Revolving Bookstand
From Thomas Jefferson Encyclopedia
Artist/Maker: Unspecified[1]
Created: c. 1810
Origin/Purchase: Monticello joinery
Materials: walnut
Dimensions: 50.2 x 67 x 67 (19 3/4 x 26 3/8 x 26 3/8 in.)
Location: Cabinet
Provenance: Thomas Jefferson; by descent to Thomas Jefferson Randolph; by descent to Mrs. Hollins N. Randolph; by purchase to Thomas Jefferson Foundation in 1938
Accession Number: 1938-20
Historical Notes: This revolving bookstand, once thought to be a music stand, was probably made to Jefferson's design and specifications in the joinery. As many as five books could be placed on it at a time. Jefferson may have conveniently placed it next to his chair in his reading-and-writing arrangement in the Cabinet. It is one of three known "revolving " works made in the joinery; the other two are tables.
Constructed of solid walnut, the cube-shaped stand has five adjustable rests for holding books; it has one book rest on the top and one on each of the fours sides. The rests can be folded down to form a cube. A central pole enables the bookstand to rotate at the bottom. A hole in the bottom suggests the possibility that the bookstand originally was supported by a tripod base.[2]
Footnotes
- ↑ This article is based on Stein, Worlds, 290.
- ↑ Charles L. Granquist, Jr., Cabinet Making at Monticello (MA thesis, State University of New York College at Oneonta, 1977), 14.
