The University of Chicago Library > The Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center > Finding Aids > Guide to the Ernst W. Puttkammer Papers 1914-1953
© 2006 University of Chicago Library
| Title: | Puttkammer, Ernst W. Papers |
|---|---|
| Dates: | 1914-1953 |
| Size: | 3.5 linear feet (7 boxes) |
| Repository: |
Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center |
| Abstract: | Ernst Wilfred Puttkammer (1891-1978) Professor of Law. The collection includes Puttkammer's teaching aids, such as lecture notes and exams. The collection is divided into three series, they are: Series I : Lecture Notes, etc., University of Chicago Law School, pre-1916; Series II : Lecture Notes, etc., University of Chicago Law School, 1916; and Series III : Lecture Notes, etc., University of Chicago Law School, post-1916. |
The collection is open for research.
When quoting material from this collection, the preferred citation is: Puttkammer, Ernst W. Papers, [Box #, Folder #], Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library
Ernst Wilfred Puttkammer (1891-1978) was the only child of a second son of a Prussian noble family. He was born January 31, 1891, in Chicago. His parents Victorian summer cottage on Mackinac Island figured prominently in Puttkammer's life and the lives of his descendants.
He was well-traveled and educated by tutors and eventually attended Princeton. While there he became well-versed in Latin, Greek, French, German (in which he was fluent) and English, and was fond of music and history. He developed a major collection of American stamps and the world's most comprehensive collection of German Empire stamps, which he eventually gave to the Smithsonian Institution
After graduating from Princeton, Puttkammer attended the University of Chicago Law School where he earned his degree cum laude and was elected to the Order of the Coif. He then traveled to France as a private in the American Expeditionary Force, serving as a front-line observer of enemy gun positions and troop movements.
On returning to Chicago, Puttkammer practiced law for a year and then was asked by the University of Chicago Law School to take a temporary post teaching criminal law. He remained on the faculty for thirty-six years.
Puttkammer wrote The Administration of Criminal Law, which became a major text. To learn how the criminal law really worked, Puttkammer informally attended the Police Academy, then wrote an effective handbook advising police about their rights and the rights of their suspects.
Puttkammer married Helen Baum November 28, 1931. They had a daughter, Helen Lorna and a son, Charles Wilfred.
Puttkammer joined the Chicago Literary Club in 1923 and delivered nineteen papers, of which three were published; he delivered two Ladies' Night papers. He traveled widely and often. In late 1977 he and his family toured Germany and France, and then, early in 1978, he and his wife went on a long cruise, during which he died on a ship in the middle of the Indian Ocean.
The majority of the collection hold Puttkammer's teaching aids for his course, such as lecture notes and exams. The one exception is a copy of a pamphlet he published in 1953, The Notorious Colonel Blood. The collection is divided into three series, they are: Series I : Lecture Notes, etc., University of Chicago Law School, pre-1916; Series II : Lecture Notes, etc., University of Chicago Law School, 1916; and Series III : Lecture Notes, etc., University of Chicago Law School, post-1916.
The following related resources are located in the Department of Special Collections:
http://www.lib.uchicago.edu/e/spcl/select.html
Series I: Lecture Notes, etc., University of Chicago Law School, pre-1916 |
| Box 1 Folder 1 | The Notorious Colonel Blood, 1953 |
| Box 1 Folder 2 | Lecture notes, University of Chicago Law School, Public Service Corporations, 1915-1916 |
| Box 1 Folder 3 | Examination booklets, University of Chicago Law School, 1914-1916 |
Series II: Lecture Notes, etc., University of Chicago Law School, 1916 |
| Box 2 Folder 1 | Evidence |
| Box 2 Folder 2 | Bills and Notes |
| Box 2 Folder 3 | Common Law Pleading |
| Box 2 Folder 4 | Practice |
| Box 3 Folder 1 | Corporations |
| Box 3 Folder 2 | Sales |
| Box 3 Folder 3 | Partnership |
| Box 3 Folder 4 | Criminal Law |
| Box 3 Folder 5 | Trusts |
| Box 4 Folder 1 | Wills |
| Box 4 Folder 2 | Titles |
| Box 4 Folder 3 | Agency |
| Box 4 Folder 4 | Equity |
| Box 5 Folder 1 | Constitutional Law |
| Box 5 Folder 2 | Conflict of Law |
Series III Lecture Notes, etc., University of Chicago Law School, post-1916. |
| Box 5 Folder 3 | Bills and Notes |
| Box 5 Folder 4-5 | Criminal Law |
| Box 5 Folder 6 | Sales |
| Box 6 Folder 1 | Contracts |
| Box 6 Folder 2 | Wills |
| Box 6 Folder 3 | Carriers |
| Box 6 Folder 4 | Criminal Procedure |
| Box 6 Folder 5 | Torts |
| Box 6 Folder 6 | Property |
| Box 7 Folder 1-5 | Case notes, post-1916 |