Anthony Taussig stopped practicing law because he said it was nothing like the lawyer dramas he saw on television. However, his former job led him to collecting law books, and he now has the largest private collection of rare English law texts in the world.
Taussig, who recently retired as a barrister in England, started collecting old law books and manuscripts when his job required him to check the relevance of legal clauses that went back centuries. His expertise with rare books brought him to the University School of Law Thursday to speak in the Tarlton Law Library.
"Eventually, it became like a habit, if that's the right word," said Taussig, who keeps his collection in his home. "They take up a lot of space. My wife is not very happy about it."
Taussig received an education in languages, history and philosophy from Oxford University and was called to the bar in 1966. Unlike law school in America, his entire legal education lasted 18 months.
"In school, I had an interest in fencing that eventually attracted the attention of England's Olympic fencing coach, but I stopped when I got married," Taussig said.
Originally, Taussig worked for the English Revenue Service, but soon became bored with his work, except for issues of legal problems.
Taussig visited the campus to give a lecture on rare law books at the Tarlton Law Library. The library houses a collection of nearly 2,000 rare law books that pre-date 1900, said Brian Quigley, associate director of administration for the library.
"The further you go back, the bigger the connection between the law and the books of the law," said Jonathan Pratter, an international law librarian.
Taussig went on to explain how habeas corpus was still relevant in American law, especially in terms of detainees at Guantanamo Bay.
Though these rare law books remain useful to the study of law and its history, many students appreciate their woodblock printing and fine script.
"A lot of them are really beautiful," Quigley said. "They're works of art."
Taussig said he plans to keep up his collection and study of rare law books to share with the academic community.
"Studying these books, it strikes ideas in my mind," he said.
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