Over the years, a number of brilliant historical studies have appeared in my primary field of patent law. The nonprofessional but exceptionally devoted historian Edward Walterscheid comes first to mind.1 His history of the earliest years of patent law (1790–1836) is an invaluable resource. Zorina Khan’s economic history of intellectual property law during the “long” nineteenth century (1789–1910)2 is a tour de force of empirical and analytic rigor. Christopher Beauchamp’s history of the Bell telephone technology and legal controversy is a similarly outstanding book.3 Beauchamp’s article on the “first” patent litigation explosion is also one I refer to over and over.4 The same goes for Oren Bracha’s intellectual history of copyright and patent from 1790 to 1909, an essential reference for me.5 Likewise, research by the historian Kara Swanson on the evolution of the US Patent Office and the profession of patent agent/lawyer, among other topics, is the best and most thorough account of these crucial topics.6