To Thomas Jefferson from Philippe Reibelt, 19 February 1805
From Philippe Reibelt
Baltimore le 19 fevr. 1805
Monsieur le President!
J’ai l’honneur, de repondre au Contenû de Votre respectable petit billet du 16, que le porteur de Lettre ne m’a remis, que hier Soir:
a) que c’est pour Midlet. life of Cicero in 8vo. le meme Cas, que pour Miltons Paradise lost.
b) que Vous m’avez bien demandè: Rayeval, Loix de la Nature—pour lequel j’ai deja ecrit a la Maison a Paris par un batiment, qui partoit de Norfolk;—mais point encore: Rayneval’s Law of Nations—
Est ce, en francais, ou Anglais, que Vous comandez çet Ouvrage.
J’ose joindre a cette Lettre 12 Ex. du Càtalogue des editions Stereotypes de Renouard a Paris—et Vous prier, de vouloir bien les distribuer dans Votre famille.
Daignez—agreer mes respects intimes.
Reibelt
Editors’ Translation
Baltimore, 19 Feb. 1805
Mister President!
I have the honor of responding to the contents of your fine note of the 16th which the letter carrier gave me only yesterday evening.
a) The situation for Middleton’s Life of Cicero in octavo is the same as for Milton’s Paradise Lost.
b) You did indeed ask me for Rayneval’s Natural Law, which I requested from the Paris office by a boat from Norfolk, but not yet Rayneval’s Law of Nations. Is it the French or English version of the book that you prefer?
I take the liberty of enclosing 12 copies of Renouard’s catalogue of stereotype editions from Paris. Would you be kind enough to share them with your family?
Please accept my deep respect.
Reibelt
RC (DLC); above signature: “Le Depot Americ. General de Levrault, Schoell et Comp. Impr. Libraires a Paris”; endorsed by TJ as received 20 Feb. and so recorded in SJL. Enclosure: probably Antoine Augustin Renouard, Editions stéréotypes et autres, formant une nombreuse collection des meilleurs ouvrages de littérature, dans les formats in-18 et in-12 (Paris, 1803?).
petit billet: not found and not recorded in SJL.
le meme Cas: see Reibelt to TJ, 17 Feb. TJ requested a copy of Joseph Mathias Gérard de Rayneval’s Institutions du droit de la nature et des gens in a letter of 9 Feb.