The Harry E. Trapp Collection Dedication

October 2, 2002

Opening Remarks, Judith Gire, Library Director,

Franklin Pierce Law Center

I want to thank all of you for joining us this afternoon for the dedication of the Harry E. Trapp collection of 17 Old English Law Books. I am particularly pleased today to have with us Virginia Rice and Constance MacCrate, two of Judge Trapp's daughters and the donors of this collection to the Franklin Pierce Law Center Library. I am also pleased to welcome Mrs. Rice's husband, Dr. Willard Rice, and Mrs. MacCrate's husband, Robert MacCrate, known to us in legal academe for the MacCrate Report he was so instrumental in creating a decade ago. I also want to welcome the grandchildren of Judge Trapp, who are also here.

Nearly two years ago Robert MacCrate called me and offered to give us his father-in-law's collection of 17th and 18th century English law books. He explained that his father-in-law had been a judge in Laconia and the family thought his collection should return to New Hampshire. Mr. MacCrate sent me descriptions of the 17 volumes (those descriptions are part of the Trapp Catalog prepared by Barry Shanks and Paula Jewell). I quickly realized this collection was very special for two reasons. First, the books themselves represent core early English common law publications predating anything in our library's collection. These were the kinds of legal materials the colonial American lawyers working in New Hampshire would have used and relied upon. Second, the books were owned by a man who dedicated his professional life to serving the New Hampshire legal community for over 25 years. Both collection and its owner were indeed special to New Hampshire. So, we are here today to honor a New Hampshire man and his books.

Harry Edwin Trapp was born in Irwin, PA, in 1890. A few years later his family moved to Laconia, NH, where he graduated from Laconia High School in 1907 and subsequently worked his way through Dartmouth College (1912) and Harvard Law School (1916). The same year he married Florence Stetson McGloughlin and they had four children, Harry E. Jr., Virginia Stetson, Constance and Anna Joan. And that same year (1916) he was admitted to the New Hampshire Bar and started his practice of law in association with Congressman Fletcher Hale. In 1930 Governor Charles W. Tobey appointed him Justice of the Laconia Municipal Court, a position he served in for over 25 years. Simultaneously, Judge Trapp also served as Clerk of the Belknap County Superior Court following his appointment in 1932. Judge Trapp was active in community affairs including a term in the New Hampshire State Legislature and two terms as ciry councilman. Following the establishment of the New Hampshire Juvenile Court system in 1937, Judge Trapp dedicated himself to working with juvenile offenders and was saluted for his efforts in the Laconia Evening Citizen shortly before his death in 1956. A 1955 Manchester Union Leader headline referred to Judge Trapp as the "Dean of New Hampshire Municipal Judges."

During his years of public service, Judge Trapp collected 17 volumes of 17th and 18th century English law books. These books are on display on the table. The oldest volume, The Second Part of the Reports of Sir George Croke, was published in London in 1659 and includes reports of court cases from the reign of James I. The latest volume includes cases from the Court of Common Pleas from 1735-1758 and was published in London in 1799.

Sixteen of the 17 volumes are "nominative reports" or named reports. In England between 1537 and 1785, the law report as we know it today was developed and more than 100 different series of reports, varying in quality from the unreliable to the magnificent, were printed. Originally these nominative reports were made for the personal use of the reporter, usually a practitioner or judge, and were not intended for publication. They are called "nominatives" because they bear the name of the reporter who compiled them. Some early nominatives were translations from the original Latin or Law French and the three volumes of Sir George Croke's Reports in the Trapp Collection include the original Law French. Other reports, such as Plowden's, were as much commentaries as reports. The Trapp Collection includes a 1761 edition of Plowden's Reports which was the earliest nominative, originally published in 1571 and considered remarkable for its accuracy and high quality of reporting.

In addition to the nominative reports, the Trapp Collection boasts a 1791 edition of Edward Coke's Institutes of the Laws of England, or a commentary upon Littleton, published in Dublin. Known as Coke on Littleton, this was the first English legal treatise and in its day it came to be treated as though it were itself the law. No other English treatise ever achieved this status.

Needless to say, the Franklin Pierce Law Center Library is honored to have this collection of rare English law books. After receiving the collection, we asked Lyn Crocker, a rare book binder in Portsmouth to rebind ten of the volumes, a task she executed with painstaking care and authenticity, even ordering special paper available only in the U.K. The books are in remarkably fine condition for their age, particularly the paper of the printed pages. Some include marginal notes from prior owners. The Trapp Collection is permanently housed in the Frank and Loretta Kenison Room. And should any doubt the relevancy of such old books, shortly after the titles were added to our online catalog, we received an InterlibraryLoan request for a copy of a case in one of the volumes from our colleagues at Washington University Law School Library in St. Louis this summer.

So, on behalf of the Franklin Pierce Law Center Library, thank you to Judge Trapp's family for bringing his wonderful collection back to New Hampshire and for choosing us to care for it. It is now my pleasure to introduce Robert MacCrate who would like to say a few words.

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©2002 Franklin Pierce Law Center Library