''Legal Bibliography'' is a book by

John Gage Marvin John Gage Marvin (1815–1855) was an American lawyer, legal bibliographer and figure in the history of California. Early life and education He was born in Le Raysville, Pennsylvania and was educated at Wesleyan University in Connecticut. He then ...

, and was hist best-known work. It is a bibliography of law. It was the first publication of its kind to originate from the

United States of America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguo ...

. Marvin was then a librarian at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

and would later serve as the first

California State Superintendent of Public Instruction California () is a state in the Western United States that lies on the Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares an international border with the Mexican state of Baja California to the so ...

. This work was preceded by an 1843 edition of a work on

international law International law, also known as public international law and the law of nations, is the set of Rule of law, rules, norms, Customary law, legal customs and standards that State (polity), states and other actors feel an obligation to, and generall ...

Sir James Mackintosh Sir James Mackintosh FRS FRSE (24 October 1765 – 30 May 1832) was a Scottish jurist, Whig politician and Whig historian. His studies and sympathies embraced many interests. He was trained as a doctor and barrister, and worked also as a jo ...

, with reading list, and an 1846 ''Catalogue'' of the

Harvard Law Library Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United States. Each class ...

including recent accessions. The ''Bibliography'' is in alphabetical by author, with a topical index, and includes evaluative comments on the works, drawing on numerous sources. Despite the impression given by its short title, the ''Bibliography'' was an attempt to integrate other legal works into the Anglo-American tradition. In 1857, the Upper Canada Law Journal and Lower Courts Gazette said "Mr. Marvin's, Legal Bibliography, is by far the completest work of its kind we have had". Harvard University Library Notes said that this book was, "for many years" after its first publication, "the best American work of its kind". In the Proceedings of the First Annual Meeting of the Virginia State Bar Association, this book was described as "good in its day, but now more than 40 years old". In 1914, Percy Winfield said that this book was a "valuable" guide "to the materials of English law", that it appeared to be little known in England, that the critical notes were appended to certain classics and reporters and were necessarily brief, especially in relation to the Year Books, that the book was an index of authors rather than topics, and that a new edition was needed. In 1988, Bookman's Yearbook said that the fact that this book was still in use indicated "the sorry state" that legal bibliography was in, the book being "like a third class Lowndes or Brunet".

Criticisms

The Harvard Law Review said, in relation to Year-Book bibliography, that Marvin's Legal Bibliography discloses little that is valuable and its accuracy does not stand the test of verification. In his preface, Marvin says that upon reviewing this volume, he discovered that some titles were omitted, and that some dates were erroneous.Marvin, J G. Legal Bibliography. 1847. p vii.

References

*Marvin, J G. Legal Bibliography, or a thesaurus of American, English, Irish and Scotch law books:together with some continental treatises. T & J W Johnson. 1847
Digitised copy
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External links

* {{Authority control Legal bibliographies 1847 books

Criticisms

References

Further reading

External links