Biddleblog

While playing housekeeper in the archives vault recently, I came across an unprocessed collection of essays written by former Penn Law students.  What I found particularly interesting about this collection is that most of the essays date back to the late 1800s, in the time before typewriters -- let alone spell check, computers, and EndNote -- were widely used.  Word processors were human.

Browsing through these essays, which number about 125, I was struck by the manner in which they were forged.  I can't remember the last time I drafted an essay in longhand, can you?  And the penmanship would make this chicken-scratch expert blush.  If I can barely draft a shopping list that doesn't resemble a tablet of mystical runes, will the next generation even know how to put pen to paper?

At times students really went all out on the design of the title pages, often using calligraphy, colored inks, and ribbon.  Here's a representative example:

And you think plugging in Bluebook citations is a struggle?  Try writing out footnotes by hand.

The handwriting looks the same, only smaller!  Cute.

Truth be told, processing this collection was pretty complicated.  These essays were kept together by a range of fasteners: staples, paperclips, string, and scotch tape.  Most of these had to be removed because, over time, these fasteners can get rusty or toxic and damage what's really important, the essays.  Archivists of the future, I apologize for ever using brads.

Beyond the anachronistic nature of the technology, I was also intrigued by the variety of topics covered in these essays.  As far as I can tell, none of the authors went on to fame and fortune.  (Although, there does appear to be material from locally famous attorneys, such as George Biddle, namesake of the Biddle Law Library.)  This collection provides a fascinating window into what Penn Law students were thinking and writing about long ago.

If you're interested in taking a look at these essays, a sampling of them is currently on display in the Biddle Law Library's reference area.  For additional information about the collection, check out the finding aid, e-mail me or stop by the Archives.

When law school journal cite checkers request an electronic document, they often ask, “Is it in PDF (Adobe portable document format)?”   The goal of course is to find an original and authoritative document, and not an altered and less reliable document.    When it comes to federal government documents such as statutes and regulations, journal students likewise ask, “Is it in PDF?”  This is a fair question since electronic government documents may be modified after release by the government.

Although animal law is often spoken of humorously, more and more folks are talking about this area of law. Penn Law offers an upper level seminar on Animal Law, and Penn Law students publish the Journal of Animal Law and Ethics.  Penn Law also has an Animal Law Project.  Many political philosophers like Peter Singer from Princeton University and Martha Nussbaum from the University of Chicago Law School have written extensively on Animal Rights, an important area of investigation for those interested in animals and the law.  So if you are looking for a thought-provoking topic for a comment or seminar paper, or wish to explore the new practice of animal law, there is a wealth of resources available to you.

There are also a number of blogs on animal law.  The ABA hosts one.  There is an interesting animal law blog focusing on Pennsylvania law.   A favorite of mine is the Pet Trust Law Blog. All of these resources can give you inspiration for unique research topics, as well as suggest new areas of legal practice for you to explore.

Gabriela Femenia is the Foreign and International Law Librarian at Biddle.  In addition to foreign and international law, she is interested in legal history, cooking, and science fiction (even bad sci-fi).  Having grown up in Silicon Valley and practiced intellectual property law in Northern California after graduating from Penn Law, she is fascinated by the intersection of technology, IP, and education.