You can learn a lot about someone from their personal library. And with that in mind, it’s not hard to see why the libraries of some prominent thinkers have attracted attention over the years. Understanding the books that informed the thinking of a well-known writer, politician or judge can also help us better understand the philosophy and ethos that informed their subsequent work.
The latest big name to have their book collection up for sale at auction is the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. As Smithsonian Magazine reports, her collection is currently on sale via Bonhams. The auction, taking place online, is scheduled to conclude on January 27.
When looking over the lots currently available, a few things come to mind. One, which isn’t terribly surprising, is that Ginsburg was an avid reader. Several of the items up for auction are thematically released groups of books, focusing on everything from etiquette to civil rights to her onetime colleague Antonin Scalia.
Several books signed by their authors to Justice Ginsburg are also available, ranging from Our Bodies, Ourselves to Sidney Poitier’s memoir. And legal scholars and aficionados of Supreme Court history might find some notable items in there as well, including an offprint presented by Sandra Day O’Connor to Ginsburg and Ginsburg’s annotated copy of the Harvard Law Review from 1957-58. All told, it’s an expansive look into a prominent and influential legal mind.
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