tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-148647148793397155.post8863738797930555472..comments2024-03-26T16:11:44.515-04:00Comments on All Things Ruffnerian, a Design Blog and More: The Wealth of Thomas Jefferson's LibraryMark D. Ruffnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09241533547309049140noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-148647148793397155.post-31218198360509774902011-09-24T22:08:18.616-04:002011-09-24T22:08:18.616-04:00Thank you, Anyes - I hope you're having a well...Thank you, Anyes - I hope you're having a well-deserved rest from all your restoration work!Mark D. Ruffnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09241533547309049140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-148647148793397155.post-26157642035555895482011-09-24T16:45:10.653-04:002011-09-24T16:45:10.653-04:00Hello Mark,
I have caught up and had my Ruffnerian...Hello Mark,<br />I have caught up and had my Ruffnerian fix. Utterly interesting, as usual, thank you.<br />Anyes<br />XXA. Kadowaki Busbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03958527899045345553noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-148647148793397155.post-31109325244546694192011-09-23T10:20:00.296-04:002011-09-23T10:20:00.296-04:00Hello, Ren - Part of what is remarkable, I think, ...Hello, Ren - Part of what is remarkable, I think, is how all those books fit into Monticello. I've been there a couple of times have a hard time imagining how they were all squeezed in!Mark D. Ruffnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09241533547309049140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-148647148793397155.post-23788744851990690932011-09-23T00:11:15.330-04:002011-09-23T00:11:15.330-04:00that is remarkable- I love collecting books and ca...that is remarkable- I love collecting books and can only hope to achieve a factions of the collection that TJ did.Ren- Lady Of The Artshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14440340751455712080noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-148647148793397155.post-70493876802571678582011-09-21T22:47:00.068-04:002011-09-21T22:47:00.068-04:00Hi, Yvette - Wikipedia's entry on the Library ...Hi, Yvette - Wikipedia's entry on the Library of Congress says that "Jefferson had spent 50 years accumulating a wide variety of books, including ones in foreign languages and volumes of philosophy, science, literature..." <br /><br />He collected cookbooks and we know that he read, studied and copied from Andrea Palladio's "Four Books on Architecture." Jefferson also knew the likes of Benjamin Franklin and Alexander von Humbolt, so I'm guessing that he was gifted with a number of scientific books.Mark D. Ruffnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09241533547309049140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-148647148793397155.post-77302388233008956292011-09-21T18:55:13.117-04:002011-09-21T18:55:13.117-04:00Wow, that graphic stunned me, Mark. What an incred...Wow, that graphic stunned me, Mark. What an incredible library he must have owned. Of course it's the quality of the books that count, not so much the quantity. But I am assuming that Jefferson had good taste in his reading material.<br /><br />And equally obviously, it seems The Library of Congress was fire prone. What a shame.Yvettehttp://yvettecandraw.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-148647148793397155.post-86917875075403760942011-09-21T10:20:27.302-04:002011-09-21T10:20:27.302-04:00Hi, Rosemary - My graph started out as a VERY larg...Hi, Rosemary - My graph started out as a VERY large document in Adobe Illustrator, but thank goodness the program includes a scaling tool!<br /><br />Thanks for calling my attention to the handsomely engraved book on the reading stand (or perhaps that's a standing desk). I imagine the staff has to rotate books often, so as not to cause damage.Mark D. Ruffnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09241533547309049140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-148647148793397155.post-30450678533533503952011-09-21T08:47:30.741-04:002011-09-21T08:47:30.741-04:00Hello Mark - What clever graphics. I started tryin...Hello Mark - What clever graphics. I started trying to count the top and sides to do the maths but gave up...... I trust you. I wish I knew how to do things like that on the computer.<br />From the book open on the reading table, it appears to be beautifully illustrated.Rosemaryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03814070177137076757noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-148647148793397155.post-31022446468158308922011-09-21T08:21:38.241-04:002011-09-21T08:21:38.241-04:00Hello Mr. David Toms - It's what you call &quo...Hello Mr. David Toms - It's what you call "condensed reading material."Mark D. Ruffnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09241533547309049140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-148647148793397155.post-91102223815445020692011-09-21T08:19:28.691-04:002011-09-21T08:19:28.691-04:00Thanks, The Ancient, for your comments. I did not ...Thanks, The Ancient, for your comments. I did not know about the bookcases being designed for speedy evacuation, but that makes perfect sense.<br /><br />When the Library of Congress was looking at Jefferson's collection, those delegated to buy wanted to pick and choose. Jefferson replied that there would be no subject that a senator wouldn't be interested in.Mark D. Ruffnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09241533547309049140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-148647148793397155.post-24439922082492164332011-09-21T08:13:10.689-04:002011-09-21T08:13:10.689-04:00Hello Road to Parnassus - Thanks to you, and Jane ...Hello Road to Parnassus - Thanks to you, and Jane & Lance for enjoying the graph!<br /><br />I would be interested in visiting Horace Walpole's library, and many other collections that are a part of Yale. Also in New England is the fine library assembled over generations by the Adams family.Mark D. Ruffnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09241533547309049140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-148647148793397155.post-29494924785115766172011-09-21T08:05:17.142-04:002011-09-21T08:05:17.142-04:00Hello Jane and Lance,
Another way to gauge how un...Hello Jane and Lance,<br /><br />Another way to gauge how unusual it was to own books is revealed in a biography of Benjamin Franklin. When he arrived in Philadelphia as a very young man, he brought with him a footlocker of books. That marked him as so interesting and unusual, that the governor asked to meet him.Mark D. Ruffnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09241533547309049140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-148647148793397155.post-47296406617864587152011-09-21T07:46:42.764-04:002011-09-21T07:46:42.764-04:00All I can say as a lover of books is WOW! It is in...All I can say as a lover of books is WOW! It is interesting to note the size of the books back in Jefferson's day.David Tomshttp://david-toms.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-148647148793397155.post-76503825759092981172011-09-21T06:50:05.333-04:002011-09-21T06:50:05.333-04:00Notice that the bookcase is made of separate cases...Notice that the bookcase is made of separate cases. This was to allow the books to be moved out of the house quickly and safely in the event of fire.<br /><br />Also, contemporary book collectors may be amused to know that Congress paid Jefferson not on the basis of the collective value of individual titles, but rather according to measurements of the sizes of the books. In other words, they were -- in as sense -- buying books "by the yard."The Ancienthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11662492574558280077noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-148647148793397155.post-85510487848149034172011-09-21T05:03:07.257-04:002011-09-21T05:03:07.257-04:00I forgot to mention...nice graphic with the red bo...I forgot to mention...nice graphic with the red book and chart.--RtoPParnassushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08958901307538141468noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-148647148793397155.post-90828835776698778292011-09-21T04:44:34.155-04:002011-09-21T04:44:34.155-04:00Jeffersons's Library is one of those in which ...Jeffersons's Library is one of those in which I would not just want to gape or look at the architecture--I would want to take down books and start to read.<br /><br />Another amazing restored library is that of Horace Walpole, now in Farmington Connecticut, reconstituted by collector Wilmarth Lewis. It is now part of Yale University, and well worth a visit if you are near Hartford.<br />--Road to ParnassusParnassushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08958901307538141468noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-148647148793397155.post-63171993362493060692011-09-21T02:47:44.095-04:002011-09-21T02:47:44.095-04:00Hello Mark:
All of this is amazing, as are your gr...Hello Mark:<br />All of this is amazing, as are your graphics which really do convey the size of Jefferson's library. What surprises us is that at the time so few people had any books to call their own.Jane and Lance Hattatthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16831890261259302647noreply@blogger.com