Harvard Law School Library

Home
United States
Cambridge, MA
Harvard Law School Library

Directions Website

We're Harvard Law School's information experts. Like our page for news, events, and highlights of our people, services, events, and collections!

We are Harvard Law School's information experts, connecting our students, faculty, staff, and members of the wider Harvard community with key information they need for their research, teaching, and work. To learn more about the HLS Library, including history and highlights from our world-renowned collections, visit http://hls.harvard.edu/library/about-the-library/. Hours listed here are our regular academic hours. For summer, reading period, and exam hours, please visit http://libcal.law.harvard.edu/calendar/hours/. Comments policy: comments consisting of abuse or spam will be deleted at page moderators' discretion.

10/30/2026

- As we close out Halloweek, we highlight another unusual item in our collection: “The Hairy Hand.”[1] This was a gift from a 1L class to Professor Clark Byse (1912-2007), who donated it to the library. The Hairy Hand is a nod to the famous contracts case, Hawkins v. McGee, which established an important principle about how courts calculate damages when someone fails to deliver a promised result.[2]

At age 11, George Hawkins' hand was scarred from contact with an electrical wire, after turning on the light in his family’s kitchen. A N.H. doctor, Edward McGee, guaranteed to make the injured hand “a hundred percent good hand.” McGee removed “a considerable quantity of scar tissue,” then used a skin-grafting technique (in which he had little previous experience) using skin from Hawkins' chest, which caused thick hair to grow on the palm of Hawkins' hand. In 1929 (about nine years after the initial incident), the New Hampshire Supreme Court held that Hawkins was entitled to the difference in value between what he was promised (“a hundred percent good hand”) and what he received (a hairy palm).

FunFactFriday2 – Prof. Byse served on the HLS faculty from 1957-2007. According to HLS’ Historical Faculty page, “A legend on the HLS campus and beyond, Byse was a leading scholar in administrative law and was also known for his vigorous support of academic freedom. He was believed by many to have been one of the inspirations for the composite character of Charles Kingsfield in ‘The Paper Chase,’ the novel by John Jay Osborn Jr. ’70, and the film and television series that followed.”[3]

Citations:
[1] Hairy Hand, Art; Acc. no. 2009.163.7. Donated by Professor Clark Byse.
[2] Hawkins v. McGee, 84 N.H. 114 (N.H. 1929).
[3] https://hls.harvard.edu/historical-faculty/clark-byse-1912-2007/

10/28/2026

Halloweek continues - Within our rare manuscripts collection, we have a copy of “A full and impartial account of the discovery of sorcery and witchcraft, : practis’d by Jane Wenham of Walkerne in Hertfordshire, upon the bodies of Anne Thorn, Anne Street, &c. The proceedings against her from her being first apprehended, till she was committed to gaol [jail] by Sir Henry Chauncy. Also her tryal at the assizes [courts] at Hertford before Mr. Justice Powell, where she was found guilty of felony and witchcraft, and receiv'd sentence of death for the same, March 4. 1711-12.” [1]

Jane Wenham, then over 70 years old, is believed to be the last person condemned to death for witchcraft in England, allegedly after failing to recite The Lord’s Prayer correctly. She later received a pardon from Queen Anne.[2]

FUN FACT: The HLS Library Innovation Lab has created a “Witchcraft in Law” map that shows every appearance of the word “witchcraft” in case law. It can be accessed at bit.ly/WitchcraftInLaw.[3]

Citations:
[1] Wenham, Jane, -1730. The second edition. London: Printed for E. Curll, at the Dial and Bible against St. Dunstan’s Church in Fleetstreet, 1712. Rare Trials W; HOLLIS no. 990040666310203941.
[2] Guskin, P. J. (1981). The Context of Witchcraft: The Case of Jane Wenham (1712). Eighteenth-Century Studies, 15(1), 48–71. https://doi.org/10.2307/2738402
[3] https://lil.law.harvard.edu

10/26/2026

Welcome to Halloweek! Today, we highlight a topical book in our collection: Halloween Law by Victoria Sutton (2012). This book is “a spirited look at the law school curriculum,” in which Sutton uses Halloween-related situations, some entertaining and some frightening, to explain fundamental legal concepts.

Image credit: Book cover, Halloween law: a spirited look at the law school curriculum by Victoria Sutton (2012). Hollis no. 990144898700203941

10/23/2026

FunFactFriday: Did you know HLS students have access to hundreds of current and historical newspapers from around the world? To learn more, visit https://guides.library.harvard.edu/law/newspapers.

Here, HLS Library staff Debbie Ginsberg (foreground) and Nongji Zhang (background) share information (and donuts) with students during a recent Lightning Lesson on newspapers.

10/21/2026

For current HLS students: There are still a few slots left for our annual “Creepy Collections & Haunted Halls” tours next week (Oct. 27-29). From our collection, you will see and hear about the Hairy Hand (Hawkins v. McGee), Crime Broadsides, Salem Witch Trials, rare books and manuscripts including a medieval Magna Carta, Sir Thomas More’s ex*****on for treason, and much more. Preregistration required through the QR code or https://forms.gle/kS9tmaB196GJd4Qw6. Come join us for a tour your won't forget.

10/19/2026

For current students: HLS Beyond will present "Lawyering for Liberation" on Mon., Oct. 26, from 12:15-1:30 p.m. Pre-register with QR code in comments. Lunch will be provided.

