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Submitted by mattd on Fri, 2010-08-06 08:59
in
TJE Original Title: 
Right-Handed

Thomas Jefferson was right-handed. One of his most famous letters, however - sometimes referred to as the "Head and Heart" letter[1] - was written entirely with his left hand after he had broken his right wrist in Paris in 1786. Although the letter is surprisingly legible, it is clearly different from his normal handwriting:

July 1786 letter from Jefferson to Boyetet, written as normal with his right hanJefferson's

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Jefferson to Maria Cosway, Paris, 12 October 1786. PTJ 10:443-455. Letterpress copy at the Library of Congress.
Body image insertion
General body image(s): 
July 1786 letter from Jefferson to Boyetet, written as normal with his right han
Jefferson's "Head and Heart" letter to Maria Cosway, written with his left hand.