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26 HOUSTON LAW REVIEW

                                     ODDMENTS

        An oddment, according to the Merriam-Webster
Dictionary, is “something left over”—or, more simply, an “oddity.”
In the plural, oddments are “odds and ends.”
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/oddment.

       The following section, which will be a recurring feature of
these essays, consists of interesting, perhaps even entertaining,
bits and pieces of information which have found no convenient
placement in the writing of an essay, but which seem (at least
most of them) too good to be left as a “remnant” (another common
definition of “oddment”) on the cutting room floor.

        Ephemera. The brief life of “Off the Record,” at least in its
paper incarnation, lasted only three volumes. As such, it was but
one of many occasional features which flourished briefly during
the first decade of Houston Law Review’s existence. Some, like
“Books Reviewed” and “Books Received,” would persist
throughout all ten volumes. Others, like “Off the Record” and
“Current Materials” (citations to “items from other reviews
selected by the Houston Law Review as being of probable
interest,” with the suggestion that readers so interested obtain a
copy of the article or comment listed “by writing to the review in
which it appeared”), quickly went the way of the Dodo as the
Review evolved and matured.

        Passing the Hat. In addition to accepting the assistance of
alumni/ae and friends like Charles I. Francis, early boards
collected what small change they could from any source
available. Advertisements figured prominently in the financing.
For example, the early volumes frequently included ads from law
book publishers—but from banks and clothing stores, too.

        Cover Story. The Review underwent a visual makeover
during its early years. The first five volumes of the publication
had featured what might be described most charitably as a
“functional” look (basically, the journal’s name, the volume and
issue numbers plus the date, and a listing of contents, but with
no shields or other graphical embellishments). In anticipation of
the construction of the new buildings, however, the cover of
Volume 6 sported both snazzier fonts and a new symbol perhaps
suggestive of the five teaching units intended for the new
building complex. As executed, however, the design resembled
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