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LOT #42082 |
Starting Bid: $40,000
Thomas Jefferson Autograph Letter Signed...
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Description
Thomas Jefferson Contrasts America's Progress with Europe's in Post-War Reflection: "the mass of their people, within which term I include from the king to the beggar, is returning to Gothic darkness while the mass of ours is advancing in the regions of light."
Thomas Jefferson Autograph Letter Signed ("Th:
Jefferson"). One page of a single leaf, 7 3/4 x 9 5/8 inches.
Monticello; August 24, 1816. Housed in a custom cloth, boxed
platform clamshell case with magnetic closure.Jefferson writes to William Lee, U.S. commercial agent at Bordeaux, acknowledging receipt of a book and reflecting on relations between the United States, Great Britain, and Europe, in full:
"Dear Sir
Your letter of Dec. 20.14. and May 11.16. are yet to be acknoleged and my thanks to be returned for the book which accompanied the former on the subject of Great Britain and America. that able exposition prepared the European mind for receiving truths more favorable to us, and subsequent events have furnished facts corroborating those views. I believe that America, & by the time England also are more justly appreciated. some greatly enlightened minds in Europe are in science far beyond any thing we possess, but leaving them out of the account, (& they are but few) the mass of their people, within which term I include from the king to the beggar, is returning to Gothic darkness while the mass of ours is advancing in the regions of light. During the paroxysm of Anglomany lately raging in Bordeaux, you must have had a mortifying time. that rage cannot last. the English character is not of that cast which makes itself be loved. I was just about publishing mr Garde's letter when I saw in the newspapers that addressed to Dr. Mitchell. his position in a populous city, and convenient to others, being so much more favorable than mine for the views of M. Garde, I rejoiced to see his letter in so good hands and surceased medling in it myself, my inland & rural situation affording me no facilities for promoting it's object. should you have occasion to write to mr Garde, I will thank you to throw in a line of explanation and to tender him my respects & best wishes for his success.
Not doubting that after so long a residence in France your wishes are still there, I heartily sympathise with them and hope the circumstances are not very distant, which may render your return agreeable and useful. Accept my salutations and assurances of perfect esteem and respect.
Th: Jefferson."
Writing to an American official in France, Jefferson reflects on how Europe and the United States are beginning to view one another differently. In his mind, recent events have started to correct long-held misunderstandings, and he writes with growing confidence in America's place on the world stage.
The letter's most memorable passage comes in his comparison between continents. While he concedes that a few European thinkers remain far ahead in science, he paints a far less flattering picture of the broader population, describing it as slipping into "Gothic darkness," while Americans press forward "in the regions of light." It's a bold, unmistakable statement: one that captures his belief that the United States was charting a different and more promising course.
Condition: Very good. Flattened folds with minor toning. Seal not present with minor offsetting at the center outer margins, and minor surface wear at the left margin.
References: Thomas Jefferson to William Lee, August 24, 1816, Founders Online, National Archives; Thomas Jefferson to William Lee, August 24, 1816, in The Papers of Thomas Jefferson: Retirement Series, vol. 10, ed. J. Jefferson Looney (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2013).
Auction Info
2026 June 19 The John H. Freund Americana Collection Signature® Auction #6331 (go to Auction Home page)
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June
19th
Friday
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June
19th
Friday
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