1From Thomas Jefferson to William John Coffee, 10 December 1825 (Jefferson Papers)
Your letter of the 1 st , has been duly recieved. a drawing master, Music master E t c, are wanting at the University, the latter for the violin, flute and clarinet; the former for landscape. but the selection of the teachers is left to the Professors; the visitors having nothing to do with it. I have had little conversation with the Faculty on the subject, and am unable therefore to say...
2From Thomas Jefferson to William John Coffee, 29 August 1825 (Jefferson Papers)
Your favor of the 19 th is received. I have been confined to the house by indisposition now upwards of 3. months, and have had so little communication with the Univ ty as to know almost as little as you do of what is going on there. I know that they are preparing one of the large Oval rooms of the Rotunda for a Museum, and that it was to be finished with a good entablature, but, of what order,...
3From Thomas Jefferson to William John Coffee, 19 January 1825 (Jefferson Papers)
your favor of the 1 st came to hand on the 7 th I immediately sent to mr Brockenbrough the one directed to him; and taking for granted that in that you had signified the remittances as in the one to me, I did not send him my letter. the roads being very bad I did not go to the University for 10. days. yesterday however I went, and then for the first time learnt that mr Brockenbrough had not...
4From Thomas Jefferson to William John Coffee, 5 January 1825 (Jefferson Papers)
I have not yet heard of our Corinthian roses, though I hope they are on the way, our scaffolds being now much in the way and awaiting these ornaments only to be struck. I should suppose your manufactory of flat tiles, as light as slate would probably succeed. costing but 5. D 70 c the square they will come cheaper than any other covering known, and the sufficiency of tile is well enough...
5From Thomas Jefferson to William John Coffee, 9 December 1824 (Jefferson Papers)
When shall we get our roses for the Rotunda? the whole scaffolding of the building is obliged to be kept standing only to enable the workmen to put up these small ornaments. I am sure you have been using due diligence, yet our necessity obliges me to make this enquiry, our instn will certainly be opened on the 1 st of Feb, and the Rotunda will be then in a condn for use. I have been expecting...
6From Thomas Jefferson to William John Coffee, 19 September 1824 (Jefferson Papers)
Your favor of the 11 th was recieved yesterday evening, and the want of our roses pressing on us I lose no time in answering your enquiries. the soffite of the frieze of the Rotunda wherein the roses will be planted is 32. f. above the floor of the portico & platform of the terrasses, and 40. f above the level of the lawn. they will be principally & equally viewed at these two heights—when I...
7From Thomas Jefferson to William John Coffee, 4 September 1824 (Jefferson Papers)
We are in want of some ornaments (roses) for the soffite of the external entablatures of the Rotunda. composition will not stand the weather and lead is expensive. we conclude therefore in favor of the material of which you made those for us before; and hope you will be so kind as to furnish them, they are to be copied from the LX th plate of the IV th book of Palladio (being the 5 th of the...
8From Thomas Jefferson to William John Coffee, 31 May 1824 (Jefferson Papers)
I am thankful to you for the transmission of the Albion papers and the kind offer of continuing to do so regularly but I will not give you that trouble. I read but a single paper our Enquirer, which gives as much as I wish to know of what is going on. it is time for me to resign to a younger generation the direction of their concerns, and I do it chearfully—a friend in England sends me the...
9From Thomas Jefferson to William John Coffee, 10 April 1824 (Jefferson Papers)
Your letter of Jan. 11. did not reach me till the last of Feb. and as I then expected to have a meeting of the Visitors within a few days I deferred answering you till that should give me something more decisive to say, the month of Mar. however passed over without the expected meeting, and it did not take place till this week. we propose to take this summer & autumn for procuring professors...
10From Thomas Jefferson to William John Coffee, 30 April 1823 (Jefferson Papers)
Notwithstanding your particular request to Col o Peyton to send my boxes of ornaments to Bedford, he persuaded himself it was a mistake, and sent them here. as soon as it was observed at the University that some of theirs were missing we suspected they might be in my boxes. I opened one, found at once that it contained ox-sculls E t c for Bedford, and so well packed that I could not resolve to...