Thomas Jefferson by Mather Brown, 1786
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; bequest of Charles Francis Adams;
Frame conserved with funds from the Smithsonian Women's Committee
At the end of a letter to John Adams in 1815, Thomas Jefferson made a point to proclaim that he could not live without books.1 However, Jefferson, one of American history’s most learned intellectuals, only published one book in his lifetime. This work, known as the Notes on the State of Virginia, remains an important publication to both scholars of early American history as well as Americans interested in the intellectual capacity of one of its most famous homegrown thinkers. Jefferson was a prolific letter writer, conversing with scores of fellow men of letters throughout his life.
Within Oakland University’s archives and special collections are two important artifacts that pertain to the mind of Thomas Jefferson.
One item is a letter written by Jefferson in 1798, when he was Vice President of the United States, to a book dealer in New York.
The other artifact is an 1800 edition of Notes on the State of Virginia.
Both pieces are significant for their histories as objects and contain a surprising provenance, or record of ownership, throughout their lives as artifacts.
1. Thomas Jefferson to John Adams, 10 June 1815, Founders Online, National Archives.