Imagination

Examine selected books in the “Imagination” (Fine Arts) section and view the pages of The Builder’s Dictionary, an eighteenth-century handbook that details aspects of building design, construction, and finishes.

The Builder’s Dictionary: or, Gentleman and Architect’s Companion.… 2 vols. London, 1734. Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress
(S. 4187) (38)

Builder’s Dictionary Consulted by Jefferson

Books of practical application are scattered throughout Jefferson’s section on Architecture. Among the classical and theoretical works is the Builder’s Dictionary, a two-volume handbook that covers all aspects of building design, construction, and finishes.

In its time, the Dictionary was considered the most complete summary available for use by English architects and members of the construction trades. Jefferson is thought to have consulted this work as early as 1779.

Peter Prelleur (1728–1750)
The Compleat Tutor for the Harpsichord or Spinnet wherein is Shewn the Italian Manner of Fingering.… London: Peter Thompson, n.d. Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress
(S. 4247) (6)

A Book about Harpsichord Playing

Jefferson did not play the harpsichord, so his interest in the instrument was on behalf of his daughter Martha. He took on the study with characteristic zeal and eventually commissioned a bespoke harpsichord for his daughter, asking Jacob Kirckman “to make for me one of his best harpsichords with a double set of keys.”

Once the instrument was received, he encouraged Martha to follow his same regimen of practice: “Do not neglect your music. It will be a companion which will sweeten many hours of life to you.”

Thomas Otway (1652–1685)
The Works of Mr. Thomas Otway; in Three Volumes. Consisting of his Plays, Poems, and Letters. London, 1768. Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress
(S. 4544) (43)

Otway’s Works

This is the only work of tragedy in Jefferson’s collection that survived the 1851 Christmas Eve fire. Jefferson’s literary taste was somewhat conservative, and his collection was relatively selective. Thomas Otway, a Restoration dramatist, typically wrote in rhymed verse. His plays and poetry retained popularity until the mid-nineteenth century.

John Quincy Adams (1767–1848)
Lectures on Rhetoric and Oratory, Delivered to the Classes of Senior and Junior Sophistors in Harvard University. 2 vols. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Hilliard and Metcalf, 1810. Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress
(S. 4659) (46)

John Adams’s Gift to Jefferson

These volumes were given by John Adams as a gesture to Jefferson following their reconciliation in 1812. Adams inscribed the title page “John Adams to Thomas Jefferson, Jan. 1. 1812,” and sent a letter to Jefferson informing him that the package was on its way: “I take the Liberty of sending you by the Post a Packett containing two Pieces of Homespun lately produced in this quarter by one who was honoured in his youth with some of your Attention and much of your kindness.”

Jefferson assumed Adams was sending two samples of cloth. In characteristic style, he responded with a lengthy discussion of the virtue of homespun, forcing Adams to reply: “The Material of the Samples of American Manufacture that I sent you, was not Wool nor Cotton nor Silk nor Flax nor Hemp nor Iron nor Wood. They were spun from the Brain of John Quincy Adams.”

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