Description
First edition of the The Washington Edition of The Writings of Thomas Jefferson. Thick octavo, [in 9 volumes]. Quarter brown morocco, five raised bands, title in gilt, marbled covers. Marbled end papers and marbled leaf ends. Frontispiece portrait of Jefferson with tissue cover in Volume I. Scattered foxing throughout Volume I, lacking in subsequent volumes. Contemporary bookplate affixed to front end paper. Additional ownership inscription of “Haldeman” on title page of most volumes. Includes a facsimile of Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence with corrections. (Sabin 35919) An attractive set.
Comments: This 9 Volume set is known as the Washington Edition and contains the first major collection of Thomas Jefferson’s writings. It includes only papers that resided in the Library of Congress and other documents considered to be public by the mid-1800s. Its been criticized by scholars who consider it a “bowdlerized” edition, or having been scrubbed of offensive and vulgar references.
