Docket Book and Case Notes, San Francisco, 1920-1931

Case Notes from a Twentieth-Century San Francisco Attorney [Manuscript]. Coleman, Byron [1893-1988]. [Docket Book]. San Francisco, 1920-1931. Content, with some intermittent blank pages, to first 158 pp. of 300-pp. numbered blank book. Index to first 11 pp. Large quarto (12" x 9-3/4"; 30.5 x 24.8 cm). Contemporary imitation calf over textured cloth, gilt fillets to spine, cloth hinges, bookseller's ticket and ink owner stamp (of Byron Coleman) to front pastedown. Some soiling and moderate shelfwear to exterior, light toning to interior. Entries in single neat hand in ink and pencil, typed extract from Chitty on Pleadings tipped-in between pp. 34 and 35. Very good. $650. * This ledger compiles the detailed working notes and trial preparation materials of Byron Coleman, a prominent San Francisco attorney. A graduate of UC Berkeley, Coleman earned his degree from Harvard Law School in 1912 and established a robust civil practice in the Bay Area. The volume serves as a comprehensive window into early 20th-century California litigation strategy. Entries include granular case chronologies, relevant precedents, definitions of specialized legal terms, summaries of depositions, and structured outlines for witness cross-examinations. Reflecting a sophisticated corporate and civil practice, many of the recorded disputes involve substantial financial settlements and major regional corporations. A valuable, unstudied primary source mapping the day-to-day mechanics of a working lawyer during a period of rapid economic and legal development in Northern California.…