From Jordan Patterson

Blog posts from former cataloguing assistant Jordan Patterson

Election Special 2015 – X Marks the Spot, or, Ballot Dos and Don’ts

Our federal election is swiftly approaching, and all signs point to a close race. We sometimes become disillusioned about the worth of each individual vote, but a tight three-way contest will demonstrate the importance of every ballot. I don’t say ballot to metonymically refer only to each individual’s participation in the election process, but literally each […]

In the News: An Octocentenary of Note: Magna Carta Turns 800

“JOHN, by the grace of God King of England, Lord of Ireland, Duke of Normandy and Aquitaine, and Count of Anjou, to his archbishops, bishops, abbots, earls, barons, justices, foresters, sheriffs, stewards, servants, and to all his officials and loyal subjects, Greeting.” In 2015, such an aureate introduction won’t even fit in a tweet. But in 1215, […]

A Bounty of Bookplates

The Osgoode Library has purchased a modest collection of twenty-eight bookplates of various Canadian legal personages. These bookplates are of interest for biographical, bibliographical and professional reasons, and are also sure to be of interest to Game of Thrones fans for their assortment of family sigils and words, or in heraldic parlance, charges and mottoes. […]

The Lawes Resolution of Women’s Rights, or The Woman’s Lawyer (1632)

The Balfour Halevy Special Collections has acquired an exciting new item, The Lawes Resolution of Women’s Rights, also known as The Woman’s Lawyer. Why is this exciting? The Woman’s Lawyer is the earliest work in English devoted to laws relating exclusively to women. Some particular topics include the age of consent, dower, hermaphrodites, polygamy, wooing, […]

Alexander Buchanan (1798-1852) and His Books: Part 2: Early Canadian Legal Education

In my previous post, I talked about Alexander Buchanan, his place in Canadian history, and his library. In this post, I'd like to talk about one specific book from Buchanan's collection, it's special place in Osgoode's Balfour Halévy Special Collections library. Also, I'd like to discuss a singular and exceptional document from Buchanan's hand and […]