Striking Illustrations

Historical law books do not usually come equipped with extensive illustrations in the same way that works of science often do, or literature and other genres. Yet law books do not lack for illustrations, and may have woodcuts, engravings, and other images that add value and interest (and charm) to the texts themselves. Perceptions about the lack of images in rare law books have changed more recently, most importantly through the collecting and exhibitions of Mike Widener, Rare Books Librarian at Yale Law Library. His exhibit catalog, Law’s Picture Books, co-authored with Mark Weiner and based on an exhibit at the Grolier Club of the same name, shows definitively that the law, too, has long employed imagery to convey meaning, as well as for sheer decoration. The few examples below reflect the aesthetic (and even satirical) uses of imagery in law-related books.