Thomas Jefferson's Library »

Painstaking Reconstruction of Jefferson's Library Catalogue

Sold to the Library of Congress in 1815 to replace volumes burned by the British during their occupation of Washington, Jefferson's library, comprising 6,700, volumes was one of the finest in the United States. The taxonomically arranged catalogue that accompanied these books was a remarkable work, one that offered great insight into the broad and systematic nature of Jefferson's mind. Unfortunately, it was lost. Using Jefferson's notes and the first edition of the Library of Congress catalogue, Gilreath and Wilson recreated Jefferson's original compilation. It contains an extensive collection of legal books arranged under the general heading "Philosophy." Beginning with the broad designations of "Ethics," "Moral Philosophy," "Law of Nature and Nations" and "Religion" Jefferson proceeds to such topics as "Common Law," "Maritime Law and "Foreign Law." It is valuable both for its insights into Jefferson's legal mind and as a guide to the titles one would want to include in a first-class American law library of the period.

James Gilreath was an American history specialist at the Library of Congress rare book and special collections division.

Douglas L. Wilson is George A. Lawrence Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus; Co-director, Lincoln Studies Center, Knox College Galesburg, Illinois.

CONTENTS Foreword Introduction Selected Reading List Editorial Note Catalogue I. Memory
1. Antient History
2. Modern History. Foreign
3. Modern History. British
4. Modern History. American
5. History-Ecclesiastical
6. Natural Philosophy
7. Agriculture
8. Chemistry
9. Surgery
10. Medicine
11. Animals. Anatomy
12. Animals. Zoology
13. Botany
14. Mineralogy
15. Occupations of Man. Technical Arts II. Philosophy
16. Ethics Moral Philosophy Law of Nature and Nations
17. Religion
18. Jurisprudence. Equity
19. Jurisprudence. Common Law
20. Jurisprudence. Law-Merchant
21. Jurisprudence. Law-Maritime
22. Jurisprudence. Law- Ecclesiastical
23. Jurisprudence. Foreign Law
24. Politics
25. Mathematics. Pure. Arithematic
26. Mathematics. Pure. Geometry
27. Physico-Mathematics. Mechanics, Statics, Dynamics, Pneumatics, Phonics, Optics
28. Astronomy
29. Geography III. Fine Arts
30. Architecture
31. Gardening, Painting, Sculpture
32. Music
33. Poetry. Epic
34. Romance, Tales-Fables
35. Pastorals, Odes, Elegies
36. Didactic
37. Tragedy
38. Comedy
39. Dialogue-Epistolary
40. Logic, Rhetoric, Orations
41. Criticism. Theory
42. Criticism. Bibliography
43. Criticism. Languages
44. Polygraphical Appendix Some pages from the printed catalogue of 1815