Law Rare Books Collection

The collection’s links to the beginnings of the University of Melbourne – via the collections of individuals such as William Edward Hearn and Sir Redmond Barry – make it of particular significance to Melbourne Law School and the University community more broadly. There are also volumes from the personal collections of prominent Melbourne Law School alumni, including Sir Owen Dixon, Sir John Minogue, and Sir Isaac Isaacs.

Highlights of the collection include:

A-C

• Australian Federation, series of five large volumes of material relating to Australian Federation and the early years of the Commonwealth, compiled by J.G. (John Garibaldi) Roberts from 1889.

•  Aryan Household: its structure and its development: an introduction to comparative jurisprudence. (Melbourne, George Robertson, 1878) By Hearn and presented by him to Sir Redmond Barry.

• Coke's commentary on the Magna Carta and a selection of other medieval statutes.

• A Collection of Entrees [i.e. entries] : Of declarations, barres, replications, reioinders, issues, verdits, iudgements, By Willaim Rastell [London], In aedibus Iane Yetsweirt relictae Caroli Yetsweirt, 1596.

• Commentaries on the Laws of England by William Blackstone, several early editions (1768, 1771, 1773 and 1775). [Volumes available from multiple editions in print and/or digital format]

• The Common-Wealth of England and the manner and gouernement thereof, by Sir Thomas Smith, London, Printed by Will. Stansby for I. Smethwicke, and are to be sold at his shop, 1633.

• A Complete Collection of State Trials and Proceedings for High Treason and Other Crimes and Misdemeanors from the Earliest Period to the Year 1783 with Notes and Other Illustrations, London, R. Bagshaw, 1809-1828.

D-F

• De legibus et consuetudinibus Angliae libri quinque, the first printed edition of Henry de Bracton's work, the first systematic textbook of English law, London, Apud Richardum Tottellum, 1569.

• De verborum significatione: the exposition of the termes and difficill vvordes, conteined in the fovre bviks of Regiam majestatem, the first edition of Sir John Skene's dictionary of Scottish legal terms, Edinburgh, Printed be Robert VValde-graue, 1597.

• Ephermeris Parliamentaria: Or a faithful register of the transactions in Parliament in the third and fourth years of the reign of our late Sovereign Lord King Charles, containing the severall speeches, cases and arguments of law transacted betwenn His Majesty and both Houses, together with the grand mysteries of the Kingdom then in agitation, Parliamentary speeches from 1627 and 1628, perhaps a precursor to the modern-day Hansard, (London, John Williams and Francis Eglesfield, 1654). This book is notable for its red and black title page.

• The First Part of the Institutes of the Laws of England, or, A Commentary upon Littleton: with the addition of notes and references, by Sir Edward Coke, London, Printed by T. Wright for E. Brooke (successor to Messrs. Worrall and Tovey), 1788.

G-M

• The History of the Common Law of England: Divided into twelve chapters, by Sir Matthew Hale, [London], In the Savoy: printed by E. and R. Nutt, and R. Gosling, (assigns of Edw. Sayer, Esq;) for T. Waller, 1739. (First ever history of the common law).

• The History of English Law Before the Time of Edward I, by Sir Frederick Pollock, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1895.

• The Life and Death of Sir Matthew Hale, Kt., sometime Lord Chief Justice of His Majesties Court of Kings Bench, a rare edition by Gilbert Burnet, London, Printed for William Taylor, 1682.

• Littleton's Tenures in English, by Sir Thomas Littleton, London, R. Tottill, 1583.

• Mercurius Politicus: Comprising the summe of all intelligence, with the affairs and designs now on foot, in the three nations of England, Ireland, and Scotland (no. 129, dated 18-25 November 1652), a newsbook.

P-S

• Perkins' Profitable Book Treating on the Laws of England (1597), written in Latin and Law French and including a forerunner of the contemporary index.

• Personal Remembrances of Sir Frederick Pollock, second baronet, sometime Queen's remembrancer, By Sir Frederick Pollock, London, Macmillan, 1887.

• Plutology (one of the extremely rare Melbourne imprints and inscribed 'John  MacFarland Esq...with the Author's Kind Regards". by Hearn

• The Reports of Richard Brownlow and John Goldesborough, Esquire: the first and second part, by Richard Brownlow and John Goldesborough, London, 1675.

• The Second Part of the Institutes of the Laws of England: Containing the exposition of many ancient and other statutes whereof you may see the particulars in a table following, by Sir Edward Coke, London, Printed for A. Crooke, W. Leake, A. Roper, F. Tyton, T. Dring, T. Collins, J. Place, W. Place, J. Starkey, T. Basset, R. Pawlett, S. Heyrick, and G. Daws, 1669.

