The Wolf Law Library

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The Wolf Law Library 🐺⚖️📚 at the William & Mary Law School, in Williamsburg, Virginia. Serving our students, faculty, and community with access to the law and law-related resources in print, and online:

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The Wolf Law Library@wolflawlibrary· 6d

On August 3, 1769, George Wythe ordered a copy of "Debates Relative to the Affairs of Ireland in the Years 1763 and 1764" from John Norton in London. The set chronicles Irish resentment to British rule, mirroring the American colonial experience. wythepedia.wm.edu/index.php?ti... #WytheWednesday

Title page from volume one of Sir James Caldwell's "Debates Relative to the Affairs of Ireland in the Years 1763 and 1764 Taken by a Military Officer to Which are Added, an Inquiry How Far the Restrictions Laid Upon the Trade of Ireland, by British Acts of Parliament, are a Benefit or Disadvantage to British Dominions in General, and to England in Particular, for Whose Separate Advantage They Were Intended, with Extracts of Such Parts of the Statutes as Lay the Trade of Ireland under Those Restrictions." London, 1766.

The Wolf Law Library@wolflawlibrary· 27d

Jefferson also asked to borrow a silhouette of Wythe that had been given to Wythe's housekeeper and former slave, Lydia Broadnax. He sent the image to Charles Wilson Peale to have the artist copy it. Peale's version is not known to still exist. wythepedia.wm.edu/index.php?ti...

William Bache silhouette, cut coated paper mounted on paper, c. 1803-04. "Ledger Book of William Bache," National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution.

The Wolf Law Library@wolflawlibrary· 27d

On July 17, 1806, Thomas Jefferson wrote to George Wythe's executor, William DuVal, offering to purchase various items from Wythe's estate, including a watch and seal. wythepedia.wm.edu/index.php?ti... #WytheWednesday

Letter from Thomas Jefferson to William DuVal, dated July 17, 1806. Image from the Library of Congress, The Thomas Jefferson Papers.

The Wolf Law Library@wolflawlibrary· Jul 8

Wythe represented Virginia in the Second Continental Congress and later in the Constitutional Convention. He also served the Commonwealth as the second Speaker of the House of Delegates. wythepedia.wm.edu/index.php?ti... (Thanks to our intern, Charlie, for writing the Wythe the Politician page!)

Marble bust of George Wythe, by Bryant Baker (1962). Original in the Virginia State Capitol,, Library of Virginia art collection, Richmond, Virginia.

The Wolf Law Library@wolflawlibrary· Jul 8

A lawyer, teacher and judge, George Wythe also spent over 30 years as a politician. He served in various offices in colonial Virginia including Clerk of the House of Burgesses, Interim Attorney General, and Mayor of Williamsburg. #WytheWednesday

First day cover postcard for June 20, 1985, with cachet of George Wythe. "Signer of the Declaration of Independence. Served as clerk of the House of Burgesses, professor of law and Attorney General in Virginia."

The Wolf Law Library@wolflawlibrary· Jul 1

There's even a question about whether Wythe actually signed the Declaration when he returned to Philadelphia later that summer. We do know Jefferson sent Wythe a draft which is believed to be the draft now at the New York Public Library. wythepedia.wm.edu/index.php?ti...

First page of the New York Public Library's draft of the Declaration of Independence, in the handwriting of Thomas Jefferson. The copy is thought to be the draft Jefferson sent to George Wythe. Image courtesy of the New York Public Library.

The Wolf Law Library@wolflawlibrary· Jul 1

Early July 1776 - where is George Wythe? Not in Philadelphia working on the Declaration of Independence, he's back in Williamsburg contributing to the debates regarding Virginia's new constitution and government. wythepedia.wm.edu/index.php?ti... #WytheWednesday #USA250

'Declaration of Independence' by John Trumbull (1818), depicting the five-man drafting committee of the Declaration of Independence presenting their work to the Congress.

The Wolf Law Library@wolflawlibrary· Jun 24

#OTD in 1806, The Richmond Enquirer published a small notice stating that the General Court of Virginia had elected to wear black arm bands for three months, in memory of George Wythe, who died on June 8th. wythepedia.wm.edu/index.php?ti... #WytheWednesday

Detail from page three of the Richmond Enquirer for June 24, 1806.

