Thomas Jefferson’s Birthday Gift to Us — His Library

If American Bibliography had a patron President, it would likely be Thomas Jefferson.

Though there were other Presidents who amassed libraries, and those who collected and read voraciously, Jefferson is the bibliophile who sold his library to our young nation. It formed the core of the Library of Congress.

There are so many interesting facts surrounding the collection and acquisition that I hesitate to dive into all of them. Here are a few:

• Jefferson’s system of cataloging was unique, systematic and helpful. It certainly helped to sell the Congress on the collection, because it showed how broad the collection was — enhanced by his many years spent in France — and his many contacts in the world of books.
• Congress approved the purchase in 1815. The bulk of the Library of Congress had been destroyed by the British during the War of 1812. Jefferson stepped in with an offer to sell his library to the nation…hoping to both rebuild an important institution and pay off some of his debts. Jefferson’s library was twice as large (by volumes) than the original Library of Congress.
• The library was purchased for $23,950. At that time, several supporters of the purchase valued the books at $50,000. In 1971, Frederick R. Goff, chief of the Rare Book Division at the Library of Congress, mentioned that in 1955 he had submitted eleven titles to appraisers…and those eleven were worth the full amount of original purchase! So…the U.S. always had the better end of the deal.
• The total number of volumes was 6,487.
• Jefferson was so diligent about giving over his complete library, that he wrote to everyone who had borrowed books from him…and asked for their return.
• Packaging and moving the books was done with care and makes for a fascinating story itself. The books were held in 9′ cases (imagine bookshelves on their backs) and transported by ten wagons from Monticello to the Capitol. According to Joseph Milligan, the Georgetown bookseller who arranged for transport, not one volume was damaged in transit.

Unfortunately, the story doesn’t end there. A fire in 1851 destroyed thousands of the volumes, many of which have been replaced. The mixed set appears in the photo above. If you have visited the Library of Congress, it is likely that you have seen Jefferson’s library displayed. It is probably the most memorable item to view there…though Bob Hope’s letters, on display the last time I visited, are also a treasure.

Nearly all of these facts were drawn from Dumas Malone’s Jefferson and His Time: Vol. 6, The Sage of Monticello, Chapter XII, Books in Transit: The Library of Congress.