JEFFERSON, THOMAS | Notes on the State of Virginia. Philadelphia: Printed & Sold by Pritchard & Hall, 1788

JEFFERSON, THOMAS

Notes on the State of Virginia. Philadelphia: Printed & Sold by Pritchard & Hall, 1788

8vo (7 5/8 x 4 7/8 in.; 194 x 120 mm). Numerous tables (one folding), one full-page line diagram, lacking 4 pages of publisher's advertisement at the end; some offsetting to margins of title. Contemporary mottled sheep, spine and joints rubbed, somewhat skinned.

First American edition of Jefferson's only book length work published during his lifetime.

" ... Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just: that his justice cannot sleep forever ..." (pp. 298–300).

The two hundred copies that Jefferson had printed in Paris in 1785 for private distribution did not begin to meet the demand for the book. Garbled pirated editions forced Jefferson to release authorized French- and English-language editions in 1786 and 1787, respectively, and the present edition.

"During his long and productive life Thomas Jefferson wrote and published only one full-length book. ... Though he gave it a misleadingly modest title and was originally reluctant to publish it at all, the Notes on Viriginia was eventually accepted as an important contribution to American letters and science, and it is recognized today as the best single statement of Jefferson's principles, the best reflection of his wide-ranging tastes and talents. It is, in short, an American classic" (Peden, p. v).

REFERENCE:

Evans 21176; Howes J78; Sabin 35897; Peden, ed., Notes on the State of Virginia by Thomas Jefferson (Institute of Early American History and Culture, 1955)