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Thomas Jefferson. lithographed and published by H. Robinson, N.Y. & Washington, D.C. Library of Congress Collection.

Letter offers glimpse of entrepreneur Jefferson

Tom Hoepf
Tom Hoepf
Thomas Jefferson. lithographed and published by H. Robinson, N.Y. & Washington, D.C. Library of Congress Collection.
Thomas Jefferson. lithographed and published by H. Robinson, N.Y. & Washington, D.C. Library of Congress Collection.

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) – The University of Virginia recently acquired a letter Thomas Jefferson wrote to a friend in 1795.

In the letter, Jefferson tells Henry Remsen about a business transaction involving his Monticello nail-making enterprise. He ends with a comment about France and peace in Europe.

Jefferson had finished his stint as secretary of state and had yet to be elected president.

Director Mike Plunkett said the university’s special collections library purchased the letter at a February auction for $23,750.

The library has more than 3,600 letters and other items of the nation’s third president. Plunkett said it’s the third-largest collection of Jefferson memorabilia, behind the Library of Congress and the Massachusetts Historical Society.
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Information from: The Daily Progress, http://www.dailyprogress.com.

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