ON
THE OLD SUPREME COURT COURTROOM:
“THAT COURT-ROOM...WAS A BEAUTIFUL ONE AND HAD A NOBLE HISTORY”
LOUIS
D. BRANDEIS. Autograph Letter Signed, Washington, DC,
4 November 1936. 1½ pages, 8" x 5", on the first and
third pages of a four-page “Supreme Court of the United States”
lettersheet.
A leading
Massachusetts attorney and reformer at the turn of the twentieth century,
Louis Brandeis was appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1916 by Woodrow
Wilson. The first Jewish member of the high court, he served with distinction
until his retirement in 1939, becoming especially well-known for his
defense of free speech.
In 1878,
at the very start of his legal career, Brandeis had briefly practiced
in St. Louis, and he writes here to a young descendant of the Missouri
attorney for whom he had worked. “Fifty-eight years ago, I
began the practice of law in the office of your great-grandfather,”
Brandeis notes, “and I knew both your grandfather and your
grandmother before they married, and liked them much. Give your father
my warm greetings,” he continues, “and ask him
to show you the picture of our court-room on page 474 in volume three
of Charles Warner’s ‘The Supreme Court in United States
History.’ That court-room, which we occupied until recently, was
a beautiful one and had a noble history.” He has marked the
letter, “Personal,” at the head, and has signed
it, “Louis D. Brandeis.”
The U.S.
Supreme Court had no building of its own until 1935. Up until then,
the Court usually met in space lent to it by Congress within the U.S.
Capitol Building. From 1860 until 1935, the Court sat in one particular
room now called the “Old Senate Chamber,” and it is this
courtroom which Brandeis talks about here.
The letter
is written on the first and third pages of a four-page lettersheet,
which could be separated for display. It has marginal fold breaks, but
it is otherwise in very good condition. Accompanying the letter is the
original Supreme Court envelope, addressed by Brandeis.
A fine
recollection of Brandeis's early years in the law and of his years on
the Supreme Court. $1250.00
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