From Thomas Jefferson to Joseph Hopkinson, 23 June 1792
To Joseph Hopkinson
June 23. 1792.
Th: Jefferson presents his compliments to Mr. Hopkinson. He possesses a very beautiful figure of Diana the huntress made by Houdon in plaister of Paris, with which his friend the late Mr. Hopkinson was so extremely taken, that it was the full intention of Th:J. to have insisted on his accepting it. He begs young Mr. Hopkinson’s permission to fulfill his intention by asking his acceptance of it, and to be so good as to indicate to what place it shall be sent. The tenderness of the figure requires careful handling, and it’s nudity may be an objection to some to recieve the deposit.
PrC (MHi). Tr (DLC); 19th-century copy.
Joseph Hopkinson (1770–1842), son of the noted author, musician, and signer of the Declaration of Independence, Francis Hopkinson, graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1786 and subsequently became a Federalist congress-man and a federal district judge in Pennsylvania, though he is best known as the author of the patriotic anthem, “Hail Columbia” ().