Book Boxes
From Thomas Jefferson Wiki
(Also called "book cases" or "book presses.")[1]
In 1815, Thomas Jefferson "ceded" (he never used the word "sold" when referring to the transaction) his extensive personal library to the United States government to replace the holdings in the Capitol that were burned by the British in 1814. His collection of nearly seven thousand titles was perhaps the finest in the country and later it became the foundation of the Library of Congress.
To transport the large collection to Washington, the books traveled in their own special shelves that had housed them at Monticello, for Jefferson believed there were no better packing boxes.[2] He wrote in 1815:
"The books stand at present in pine cases with backs and shelves, without fronts. the Cases are generally of three tiers, one upon another, about 9. feet high in the whole. the lowest case is generally 13. Inches deep, the 2d 6¾ I.[3] and the uppermost 5¾ I. averaging together 8½ I. to which add ¾ I. for the front of boards to be nailed on, and it makes an average depth of 9¼ I. I have measured the surface of wall which these cases cover, and find it to be 855. square feet..."[4]
The shelves were taken down with the books still in them, waste paper was stuffed into spaces to secure the volumes, and boards were nailed across the front to prepare them for the journey that would involve ten wagons.
The origin of the portable book boxes is not known. There is no documentary evidence that Jefferson designed them, yet their special features would have certainly assisted him in organizing, maintaining and transporting his huge library. Each case was comprised of three specific dimensions to accommodate different sizes of books, from smallest to largest: duodecimos, octavos, and quartos and folios. The bookcases consisted of boxes arranged in three tiers. It is not known if there were eight independent boxes (a total of eight boxes per unit), or whether the cases were stacked in three units, each tier being a single piece.
The set of six bookcases (five in the Library, one in the South Square Room) currently on display at Monticello were made in 1959 to recreate the original presses. They are constructed of eight separate boxes per bookcase. The specifications were carefully drawn up after compiling all written evidence as well as measuring remaining volumes from the Jefferson library at the Library of Congress. The reproductions were made from pine, as Jefferson's original boxes were.
Footnotes
- ↑ Article based on Elizabeth L. O'Leary, Monticello Research Report, November 1988.
- ↑ Jefferson to Joseph Milligan, 28 March 1815. Polygraph copy at the Library of Congress, Thomas Jefferson Papers.
- ↑ "I" is Thomas Jefferson's shorthand for "inches."
- ↑ Thomas Jefferson, Observations on the Transportation of the Monticello Library, ca. 27 February 1815. Draft at the Library of Congress.
Further Sources
- Thomas Jefferson, no date, "Calculations for Library Shelves." Thomas Jefferson Papers, Library of Congress.
