Tarlton Law Library has three exhibit spaces - in the atrium near the entrance to the library, near the reference desk on the main floor, and on the sixth floor in the Rare Books Reading Room.
Now on exhibit:
Main Floor
Conservation of Rare Books, 2008-2009
Law books – even finely printed law books – were rarely created as purely aesthetic objects. These were tools to be used, references to be consulted, and writings to study. The result is that many show the aggregate effects of long ownership and its associated hazards. The collection of rare law books at Tarlton Library is no exception. The collection spans a period of more than five hundred years – our oldest imprint dates from 1476, and our most recent from only a few years ago, with the bulk of the collection dating from the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries. It is a collection of which to be proud, and one worth preserving. One part of that preservation process is a regular conservation program.
The Kilgarlin Center at the University of Texas School of Information Science is ranked number one in Archives and Preservation. As a part of their advanced training, students are given the opportunity to conserve books out of one of the several special collections libraries on campus. This exhibit showcases the conservation work performed for Tarlton Library 2008-2009.
For complete descriptions of the conservation treatments please visit the conservators websites:
| Short Title | Treatment by |
| Conventions of Pennsylvania | Rebecca Smyrl |
| Journals of the Convention | Laura Bedford |
| The Judge Advocate's Vade Mecum | Beth Antoine |
| Littleton’s Tenures | Stephanie Gowler |
| Silva memorabilium | Helen Kuncicky |
| Table Talk | Sonya Issaeva |
| Tractatus de legibus | Katherine Lechuga |
Atrium
Peregrinus: The Yearbook of the University of Texas School of Law (1949-2004)
The Special Collections Department at Tarlton Law Library presents a new exhibit on the Peregrinus, the former yearbook of the School of Law. Named for the School of Law's eclectic mascot, the Peregrinus ran from 1949 to 2004. The initial reception of the Peregrinus among students was enthusiastic: by December 1948 a class of 1,147 students had already ordered over 650 copies. Interest in the Peregrinus dwindled in the early 1970s, and publication of the yearbook lapsed between 1973 and 1974, only to be brought back in 1975 to honor the end of Dean Page Keeton's 25 years as dean. The Peregrinus remained in publication until 2004.
Over the course of its fifty-three year run, the Peregrinus honored numerous dedicatees, including Dean Page Keeton, Joe Jamail, and Elton M. Hyder, Jr. Law School traditions filled the pages of the Peregrinus as well, from the outdated Miss Portia competition to the familiar Assault and Flattery performances. A complete run of the Peregrinus, as well as copies of the University of Texas yearbook the Cactus from the late 19th century through the mid-1940s, are available for use in the Rare Books and Special Collection department.
Exhibit by Jennifer Cummings, Assistant Archivist.
The exhibits in and outside the Rare Books Reading Room showcase focused collections of material - currently a selection of Seldeniana, English legal documents from the Tudor period, and UT Law memorabilia.
Related links
Previous exhibits:
Williston Fish's Last Will