Browse Exhibits (20 total)

This exhibit is comprised of 30 photographs drawn from the University of Toronto Archives, the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library, the Hospital for Sick Children Archives and the grandson of John Gerald FitzGerald.  

Since the fall of 2014 they have hung in the Gerstein Reading Room at 9 King's College Circle on the St. George campus of the University of Toronto.  The photographs represent the varied and significant contributions of faculty members of the University of Toronto in the fields of science and medicine.  It is hoped that these photographs both honour those represented and inspire those who see them.

Pierson v. Post has been made famous by its use in American property law classrooms since the 1950s. It is often the first case law students study in property as it provides an introduction to the concept of first possession and how one acquires possession in a wild animal, the fox, owned by no one. 

The case report reproduced in law school casebooks was created by New York’s first official law reporter George Caines after the case was argued by eminent counsel and reversed in Pierson’s favor at the New York Supreme Court. What law students generally read is a brief statement of the facts, followed the majority decision by Justice Daniel Tompkins and a dissent by Justice Brockholst Livingston. 

The Judgment Roll is a copy — probably made by the clerk of Pierson’s lawyer Nathan Sanford — of the documents Sanford filed in his writ of certiorari to the New York Supreme Court. This was a process in which the loser before a Justice of the Peace could appeal the decision by asking for the New York Supreme Court to command that the Justice of the Peace explain what had been done before him in the magistrate’s court, in this case a jury trial held at Post’s request on December 30, 1802, for their review. It was the job of the New York Supreme Court to check, yes, all the ‘i’s were dotted and ‘t’s were crossed in the magistrate’s proceedings and if they were not, Pierson (the “now plaintiff” before the New York Supreme Court) was justified in winning a reversal of the jury’s 75¢ award for Post and his $5 in costs. The Judgment Roll also includes the command to Justice of the Peace John N. Fordham to return the documentation, Sanford’s six specific grounds of appeal, as well as the words the New York Supreme Court used in order to hold the case over from year to year until it was ultimately decided in Pierson’s favor on September 10, 1805. Sanford then filed this copy of all of the documents (those provided by Fordham, his own, and the New York Supreme Court) as the “Record” in the case on the same day.

This judgment roll was found by University of Toronto law professor and legal historian Angela Fernandez at the Division of Old Records, New York County Clerk’s Office in New York City in May 2007.

Each page of the judgment roll is reproduced with an accompanying transcript prepared by Professor Fernandez.

It has subsequently disappeared but a dataset was created to preserve the images and make them publicly available. You can find it here. A transcript of the Judgment Roll is also available as an appendix in Angela Fernandez, Pierson v. Post, the Hunt for the Fox: Law and Professionalization in American Legal Culture (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2017).

Running Fox by Paul de Vos, courtesy of Museo Nacional del Prado.

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Introduction

This exhibition, “The University of Toronto: Snapshots of its history”, was mounted in the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library in 2002 as a part of the University’s 175^th anniversary celebrations. It complemented the launch in March, 2002, of Martin Friedland’s The University of Toronto: a history, the first such history to appear in seventy-five years. The exhibition provided a look at certain broad themes at the University over the course of its history, especially some involving students that were not discussed by Professor Friedland. These themes were represented in the eight display cases on the 2nd floor of Fisher, with overflow material displayed in the Maclean Hunter Room. The material used was drawn largely from the holdings of the University Archives, along with some items from the Fisher Library and Trinity College Archives.

Forward

This exhibition and its accompanying catalogue are part of the year-long celebrations of the one hundred and seventy-fifth anniversary of the University of Toronto. Professor Martin L. Friedland's acclaimed The University of Toronto: A History was launched in March and it seems most appropriate, as 2002 draws to a close, that an exhibition curated by Harold Averill, who was intimately involved in the history project, should round out the year. Harold has provided evocative "snapshots" of the whole history of the University of Toronto: its buildings, its faculty, staff and students, and the vital role it has played in the evolution of society in Toronto and the rest of the country. We catch glimpses of the political conflict, scientific progress, sports, and the arts and all the other aspects of varsity life that have contributed to our vibrant culture. We wish to acknowledge another instance of generosity of our old friend, Wentworth Walker, and the continued support of the Friends of the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library. Velut Arbor Aevo.

Richard Landon, Director

Preface

It is a great pleasure to write a preface to this volume by Harold Averill. Harold's store of knowledge about the history of the University of Toronto is unique, as the display and this text amply demonstrate. He knows the sources and, moreover, can find them. In writing the history of the University over a five year period, my research assistants and I learned first hand about Harold's expertise. In the prologue to The University of Toronto: A History I state: "I am particularly indebted to archivist Harold Averill, the great font of historical knowledge about the University, who helped me and my research assistants find material and photographs." Anyone who has worked in the U of T Archives would say the same. Now other persons who view the exhibit or read this volume can see for themselves why I called him the 'great font of historical knowledge about the University.' He has captured succinctly in his text 175 years of history and has found pictures, documents and artefacts - most of which have not been shown before - to illuminate that history.

Martin Friedland