Law Inscribed

A Justice of the Peace and His Manual

Owned by justice of the peace Christopher Griffith, this manual offered guidance to working justices, and showcases the work of a justice of the peace committed to his job with the utmost diligence.

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Curator

Stacey LeClair

Stacey LeClair is a first year PhD student in history at the University of Virginia. Born and raised in Calgary, Alberta, Stacey received a Bachelor’s degree in history (2016) and a Master’s degree in English legal history (2020) from the University of Calgary, and specializes in law and legal reform in early modern England. Her current research centers on law and state formation in the Atlantic world, with a particular focus on Indigenous legal traditions in North America and the Caribbean (1600-1800).

Exhibition

Law Inscribed

Legal texts carry the marks of their past, from the inscriptions of a reader to the stitched bindings and chain-lined paper of a printer. These marks of ownership and construction reveal what law was, how it was read, and how it worked. Curated by students from across UVA, this exhibit brings together inscribed legal texts from the sixteenth to the nineteenth century, selected from the Law Library’s Special Collections and the Albert & Shirley Small Special Collections Library. We invite you to explore the work of Law Inscribed, here and online.

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