The Wolf Law Library@wolflawlibrary· Jun 17

In honor of #USA250, there's a new exhibit in The George Wythe Room featuring "revolutionary" books and historical revolutions. wythepedia.wm.edu/index.php?ti... #WytheWednesday

Title page from Benjamin Franklin's 'The Interest of Great Britain Considered: with Regard to Her Colonies, and the Acquisitions of Canada and Guadaloupe, to Which are added, Observations Concerning the Increase of Mankind, Peopling of countries, Etc.' London: Printed for T. Becket, 1761.

Title page from Thomas Paine's 'Rights of Man: Being an Answer to Mr. Burke's Attack on the French Revolution'. 8th ed. London: Printed for J.S. Jordan, 1791.

First page of "Titus Andronicus" from volume three of William Shakespeare's 'The Works of Shakespeare: In Eight Volumes, Collated With The Oldest Copies, And Corrected'. 2nd ed. London: Printed for H. Lintott, C. Hitch, J. and R. Tonson, C. Corbet, R. and B. Wellington, J. Brindley, and E. New, 1740.

Title page of the ''Book of Common Prayer" in 'The Holy Bible, Containing the Old and New Testaments: Newly Translated Out of the Original Tongues: and with the Former Translations Diligently Compared and Revised, by His Majesty's Special Command. Appointed to be Read in Churches'. Oxford: Printed by Thomas Baskett, printer to the University, 1754.

The Wolf Law Library@wolflawlibrary· Jun 10

Happy 300th birthday, George Wythe! "The birthdate of the Chancellor, if he was 80 at the time of his death, would have had to fall between 21 April and 8 June, 1726.' — 'George Wythe: Lawyer, Revolutionary, Judge' (1985): catalog.libraries.wm.edu/permalink/01... #WytheWednesday ##USA250 #Wythe300

The Wolf Law Library@wolflawlibrary· Jun 3

May 29, 1776: Congress resolves "That an animated address be published to impress the minds of the people with the necessity of their now stepping forward to save their country, their freedom and property." In the handwriting of George Wythe: wythepedia.wm.edu/index.php?ti... #WytheWednesday #USA250

Draft for an address to the inhabitants of the Colonies "drawn by George Wythe". Image from the Library of Congress, The 'Thomas Jefferson Papers,' incorrectly dated July 6, 1775.

The Wolf Law Library@wolflawlibrary· Jun 2

Somebody tell J.T. we finally added the latest champions' names to the Wolf Law Library Open golf trophy. For library golf. Golf, in the library: www.flickr.com/photos/wolfl...

The Wolf Law Library@wolflawlibrary· May 28

This is the reverse of the title page, mirrored, if that helps! (It doesn't.)

Reverse of title page in vol. 2 of Washington's 'Cases Argued and Determined in the Court of Appeals of Virginia' (Richmond, VA: Thomas Nicolson, 1799).

The Wolf Law Library@wolflawlibrary· May 28

Paleographers, amateur and professional! Care to take a look? Two mystery signatures in one of our vol. 2s of Bushrod Washington's Virginia Reports (2 Va.). Same surname, different people? Woodall? Goodson? A Jr., perhaps? Probably 18th- and 19th-century attorneys, maybe from Richmond, Virginia?

Title page of vol. 2 of Washington's 'Cases Argued and Determined in the Court of Appeals of Virginia' (Richmond, VA: Thomas Nicolson, 1799).

"To the Public," vol. 2 of Washington's 'Cases Argued and Determined in the Court of Appeals of Virginia' (Richmond, VA: Thomas Nicolson, 1799).

Previous owner signature in vol. 2 of Washington's 'Cases Argued and Determined in the Court of Appeals of Virginia' (Richmond, VA: Thomas Nicolson, 1799).

The Wolf Law Library@wolflawlibrary· May 27

A draft of this appeal survives, in Wythe's handwriting: "Were you compelled by your sovereigns to undertake the bloody work of butchering your unoffending fellow-creatures? Disdain the inhuman office, disgraceful to the soldier." wythepedia.wm.edu/index.php?ti...

