Thomas Jefferson to William J. Coffee, 22 November 1821, with Jefferson’s Notes
To William J. Coffee, with Jefferson’s Notes
Nov. 22. 21
on my return from Pop. For. the day before yesterday I found here your favr of the 1st inst. which must apologize for the tardiness of my answer. I accept with pleasure your proposn to visit us this winter, as well for that of your company as for the benefit my paintings will recieve from your hands. I have housed myself now for the winter, and shall not leave my quarters again till the spring, except on occnl rides to my hobby the Univty which now I assure you, begins to have a splendid appearce1 even without it’s greatest ornamt the Rotunda, not yet begun. accept the assurce of my great esteem & respect.
[Notes by TJ at foot of text: ]
Nov. 24. P.S. for a supply of pen-points
Dec. 31. mr Coffee arrived at Monticello
Dft (DLC: TJ Papers, 221:39442); on verso of RC of Coffee to TJ, 1 Nov. 1821.
TJ recorded paying Coffee $2.50 for seven dozen pen-points on 12 Jan. 1822 ( , 2:1382). Almost three months after Coffee arrived at monticello on the last day of 1821, TJ recorded paying him $100 on 25 Mar. 1822 for “repairing paintings” ( , 2:1384).
On receiving some of TJ’s paintings to sell after his death, his granddaughter Ellen W. Randolph Coolidge wrote from Boston on 13 May 1828 to her sister Virginia J. Randolph Trist that the paintings were in poor shape due to “the delapidations of time & the still more ruthless handling of Mr Coffee. his brush has been traced on several of them where after scratching off the old paint he has daubed on new.” In a letter of 28 May 1828 to her mother, Martha Jefferson Randolph, Coolidge lamented that the paintings would not obtain satisfactory prices, inasmuch as “Time, & damp, & dust, & flies, & Mr Coffee, have done their work too effectually” (ViU: Coolidge Correspondence).
1. Remainder of sentence interlined, with superfluous period editorially omitted.
Index Entries
- Coffee, William John; and painting conservation search
- Coffee, William John; and pen points for TJ search
- Coffee, William John; letters to search
- Coffee, William John; visits Monticello search
- Coolidge, Ellen Wayles Randolph (TJ’s granddaughter); and Monticello paintings search
- horses; TJ rides search
- Monticello (TJ’s Albemarle Co. estate); portraits and paintings at search
- Monticello (TJ’s Albemarle Co. estate); Visitors to; Coffee, William J. search
- paintings; conservation of search
- pens (writing instruments); points for search
- Poplar Forest (TJ’s Bedford Co. estate); TJ returns from search
- Virginia, University of; Construction and Grounds; progress of search
- Virginia, University of; Construction and Grounds; Rotunda (library) search
- Virginia, University of; Construction and Grounds; TJ visits Grounds search