Information Services

Session Papers

Social history through the eyes of the law.

This collection of proceedings in the Scottish Court of Session contains an estimated 25,000 individual printed items in 600 volumes, all giving a fascinating insight into social conditions and domestic life in the 18th and 19th centuries. The importance of the law courts in Edinburgh is reflected in the collections around the city - the National Library of Scotland having begun life as the Advocates’ Library to take just one example. The Law Library in Old College continues to maintain rich collections of early and historical law, particularly in the Gordon Duncan room.

The Session Papers are not catalogued, but are arranged chronologically from 1744 to 1860, and may be consulted in the Centre for Research Collections. The series has shelfmark E.B. .346(41)4 Cou.