Page one of George Wythe's draft for an address to the foreign mercenaries, May, 1776. Image from the Library of Congress, 'The Thomas Jefferson Papers' (variously and incorrectly dated June, 1775, and August 27, 1776). http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/mtj.mtjbib000191

Page two of George Wythe's draft for an address to the foreign mercenaries, May, 1776. Image from the Library of Congress, 'The Thomas Jefferson Papers' (variously and incorrectly dated June, 1775, and August 27, 1776). http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/mtj.mtjbib000191

The Wolf Law Library@wolflawlibrary· May 27

On May 21, 1776, Congress appointed a committee to "prepare an address to the foreign mercenaries who are coming to invade America." In the Declaration of Independence, such mercenaries are accused of completing "Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages."

The Wolf Law Library@wolflawlibrary· May 22

Currently on display in the law library's Nicholas J. St. George Rare Book Room: "Virginia Revolutionaries: Semiquincentennial Selections from the Wolf Law Library's Collections," April through September, 2026. www.flickr.com/photos/wolfl...

Poster for "Virginia Revolutionaries: Semiquincentennial Selections from the Wolf Law Library's Collections," with George Wythe's copy of a Thomas Jefferson draft of the Declaration of Independence.

Declaration of Independence signatures of the Virginia Delegates to the Continental Congress: George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee, and Carter Braxton.

The Wolf Law Library@wolflawlibrary· May 21

The Wolf Law Library will be closed Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, May 23rd, 24th, and 25th, in observance of the Memorial Day holiday. Please see our home page for our summer schedule and holiday hours: law.wm.edu/library/

Colonial-era padlock on a white painted fence.

The Wolf Law Library@wolflawlibrary· May 20

This week in 1776: George Wythe writes to the Fifth Virginia Convention in Williamsburg, enclosing a copy of Congress' resolution that the Colonies "adopt such government as shall... best conduce to the happiness and safety of... America in general": wythepedia.wm.edu/index.php?ti...

Incorrectly dated May 18, 1776 draft of a letter from the delegates for Virginia in Congress to the Virginia Convention, in George Wythe's hand. Image from the Library of Congress, 'The Thomas Jefferson Papers.' With Thomas Jefferson's notes on coin production.

Worthington C. Ford, ed., 'Journals of the Continental Congress, 1774-1789' vol. 4, January 1 - June 4, 1776 (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1906), 362. https://www.google.com/books/edition/Journals_of_the_Continental_Congress_177/cFjUAAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA362&printsec=frontcover

Broadside, "In Congress, May 15, 1776" (Philadelphia: John Dunlap, 1776). https://therevolutionarycity.org/islandora/congress-may-15-1776

The Wolf Law Library@wolflawlibrary· May 13

The poems were first published in an article by a Wythe scholar, Ed Hemphill, in 1952: "George Wythe Courts the Muses: In Which, to the Astonishment of Everyone, That Silent, Selfless Pedant Is Found to Have Had a Sense of Humor": wythepedia.wm.edu/index.php?ti...

W. Edwin Hemphill, "George Wythe Courts the Muses: In Which, to the Astonishment of Everyone, That Silent, Selfless Pedant Is Found to Have Had a Sense of Humor," William and Mary Quarterly 3rd ser., 9, no. 3 (July 1952), 338-345.

The Wolf Law Library@wolflawlibrary· May 13

On May 14, 1776, Mr. Ellery came to Congress! William Ellery of Rhode Island (1727–1820) was the same age as George Wythe, and the two men exchanged droll and topical poems back and forth on scraps of paper, during the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia: wythepedia.wm.edu/index.php?ti...

George Wythe (VA) and William Ellery (RI) exchanged verses on pieces of scrap paper during Congress, as evidenced by this page, originally addressed to "The Hon. William Ellery, Delegate for the State of Rhode Island, in Continental Congress, Philadelphia."

"Instead of Controlling Our Mary's Cross Humor," by William Ellery. Manuscript endorses as "Poem Ans — WE / 2d", page five of Poems on Witty Subjects in Congress, from the Boston Public Library's American Revolutionary War Manuscripts Collection.

