Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Incredible Collection Of Books Is Searching For New Owners
By Alexa Heah, 05 Jan 2022
Ardent fans of Ruth Bader Ginsburg or first-edition texts will be able to snag some of the late Supreme Court Justice’s most precious books as it goes under the hammer this month.
Auction house Bonhams has announced it will be selling off more than 1,000 books from the collection of the famed judge and her husband, Martin Ginsburg, which was amassed over the course of six decades.
The couple’s daughter, Jane Ginsburg, told Bloomberg that her parents had books “all over the house.” She said: “In the living room, most of the walls were covered in bookshelves—but also in each bedroom. They occasionally had to keep adding bookshelves.”
According to Robb Report, the online sale will feature incredibly personal pieces from Ginsburg’s life, such as annotated law tomes from her time as a student at Harvard and Columbia Law School. This includes a copy of Harvard Law Review, along with books related to monumental cases the judge adjudicated.
“A person’s library can give us a sense of who the individual is and how she came to be. Justice Ginsburg’s library is no different, as it records her evolution from a student (and voracious reader) to lawyer and law professor, to judge and finally, Justice of the United States Supreme Court,” said Catherine Williamson, director of Bonhams’ Fine Books and Manuscripts Department.
In addition, there will be several first editions and famed feminist titles on sale, such as JD Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye and Kate Millet’s Sexual Politics. Others include signed copies by Ginsburg’s circle of associates, such as a signed copy of Al Gore’s The Assault on Reason and Sonia Sotomayor’s My Beloved World.
“The books Justice Ginsburg chose to keep on her own bookshelf showcase the rich inner and intellectual life of one of the most influential women in recent American history,” added Williamson.
In total, the auction house estimates the sale will fetch at least US$60,000.
“I expect this sale to do many times that amount,” remarked Williamson.
[via Robb Report and Bloomberg, images via Bonhams]