Featuring volume editors Ameca Reali and Marbré Stahly-Butts, this panel will engage with the edited collection, Lawyering for Liberation: A Toolbox for Movement Lawyers, an approachable how-to guide which distills key concepts of movement lawyering.

10/16/2026

, the 1973 movie The Paper Chase was released in the U.S.

This year marks the 55th anniversary of The Paper Chase, the novel penned by 1970 Harvard Law School (HLS) graduate John Jay Osborn, Jr. (1945-2022). The novel placed an important spotlight on legal education at the time and quickly became a must-read for every incoming Harvard 1L.

In 1973, following the popularity of the book, Twentieth Century Fox produced a movie based on the book starring John Houseman as the imposing Professor Kingsfield and Timothy Bottoms as the Harvard Law School 1L Hart. The movie was filmed in both Cambridge and Toronto, with all exterior shots filmed at HLS and all interior shots in Canada. According to coverage in the HLS student paper, an exact replica of the Langdell North Middle classroom was built in Toronto for filming.

A TV version of The Paper Chase, also based on the novel, aired on CBS from 1978-1979 and later on Showtime from 1983-1986. Osborn wrote many of the episodes.

Image credit:
Filming a classroom scene in The Paper Chase on a sound stage in Canada by Mark McNeil, 1973, The Paper Chase, photographs, 1973-1983: Box 1, Folder 5, HOLLIS 13777568, Harvard Law School Library, Historical & Special Collections

10/14/2026

The Harvard Law School Library Innovation Lab (LIL) has launched the Law Skills Hub, a collection of openly licensed, expert-developed instructions that help AI agents perform specific tasks using established professional practices. The hub gives AI agents step-by-step procedures that reflect the experience, judgment and values of knowledgeable practitioners. To learn more, including what it is, why now, what it won’t do, a librarian’s framing, what remains uncertain, and an invitation, visit bit.ly/HLSlibraryBlog.

10/09/2026

A few about Wyatt Earp and Lotta Crabtree...

Fun Fact I: In our collection, HLS Library has a deposition of Wyatt Earp (1848-1929), an American lawman and subsequent legend of the "Wild West," perhaps best known for his involvement in the gunfight at the O.K. Corral. The deposition references well-known Old West figures such as Doc Holliday and Wyatt's brother, deputy U.S. Marshal Virgil Earp.

Earp was deposed on April 7, 1925, in connection with the Estate of Lotta M. Crabtree (1870-1924), a wealthy American actress. After her death, multiple parties unsuccessfully contested her will, claiming to be her rightful heirs. Earp was deposed due to his acquaintance in Tombstone, AZ, in the early 1880s with her brother Jack Crabtree. You can view the entire 329-page deposition online at https://bit.ly/hlslearp [citation 1].

Fun Fact II: Why was it filed in Massachusetts Probate Court? Because, at the time of Lotta Crabtree's death, she lived in Boston, in the Hotel Brewster (at the corner of Washington and Boylston Streets), which she had purchased in 1909, shortly after it opened [citation 2]. Various obituaries called her one of the richest women in America.

Just days after her death, a probate case was filed with several people laying claim to a portion of her “approximately $4,000,000” [1924 value] fortune, which she left to various charities. Today, her estate would be worth about $78 million [citation 3].

Fun Fact III: Lotta Crabtree also owned land in the Squantum section of the City of Quincy, where several roads are still named for her or her family, including Ashworth, Livesey, Sonoma, and Crabtree [citation 4]. According to the Quincy Historical Society, “all four streets sit squarely upon Squantum property formerly owned by Charlotte [Lotta] Crabtree...

• Ashworth Rd: Appears to have originally been laid out as part of Newland St., but marshland made completion impractical. Compare this with the adjacent Lansdowne, Essex, Deerfield, and Heath Streets.
• Crabtree Rd: Broadly speaking, this road follows the path from Charlotte Crabtree's main house to several other secondary houses, outbuildings, etc. on her property.
• Livesey Rd: More or less follows the path of a driveway, road, or other cleared area along the eastern edge of the property nearest the main house.
• Sonoma Rd: More or less follows the path of a driveway, road, or other cleared area along the northern edge of the property nearest the main house” [citation 5].

We extend special thanks to the for its research assistance.

We hope you found these facts as fun as we did. You never know where your research will take you when you start looking in our collection.

Citation 1: Wyatt Earp Deposition, 1925. Lotta Crabtree Will Case, 1870-1928: Box 12, Folder 6. HOLLIS no. 990006016440203941. Harvard Law School Library Historical & Special Collections.

Citation 2: Map of land owned by Lotta M. Crabtree at the corner of Boylston and Washington Streets. Her residence, Hotel Brewster, was on that parcel, as was the Park Theatre, which she also owned. www.atlascope.org

Citation 3: “Relatives May Break Boston Actress’ Will,” The Reading Eagle, Sept. 30, 1924. Library of Congress. www.loc.gov/collections/chronicling-america

Citation 4: Parcels of land owned by Lotta Crabtree. Branch, E. (1923). Atlas of the city of Quincy, Norfolk County, Massachusetts [Map]. https://collections.leventhalmap.org/search/commonwealth:5x220j25p

Citation 5: Quincy Historical Society correspondence to HLS Library, Oct. 8, 2026.

10/07/2026

Winning Wednesday: Congratulations to Jaskaran D., who won the laptop screen extender at this year's Love Your Library Fest! We extend (!) our best wishes and hope it helps with your studies.

Address

1545 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA
02138

Website

https://hls.harvard.edu/library, http://bit.ly/AmicusLibris

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Harvard Law School Library posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.