• Select Trials at the Sessions-House in the Old-Bailey, for murders, robberies, rapes, sodomy, coining, frauds, bigamy, and other offences: to which are added, genuine accounts of the lives....and dying speeches of the most eminent convicts, London, Printed by J. Applebee, for James Hodges, 1742.
• a series of political pamphlets dating from the English Civil War

• A Serious and Faifthfull Representation of the Judgements of Ministers of Gospell within the Province of London, a 1649 rare pamphlet.

• Sir Robert Brooke's abridgment of the Year Books.

• Speech to the Parliament in the Painted Chamber at their Dissolution, Published to Prevent Mistakes and False Copies. (1655), from a series of English parliamentary speeches published as pamphlets from the reign of Charles I.

• Statutes at Large, Barry's volumes containing his bookplate, and some have his signature. The first volume also contains hand-written notes.

• the story of Ikey Solomons, the real-life model for Fagin in Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist.

T-Z

• The Theory of Legal Duties and Rights: An introduction to analytical jurisprudence (Melbourne, John Ferres, Govt. Printer, 1883), a copy of the printer's proof which also includes Hearn's hand-written corrections and annotations.
• A Treatise on the Law of Marine Insurance and Average: With references to the American cases, and the later continental authorities, by Joseph Arnould, London, V. & R. Stevens and G.S. Norton, H. Sweet, and W. Mazxwell, 1857.

• the trials of Charles I, Andrew Johnson and various titles about the Tichborne Claimant, which are available through the Library catalogue.

Items from the Rare Book Collection cannot be borrowed but are available to view for research purposes. Copying is available in some circumstances. Please see staff at the loans desk on Level 3 for assistance or call ph 8344 8913 Monday to Friday from 8:30am to 5:00pm, to make arrangements to use the Rare Book Collection.

The Law Rare Book Collection includes a range of material relating to nineteenth-century Australian legal history. This includes legislation, law reports, legal texts and periodicals.

Legislation

Much early Australian legislation is kept on the open shelves on Level 4 of the Law Library. This includes the annual acts for Victoria from 1854 and Commonwealth acts from 1901.

Legislation held in the Law Rare Book Collection includes:

• The Public General Statutes of the Commonwealth of Australia (of Public Utility), compiled by James C. Anderson, Melbourne, C.F. Maxwell, 1903-1906, v.1 (1901-1902)-v.2 (1903-1905)
  Call number: Law RB 349.94 AUST
• The Statutes of the Commonwealth of Australia (of Practical Utility), compiled by H.B. Bignold, Melbourne, C.F. Maxwell, 1912-, v.3 (1906-1911)-v.4 (1912-1913)
  Call number: Law RB 349.94 AUST
• The Acts and Ordinances of Victoria (Private): 15 Victoria 1851-2 to 19 Victoria 1855-6, Melbourne, Govt. Printing Office, 1852-1856
  Call number: Law RB 345.945 VICT
• Victoria: Constitutional Acts 1851, Melbourne, Govt. Printer, 1851
  Call number: Law RB f 342.94024 VICT
• Public Statutes of New South Wales, from 28 November 1879 to 27 March 1885: 43 Vic. no. 12 - 48 Vic. no. 28, Sydney, T. Richards, Govt. Printer, 1886
  Call number: Law RB NSW ACTS 1879-1885
• The Acts of the Lieutenant-Governor and Council of Van Diemen’s Land, Hobart Town, Govt. Printer
  Call number: Law RB TAS ACTS

• Commentary on legislation

  • Francis Quinlan, The Practice of the County Courts, being the County Court Statute, 1869, and the County Court Rules, 1881, Melbourne, Charles F. Maxwell, 1881
    Call number: Law RB 347.91 QUI
  • Frank Gavine Duffy and Alfred MacHugh, The Insolvency Act 1890 with Notes, Rules, and Index, Melbourne, Maxwell, 1893
    Call number: Law RB 347.73327 D858
  • W. E. Hearn, The General Code 1885: Being a Bill to Declare Consolidate and Amend the Substantive General Law, Melbourne, John Ferres, Govt. Printer, [1885
    Call number: Law RB f 345.945B

  Legal treatises

  Many items in the Law Rare Book Collection were part of the Law Faculty’s original teaching library. As a result, the collection includes a large number of nineteenth-century legal treatises and texts. These include:

  • P. D. Phillips, A Treatise on the Insolvency Law in Force in the Colony of Victoria: With an Historical Review of English Bankruptcy Legislation, Melbourne, J. C. Stephens, Printer, 1899
    Call number: Law RB 347.7 Phi
  • L. Voumard, The Law Relating to the Sale of Land in Victoria, Melbourne, Law Book Co. of Australasia, 1939
    Call number: Law RB 346.436 V972

  Periodicals

  Periodicals in the Law Rare Book Collection include:

  • The Legal Year-Book of Australasia
  • The Summons: A Magazine of Legal and General Literature (Law Clerks? Society, Melbourne)
    Vol. 1, no. 1 (Sept. 1891)]-v. 12, no. 3 (May 1903

