Oblong Table with Revolving Top. Thomas Jefferson Foundation, Inc.

Artist/Maker: Unspecified

Created: 1800-1826

Origin/Purchase: Monticello Joiner's Shop

Materials: mahogany

Dimensions: 73.7 × 94 × 75.2 (29 × 37 × 29 5/8 in.)

Location: Cabinet

Provenance: Thomas Jefferson; by descent to Thomas Jefferson Randolph; by descent to Carolina Ramsay Randolph; by bequest to R.T.W. Duke; by descent to Helen Duke; by purchase to the Thomas Jefferson Foundation in 1951

Accession Number: 1951-3

Historical Notes: Together with the revolving chair and a Windsor bench, this table was one of three essential components of the novel reading-and-writing arrangement in Jefferson's Cabinet. The table was substantially altered in the Monticello joinery, and probably was made there as well.

The initial table top was rectangular. A round revolving top was later attached with a bolt in the center to enable the top to rotate. The table's apron was cut away on two sides so that Jefferson could sit comfortably, and two stretchers were appended to stabilize the legs. To allow the table to be easily moved, small wheels were affixed to the slightly tapering legs.

- Text from Stein, Worlds, 287