The Wolf Law Library@wolflawlibrary· May 8

The law library will be on a shortened schedule for William & Mary's summer break, through Monday, August 17th, 2026. A few holidays notwithstanding, we're here all summer! Sundays: 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM Monday - Friday: 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM Saturdays: 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM

Wolf Law Library Summer Hours, 2026:

Sundays: 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM
Monday - Friday: 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Saturdays: 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM

The Wolf Law Library@wolflawlibrary· May 6

De nada!

Samuel S. Cohen, ed. 'Banning Books in America: Not a How-To' (New York: Bloomsbury Academic, 2026). https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/banning-books-in-america-9798765138090/

The Wolf Law Library@wolflawlibrary· May 6

May 3, 1776: In Congress, George Wythe (VA), Thomas McKean (DE), and John Adams (MA) are referred a petition from an American sea captain, seeking compensation after personal belongings were looted from his captured sloop by a British prize master: wythepedia.wm.edu/index.php?ti...

Petition of Peter Simon and Israel Ambrose, page one. Image from the 'Journals of the Continental Congress, 1774-1789.'

Enclosure by Israel Ambrose, February 14, 1776. Image from the 'Journals of the Continental Congress, 1774-1789.'

The Wolf Law Library@wolflawlibrary· Apr 30

Displayed in the law library's Rare Book Room, the W&M Law School mace is a 19th-century copy of the mace in the British House of Commons in the Palace of Westminster, London, originally created in 1649 and altered in 1660 to reflect the Restoration of the monarchy: www.facebook.com/ukparliament...

The Marshall-Wythe Mace (ca. 1850-1855?) is carried each year at graduation by the presidents of the Student Bar Association (SBA). This replica was presented to the Commonwealth of Virginia by Great Britain in 1965, as part of the 750th anniversary of the Magna Carta. It was subsequently transferred to the Marshall-Wythe School of Law in the late 1960s, from the anniversary exhibit at Jamestown Festival Park. The Law School's mace is a 19th-century copy of the Mace in the British House of Commons, originally created in 1649 and altered in 1660 to reflect the Restoration of the monarchy.

The Wolf Law Library@wolflawlibrary· Apr 30

Attention 3Ls! The library is holding three photo ops for you to pose with the William & Mary Law School mace, before Commencement: May 13-15. Gird yourself in regalia, and come on by the Rare Book Room!

William & Mary Law School Mace
Photo Opportunities:

Wednesday, May 13: 10:00 am to 12:00 pm
Thursday, May 14: 10:00 am to 12:00 pm
Friday, May 15: 10:00 am to 12:30 pm
Nicholas St. George Rare Book Room, The Wolf Law Library

The Wolf Law Library@wolflawlibrary· Apr 29

April 30, 1776: George Wythe is elected by the Continental Congress to a standing committee for Indian Affairs. Wythe would pen this address to a delegation from the Iroquois Confederacy, who met with Congress in Philadelphia in June, 1776: wythepedia.wm.edu/index.php?ti... #WytheWednesday #USA250

"Address to the Indians," in the handwriting of George Wythe, dated June 6, 1776. In the 'Papers of the Continental Congress,' No. 30, folio 351.

The Wolf Law Library@wolflawlibrary· Apr 22

The Wolf Law Library at the William & Mary Law School is a library of wolves, raised by wolves, for the wolves!

Law library study aids, flanked by a toy wolf.

The Wolf Law Library@wolflawlibrary· Apr 22

This week in 1776, the Second Continental Congress appoints George Wythe to a committee of seven, to ascertain the value of various coins circulating in the Colonies. The committee's final report is largely in Wythe's distinctive handwriting: wythepedia.wm.edu/index.php/Re... #WytheWednesday #USA250

Page one of a report from the committee to ascertain the value of the several species of gold and silver in the Colonies, May 22, 1776. Image from 'The Papers of the Continental Congress.'

Page two of a report from the committee to ascertain the value of the several species of gold and silver in the Colonies, May 22, 1776. Image from 'The Papers of the Continental Congress.'

The Wolf Law Library@wolflawlibrary· Apr 15

and 2), along with Carter Braxton and John Jay, Wythe is ordered to investigate how residents "who assist any of the enemies of these United Colonies in the captures of vessels or goods, may be made liable to make good the damages to the sufferers": www.google.com/books/editio...