Description
First edition of The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth by Thomas Jefferson, published in 1904. Commonly known as “The Jefferson Bible.”
Octavo, [19], [15], 84pp, [4]. Publisher’s full red leather, title stamped in gilt on spine, decorative band on covers. Touch of wear at top edge of spine, internally fine. Binding by Edward F. Gruver Co. of Washington, D.C. Small address plate on title page. Includes fold-out map of Israel and the Mediterranean.
There was only one copy of the original “Jefferson Bible,” bound in red Morocco by Thomas Jefferson in 1820. He had no plans to publish the work and left it to family members when he died in 1826. That copy was retained by the Jefferson family until 1895, when it was sold to Cyrus Adler of the Smithsonian. Adler produced this first edition “facsimile” of the original work in 1904, with funding from the United States Congress. It has been reprinted numerous times by the Government Printing Office. Thomas Jefferson’s original work is still held by the Smithsonian.
