List of Libraries Documented
Shadwell Collection
Chronology: Circa 1760 to 1 February 1770
Historical description: The first library that
Thomas Jefferson collected began with approximately 40 volumes
inherited from his father, Peter Jefferson. This collection was
kept at his parents' estate at Shadwell, and had reached a total
of approximately 350-400 volumes when it was completely destroyed
by fire on 1 February 1770.
Nature of primary source: No manuscript
or record of the holdings in this library are known
to exist. This is a significant lacuna in the Thomas Jefferson's
Libraries database.
1783 List
Chronology: 1770 to 6 March 1783
Attestation: Edited and transcribed by
Tom Baughn
Historical description: Jefferson wasted no
time in beginning to replace and expand his library lost at Shadwell,
as evidenced by the forward of Jefferson's order for books by
Thomas Nelson (Nelson to TJ, 6 March 1770). By 6 March 1783, Jefferson
had acquired 2,640 works, per his notation on page five of the
Great Library manuscript. All of the works in the “1783
Library” list are also included in the Great Library described
below. On the same page that bore the date and number of volumes,
he also noted that a checkmark was placed before each title he
owned as of 6 March 1783, and those works that were unchecked,
he hoped to obtain. Unfortunately, he also added checkmarks to
some of the works he procured after 1783, thus blurring his original
distinction. Yet, based on the observations accumulated by the
editor, a separate designation has been attributed to the works
it is believed were in Jefferson's library as of 1783. This is
referred to in this database as the "1783 List."
Nature of primary source: A portion
of the 246-page bound manuscript, described below as the Great
Library. That manuscript is in Jefferson's own hand.
Repository: The complete "Great Library" manuscript
is held at the Massachusetts Historical Society (MHi).
Also available: This reconstituted list
should not be confused with what MHi has designated as the 1783
Library Catalogue, which is the Great Library Catalogue in its
entirety, not this reconstituted
portion.
1789 List (previously known as the "Undated" list)
Chronology: 1784 to 1789
Attestation: Edited and transcribed by Tom Baughn
Historical description: A separate list of approximately
2,000 works that he purchased for his library while Ambassador
to France (1784-1789). Most of the works listed in this manuscript
are also found in the Great Library manuscript.
Nature of primary source: A 52-page bound
manuscript in Jefferson's own hand
Repository: Massachusetts Historical Society
Also available: In microform, and digitized
at MHi (and designated there as the "1789 Catalog of Books.")
Great Library
Chronology: Circa 1775 to 1814
Attestation: Edited and transcribed by
Tom Baughn
Historical description: It is uncertain when
Jefferson began to keep a record of the works recorded in this
catalogue manuscript. He may have begun the record in the 1770’s
but refined it in 1783, as he anticipated traveling to Paris where
books were more available. The manuscript details approximately
8,000 works that he either purchased or intended to purchase.
This is the largest library that Jefferson would accumulate, and
a significant portion of this collection, approximately 6,700
volumes, constituted the collection sold to Congress in 1815.
Nature of primary source: A 246-page
bound manuscript in Jefferson's own hand.
Repository: Massachusetts Historical
Society
Also available: In microform, and digitized
at MHi (referred to at MHi as the "1783 Catalog of Books")
Library Sold to Congress (Sowerby)
Chronology: Compiled, 1942-1952, by E. Millicent
Sowerby; published in 5 volumes by Library of Congress, 1952-1959;
reprinted by University Press of Virginia, 1983.
Attestation: Transcribed and edited by
John Barden
Historical description: Originally intended
as a simple alphabetical title list to commemorate Jefferson's
200th birthday, the Sowerby catalogue became a monumental annotated
bibliography. Working from the Great Library manuscript and the
1839 Library of Congress Catalog, Sowerby attempted to reconstitute
Jefferson's original list of books sold to Congress in 1815. Especially
valuable are the extensive notes for every title, with details
on editions and provenance as well as Jefferson's own comments
on the title drawn from correspondence.
These notes, referred to as Sowerby notes, are linked to each
bibliographic citation.
Library sold to Congress (Trist)
Chronology: Circa 1823
Attestation: Transcribed by Douglas Wilson
and James Gilreath
Historical description: This is the list of
6,700 books from Jefferson's Great Library that were sold to Congress
in 1815. The original list that was shipped with the books was
retained by the Librarian of Congress, George Watterston, and
was subsequently lost. In 1823, Jefferson commissioned Nicholas
Trist to recreate this list. This manuscript prepared by Trist
was rediscovered at the Library of Congress, and published by
Douglas Wilson and James Gilreath in 1989. As this manuscript
more accurately reflects the books sold to Congress, it is considered
more authoritative than Sowerby's compilation.
Nature of primary source: A 113-page bound manuscript
in the hand of Nicholas Trist.
Repository: Library of Congress
Also available: Transcription
compiled by James Gilreath and Douglas Wilson, published in 1989
by Library of Congress. The original document is available in
the Rare Book/Special
Collections Reading Room in the Jefferson Building of the Library
of Congress.
Poplar Forest Library (Leavitt Catalogue)
Chronology: Circa 1809 to 1826
Attestation: Transcribed by John Barden,
edited and compiled by Tom Baughn
Historical description: Jefferson also maintained
a library at his Poplar Forest retreat in Bedford County, which
he first occupied in 1809. Many of these works are also found
in the Great Library, and according to Barden, Jefferson may have
transferred works from that library to his retreat. He also believes
this library was held back entirely from the sale to the Library
of Congress in 1815. There is no separate catalogue of this library,
except for the portion listed in the 1873 auction catalogue of
George Leavitt. Included in the Poplar Forest Library was Jefferson’s
collection that he called his “petit format library.”
Nature of primary source: The Leavitt auction
catalogue was originally published in 1873 in New York.
Repository: None
Also available: The auction catalogue in various
formats and facsimiles is available in a few libraries, including
the University of Virginia Special Collections and the Jefferson
Library, Thomas Jefferson Foundation.
Retirement Library
Chronology: 1815 to 1826
Attestation: Transcribed by John Barden,
edited and compiled by Tom Baughn
Historical description: This is the list of
940 books that constituted Jefferson's final library. It is almost
identical to the auction catalog of Nathaniel P. Poor, who handled
the 1829 sale of the library in Washington, D.C. The Poor Catalog
was originally published in Washington, D.C. by Gales and Seaton
in 1829.
Nature of primary source: A 83-page bound
manuscript in Jefferson's own hand
Repository: Library of Congress
Also available: Original
manuscript digitized by Library of Congress for the American
Memory Project
Thomas M. Baughn
Independent scholar
December 2003
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