"WHAT A SUBJECT IS THIS… THIS ABSTRACTION CALLED THE LAW": SPEECHES, PRESENTATION COPY INSCRIBED BY HOLMES

HOLMES, Oliver Wendell. Speeches. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1913. Octavo, original tan printed boards. $2600.

Later expanded edition of Oliver Wendell Holmes' Speeches, presentation copy inscribed and signed by Holmes on the front free endpaper in the year of publication: "Mrs. Wharton, from her friend and servant, O.W. Holmes. March 30, 1913."

In this classic collection of speeches, delivered over the years 1884 to 1900, Holmes discusses the Law, the profession of the law, law schools, Harvard, science and learning, war, and other topics. Following his military service, Holmes practiced law in Boston, taught at Harvard, published in 1881 a classic study of The Common Law, and served as Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Court. Named by Theodore Roosevelt to the nation's Supreme Court in 1902 he served as one of the most influential Justices in the nation's history until his death at the age of 91 in 1932. "If the 19th century was one of Legal Darwinism, the 20th was, ultimately, to be that of Mr. Justice Holmes" (Schwartz, The Law in America, 191). Speeches was originally issued in 1891. The 1900 edition added five pieces not present in the first edition, including Holmes' famed "Soldier's Faith," reflecting on his Civil War experience; this expanded 1913 edition adds a further four speeches delivered after 1900.

Interior generally clean; boards with minor soiling and discoloration, spine darkened, extremities rubbed. A very good copy, desirable inscribed.