Law Library Exhibits Celebrate Yale Law School at 200

The Lillian Goldman Law Library will curate a series of exhibitions to help mark the bicentennial of Yale Law School in 2024.

In January, the exhibition “At Gotham: Yale Law School at 200” will showcase treasures from the Lillian Goldman Law Library’s historical collections including items like an ink drawing showing the law degree of Bruce Wayne (aka Batman) from “Yale University at Gotham, New Haven,” from which the exhibit derives its name. Other items include Aholiab Johnson’s 1824 bill for tuition and use of the library, Pauli Murray’s ’65 JSD Yale Law School doctoral dissertation, and Arthur Corbin’s manuscript notes for his book On Contracts and other work.

“At Gotham” draws on the Lillian Goldman Law Library collections to celebrate the bicentennial of the Yale Law School. The exhibit runs through July 14 and follows the intersections and interwoven histories of the Yale Law School community over its first two hundred years through the collections of the Law Library.

“The Lillian Goldman Law Library has a longstanding storytelling tradition,” said Law Librarian and Professor of Law Femi Cadmus. “Historical collections, important events, and people are brought to life by means of compelling and carefully curated visual exhibits. Yale Law School’s bicentennial has offered an unparalleled opportunity to feature and highlight the rich materials from our unique collections and 200-year storied past.”

Smaller monthly exhibitions will include “Tools of Industry: Designing the Sterling Law Building Reading Room Stained Glass,” showcasing the original drawings for stained glass in the iconic main reading room of the Yale Law School Law Library. Other forthcoming monthly exhibits include “Finding Law: Maps and Locations of Yale Law School, 1824-2024,” “Reading Period: 200 Years of Yale Law School Examinations,” and “Simeon E. Baldwin & His Legacy in the Yale Law Library.”

Details of additional upcoming Library exhibitions are forthcoming.

In the fall, the Library will remount an exhibition that examines the role of slavery in the lives, work, and law instruction of the founders of the Yale Law School. Comprising historical letters, court records, sketches, and other material, “Race, Slavery, & the Founders of Yale Law School” will reopen at the Law Library in time for Alumni Weekend in October. The exhibition was first on display in the Law Library from Sept. 28, 2022 to March 1, 2023. 

Co-curated by Rare Book Librarian Kathryn James and Associate Director for Collections and Special Projects Fred Shapiro, the exhibit reflects years of archival research. The exhibit supports the broader research of the Yale and Slavery Working Group, which Yale Law School joined upon its inception in 2020.

The Law Library has also created a timeline of key milestones in the history of the School, which will serve as an additional online exhibit that will remain viewable throughout the year. For more information on upcoming bicentennial exhibits at the Lillian Goldman Law Library, visit the library’s website.