000 to $180,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 16: [Austen, Jane]. A handsome first edition of Sense and Sensibility, the author's first novel. $60,000 to $80,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 16: Massachusetts General Court. A powerful precursor to the Declaration of Independence: "every Act of Government … without the Consent of the People, is … Tyranny." $40,000 to $60,000.
![<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/8caddaea-4c1f-47a7-9455-62f53af36e3f.jpg "<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.")
![<b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 16:</b> [Austen, Jane]. A handsome first edition of <i>Sense and Sensibility,</i> the author's first novel. $60,000 to $80,000.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/9a74d9ff-42dd-46a1-8bb2-b636c4cec796.png "<b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 16:</b> [Austen, Jane]. A handsome first edition of <i>Sense and Sensibility,</i> the author's first novel. $60,000 to $80,000.")