  Judges, lawyers and legal personalities

  • Philip A.Jacobs, Judges of Yesterday, Melbourne, Robertson & Mullens, 1924
    Call number: Law RB 347.092 Jac
  • Edward E. Morris, A Memoir of George Higinbotham: An Australian Politician and Chief Justice of Victoria, London, Macmillan, 1895
    Call number: Law RB 994.503092 HIGI/MORR
  • Redmond Barry, An Address Delivered by His Honor Sir Redmond Barry, One of the Judges of the Supreme Court of Victoria, Before the University Forensic Society: and an address, also delivered by him, on the opening of the Circuit Court at Portland, Melbourne, University Forensic Society, [1860?]
    Call number: Law RB 347.04 Bar
  • The Law List: Comprising the Judges and Officers of the Supreme Court, Counsel, Attorneys, Conveyancers, Notaries, &c. in Victoria, with the Melbourne Agents to the Country Attorneys, Melbourne, Sands & McDougall, 1863-
    Call number: Law RB 347.058 L.L.A.
  • The Law List of Australasia: Comprising the Judges and Officers of the Different Courts of Justice, Counsel, Attorneys, Notaries, etc., and Rules of the Supreme Courts, in Victoria, New South Wales, South Australia, Queensland, New Zealand, Tasmania, Western Australia, Melbourne, C.F. Maxwell, <1878>-1892.
    Call number: Law RB 347.058 L.L.A.
  • Kevin Anderson, Fossil in the Sandstone: The Recollecting Judge, Melbourne, Spectrum, 1986
    Call number: Law RB 347.945014092 ANDE
  • Arthur Dean, The Late Honourable Sir Norman O’Bryan: Formerly Senior Puisne Judge of the Supreme Court of Victoria, [Melbourne?, s.n., 1968?
    Call number: Law RB 347.9403534 OBRY/ DEAN

  Courts

  • Report from the Select Committee upon the Supreme Court Buildings: together with the proceedings of the Committee and minutes of evidence, Melbourne, Government Printer, 1878
    Call number: Law RB 725.15099451 VICT
  • James M’Kean, The New Law and Practice of the County Courts, Comprising the County Court Statute, 1869, with the Rules of Practice, Forms of Procedure, Table of Fees of Court, and Scales of Costs Thereunder, Melbourne, Samuel Mullen, 1869
    Call number: Law RB 347.99 Mac
  • The Practice of the County Courts, Being the County Court Statute, 1869, and the County Court Rules, 1881, Melbourne, Charles F. Maxwell, 1881
    Call number: Law RB 347.91 QUI
  • Murray Yann, Court on Film, [East Ivanhoe, Vic.], White Gloves Press, 2004
    Call number: Law RB f 779.9449451 YANN

  Federation

  Federation-related items in the Law Rare Book Collection include:

  • Sir Richard Baker, A Manual of Reference to Authorities for the Use of the Members of the National Australasian Convention, which will assemble at Sydney on March 2, 1891, for the purpose of drafting a constitution for the Dominion of Australia, Adelaide [S. Aust.], W.K. Thomas & Co., 1891
    Call number: Law RB 342.9402 BAK
  • Official Record of the Proceedings and Debates of the Australasian Federation Conference, 1890, held in the Parliament House, Melbourne, Melbourne, Govt. Printer, 1890
    Call number: Law RB 342.94 A938

• The Melbourne Law School Rare Book and Legal History Lecture Series
• Michael Bryan, 'Early English Law Reporting' (2009) 4 University of Melbourne Collections 45
• Michael Bryan, 'The Modern History of Law Reporting' (2012) 11 University of Melbourne Collections 2012
• Ruth Bird, 'The Law Library' (1997) 3 The University of Melbourne Library Journal 25
• The law collection at the University of Melbourne Archives
• Heather McRae and Anne Mullins, Australian Constitutional Convention 1973-1985: A guide to the archives (Centre for Comparative Constitutional Studies, University of Melbourne, 1998).
• University of Melbourne. Legal Resource Centre, Treason, Tichborne and Tait: Trials from the Legal Resource Centre and the University of Melbourne Archives, curators, Susan Gillberg and Caitlin Stone Legal Resource Centre, University of Melbourne (2005).
• Legal History of Australia and the United Kingdom Research Guide
• Caitlin Stone, 'The Legal Resource Centre Rare Book Collection' (2004) 12 Australian Law Librarian 9

  Referencing & Citing

The Australian Guide to Legal Citation, 4th Edition is the referencing style for subjects in the Melbourne Law School. 

  Download the Australian Guide to Legal Citation, 4th Edition (view only) 

For assistance with referencing in AGLC and Zotero reference management software, please contact Law-librarians@unimelb.edu.au

Guide Author 

This Research Guide is created and maintained by the Law Library, Melbourne Law School.

Please contact us at Law-librarians@unimelb.edu.au with corrections, suggestions or comments about the Guide.