John Laval to Thomas Jefferson, 28 May 1819
From John Laval
Philada May 28th 1819
Sir,
Agreeably to your directions, I have addressed to you, Care of Capt Bernard Peyton; Commission Merchant, Richmond, per Schooner Robert Burns, which was to sail on the 23d & has been Cleared only yesterday, One Bundle; well wrapped up in Quadruple paper, Containing:
| Lempriere’s Classical Dictionary, 8vo, bound in Sheep | $5 | ||
| The Two first volumes of Diodoro Siculo, dto in Parchment | 4 | ||
| 3 Copies of Orbis Pictus Comnenii, 12o, bd, at $1.12½/100 | 3 | .37½ | |
| 3 do of Alvari Prosodia, Dublin Ed., the only ones found in Philada after long researches at 37½/100 |
 |
1 | .12½ |
| $ | 13 | .50 |
I have not been able to obtain, in any Bookstore of the City, a Copy of Sanxay’s Lexicon, which I would have bought for you. I cannot sell mine Separately, having been invoiced with the four vols of Ar. Com. & adding to their value.
The Grimm you have seen advertised, at Paris, at 5₶, was, I supposed, Sewed, & mine is handsomely bound; that makes a difference of 35 or 40 sols per volume, & would raise it to $225⁄100, price I asked, even at the advance of 50 p%, which is far from being adequate to cover all expences & leave a reasonable profit, the Packing alone at Paris amounting sometimes to 5 p%—
I have paid here, 18 months ago, for my 17 vols of Grimm $30.= I will be satisfied with 15 p% profit or $3450⁄100 for the work, if, at that rate, you think proper to purchase it. the fellow copy was sold for $50=
John Laval
RC (DLC); endorsed by TJ as received 3 June 1819 and so recorded in SJL. RC (MHi); address cover only; with PoC of TJ to Andrew Smith, 19 Oct. 1820, on verso; addressed: “Th. Jefferson Esq. Monticello—Va”; stamp canceled; franked; postmarked Philadelphia, 28 May.
For Richard François Philippe Brunck’s Aristophanis Comœdiæ (ar. com.), see Laval to TJ, 19 Apr. 1819.
Index Entries
- A Classical Dictionary (J. Lemprière) search
- Alvares, Manuel; Prosodia: sive Institutionum Linguæ Latina search
- Aristophanes; Comœdiæ (ed. R. F. P. Brunck) search
- books; binding of search
- books; classical search
- books; dictionaries search
- books; of correspondence search
- books; on history search
- books; on natural history search
- Brunck, Richard François Philippe; editsAristophanis Comœdiæ (Aristophanes) search
- Comœdiæ (Aristophanes; ed. R. F. P. Brunck) search
- Correspondance littéraire, philosophique et critique (F. M. Grimm) search
- Diodorus Siculus; Storia Universale search
- Greek language; lexicons search
- Grimm, Friedrich Melchior, baron von; Correspondance littéraire, philosophique et critique search
- Hoole, Charles; translatesOrbis Sensualium Pictus (J. A. Komenský [Comenius]) search
- Jefferson, Thomas; Books and Library; orders books search
- Jefferson, Thomas; Books and Library; packing and shipping of search
- Komenský (Comenius), Jan Amos; Orbis Sensualium Pictus (trans. C. Hoole) search
- Latin language; study of search
- Laval, John; and books for TJ search
- Laval, John; letters from search
- Lemprière, John; A Classical Dictionary search
- Lexicon Aristophanicum, Græco-Anglicum (J. Sanxay) search
- natural history; books on search
- Orbis Sensualium Pictus (J. A. Komenský [Comenius]; trans. C. Hoole) search
- Peyton, Bernard; forwards goods for TJ search
- Prosodia: sive Institutionum Linguæ Latina (M. Alvares) search
- Robert Burns (schooner) search
- Sanxay, James; Lexicon Aristophanicum, Græco-Anglicum search
- Storia Universale (Diodorus Siculus) search