A view of Jefferson's Cabinet office focusing on his writing arrangement of revolving desk with Polygraph, chair with candlesticks, bench, and revolving stand.

The Modern Office

A Modern Office

In May of 1989, the Wall Street Journal reported that the model office for the future can be found in the past, at Thomas Jefferson's Monticello. In 2009, Wired.com called Monticello an "18th Century Palace of Gadget Geekery" that featured the latest "inventions and hacks." Jefferson filled his Cabinet with devices designed "with a greater eye to convenience" to make his work comfortable and efficient. A virtual reality movie of the Cabinet is available in the "House" section.

A view of Jefferson's Cabinet office focusing on his writing arrangement of revolving desk with Polygraph, chair with candlesticks, bench, and revolving stand.
Jefferson's writing and reading arrangement in his Cabinet

"An Abundance of Books"

Among the devices was what might be called a "database" today: a revolving stand. The stand could expand to hold five books open at adjustable angles, allowing Jefferson to consult multiple works at once. Enslaved blacksmith Isaac Granger Jefferson recalled that Jefferson had an "abundance of books," with as many as twenty down on the floor at one time.

Jefferson's revolving stand is a wooden box with hinged sides and top that can be raised/extended to hold papers, pamphlets, and small books and rotated.

Relvoving Stand (Lectern)

Jefferson improved on standard two-sided stand with lecterns, commonly used for reading, by designing a five-sided version
More on this object in the Monticello Collections Database 

Well Designed, Well Lighted

Next to the revolving stand was Jefferson's work table, featuring a revolving tabletop that gave him easy access to everything on it. His chair revolved, as well, and under the writing table was a sofa on which he could prop his legs and feet.

Jefferson maximized the Cabinet's lighting by using large windows and French doors designed to capture the full southern exposure. Candlesticks attached to the arms of his chair gave him further light.

"The Finest Invention . . ."

Finally, Jefferson had at hand the ultimate office necessity, the copying machine. Jefferson was enraptured by copying devices and called them "the finest invention of the present age." He owned several styles throughout his life, and his favorite of them was the Polygraph. The device holds two sheets of paper and two connected pens, so that as Jefferson wrote with one pen, the other pen followed to make an exact copy. Occasionally, Jefferson is falsely credited with the invention of the machine; though this is not the case, he did correspond with one of its makers, Charles Willson Peale, to suggest improvements on its design. More information on the polygraph is available in the "Resources" section.

A Monticello guide Charles Morrill describes the Polygraph's importance to Jefferson.

Jefferson and the Polygraph

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Jefferson and Adams