The J. Willard Hurst Collection details the career of the man commonly identified as the father of modern American legal history. The collection primarily spans the years 1932 through Hurst’s death in 1997. The bulk of material dates between 1946 and 1980 when Hurst was a professor at the University of Wisconsin Law School, where he developed the field of American legal economic history through his scholarship and teaching. The collection provides insight into the evolution of Hurst’s view of legal history and his role in developing a community for legal historians.
The collection includes Hurst’s personal outlines and notes; course texts; publications; publication reviews; research notes; correspondence (incoming and carbon copies of outgoing letters); personnel records; photographs; audio recordings; and typewriter. Correspondence, topical outlines and notes, and audio recordings compose a bulk of the collection.
Access:
This collection is open to the public. In anticipation of high research demand, the majority of materials in
this collection have been digitized and are freely available on this
site.
Researchers may browse the collection using the menu on the left or use the search feature. See also the complete finding aid available in PDF.
The complete collection, including those materials which have not been digitized, is available at the University of Wisconsin Law Library. Access to these papers is governed by the rules and regulations of the
University of Wisconsin Law Library. Consult the library staff for
assistance.
Arrangement:
The collection is divided into eleven series which are arranged as follows:
- Series I: Topical Outlines and Notes
- Series II: Course Texts
- Series III: Course & Speech Audio Recordings
- Series IV: Publications by Hurst
- Series V: Publication Reviews & Correspondence
- Series VI: Research Notes
- Series VII: Correspondence
- Series VIII: Works About Hurst
- Series IX: Personnel & Administrative Records
- Series X: Photographs
- Series XI: Artifacts
Use Restrictions:
Requests for permission to publish material from this collection should be directed to the UW Law Library staff. Researchers who obtain permission to publish from the library are also responsible for identifying and contacting the persons or organizations who hold copyright.
Summary Information:
Repository: University of Wisconsin Law Library
Creator: Hurst, J. Willard
Quantity: 38 archives boxes, 15 books, 6 binders, and 1 typewriter
Processing Information:
Prepared by Bonnie Shucha, Stephanie Rytilahti, and Steven Weber, January 2003 – June 2007
