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Ornate red and ivory wall decoration, with plaque and symbols

Collection Highlights: Chancellor James Kent

Posted by: Nathan Dorn

Last September, I published a post on this blog about Joseph Story and the creation of Story’s Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States, one of the most important legal publications of Antebellum America. This year, I thought I would continue along the same vein and highlight the Law Library’s holdings of items related …

Ornate red and ivory wall decoration, with plaque and symbols

Smuggling French Hats into 17th Century Spain: Worth a Fight?

Posted by: Stephen Mayeaux

The following is a guest post by Samantha Mendoza, who served as a summer 2021 remote intern transcribing and researching documents in the Herencia: Centuries of Spanish Legal Documents crowdsourcing campaign at the Law Library of Congress. In present day, it is not uncommon to hear news of attempts to smuggle items across national borders. This can …

Ornate red and ivory wall decoration, with plaque and symbols

From the Serial Set: Birds and the Law

Posted by: Bailey DeSimone

“The general barrenness of the country lying along our route proved a considerable obstacle to the pursuit of my favorite branch, Ornithology; though among the few species obtained some are new, and most of them rare, and concerning whose habits little was previously known.” ) – Lieutenant John G. Parke (H. Exec. Doc. 91 pt. …

Ornate red and ivory wall decoration, with plaque and symbols

Limpieza de Sangre: Legal Applications of the Spanish Doctrine of “Blood Purity”

Posted by: Stephen Mayeaux

The following is a guest post by Meghan Berry, who served as a summer 2021 remote intern transcribing and researching documents in the Herencia: Centuries of Spanish Legal Documents crowdsourcing campaign at the Law Library of Congress. One of the thrills of working on the Herencia document collection is the possibility of stumbling across an especially dramatic …

Ornate red and ivory wall decoration, with plaque and symbols

The Royal Order of October 1749 and the Historic Consequences of the Great Roma Round-up

Posted by: Stephen Mayeaux

The following is a guest post by Jacklyn van der Colff, who served as a summer 2021 remote intern transcribing and researching documents in the Herencia: Centuries of Spanish Legal Documents crowdsourcing campaign at the Law Library of Congress. Note: this post uses a racial pejorative as it originally appears in the collection item record as well …

Ornate red and ivory wall decoration, with plaque and symbols

Who’s to Blame for Lost Silver and Gold? Laments of Financial Troubles in Spain 1588

Posted by: Stephen Mayeaux

The following is a guest post by Ashley Gonzalez, who served as a summer 2021 remote intern transcribing and researching documents in the Herencia: Centuries of Spanish Legal Documents crowdsourcing campaign at the Law Library of Congress. Herencia! What curious snapshots of history lie within your depths? As a summer 2021 intern, I had the exciting opportunity …

Ornate red and ivory wall decoration, with plaque and symbols

Criminals and Coins: Understanding 17th Century Spanish Economy through Counterfeit Currency

Posted by: Stephen Mayeaux

The following is a guest post by Nina Perdomo, who served as a summer 2021 remote intern transcribing and researching documents in the Herencia: Centuries of Spanish Legal Documents crowdsourcing campaign at the Law Library of Congress. During my time working with the Herencia collection, I have come across a variety of interesting documents. One that has …