Billed as safer than birth control pills, some 3.6 million units were sold in the U.S. The shield was pulled from the market in 1974 after design defects and poor medical directions were accused of causing injuries and sterility.

Despite Robins' contention that the shield was safe if used properly, a growing docket of claims followed the contraceptive into retirement. Robins fought lawsuits until 1985, when it sought bankruptcy protection from litigants.

Under bankruptcy laws, Robins won substantial victories to narrow the pool of eligible claimants and limit its damages. But it was unable to escape the wave of suits, and by the time the pool fund for plaintiffs' settlements closed this April it had paid out nearly $3 billion in reparations to women injured by the shield.

The material donated by Szaller includes trial transcripts, medical information on the shield's effects, documents relating to Robins' bankruptcy proceedings, depositions and testimony from expert witnesses and from every major Robins officer.

The Dalkon collection joins a large group of historical sources at Langdell, including the papers of Supreme Court justices Oliver Wendell Holmes, Class of 1861, Felix Frankfurter, the letters of Sacco and Vanzetti and documents from the Nuremberg war trials.

The Dalkon papers will be among the law school's largest collections, occupying about 185 linear feet of drawer space.

The library's materials are open to Harvard students and are also of particular interest to social scientists and historical researchers as well as legal scholars, said David A. Ferris, curator of rare books and manuscripts at Langdell.