This small volume produced by the Smithsonian Institution here in Washington will knock the socks off anyone interested in the so-called Jefferson bible. This famous collection of biblical verses which TJ compiled in 1820 is here reproduced in a beautiful facsimile including the binding itself. The original was purchased by the Smithsonian in 1895 from a TJ relative and has had limited exhibitions ever since. In 2009 with the book rapidly deteriorating, endangering its availability for future generations, the Smithsonian experts pledged to undertake a conservation of the volume and their handiwork is contained in this book. But there is much more than just a photographic reproduction, in full color no less.
First there is a concise, but valuable, history of the TJ bible to set the stage. This essay is full of interesting information as to why TJ produced the compilation and its history after his death in 1826. It shows why Jefferson undertook this challenging task (using biblical text in four different languages); how he mechanically excised out excerpts of these four bibles and pasted them together in book form; and the crucial role of the Smithsonian in locating and purchasing the book which was printed by order of Congress and distributed to the public beginning in 1904.
The background in hand, I found the most interesting section to be a discussion of how these conservation experts undertook the task of restoring and protecting the book by literally taking it apart. The range of techniques is impressive and their dedication evident on every page. This is painstaking work of the most delicate type, especially considering the book was about 189 years old and quite fragile. The process is illustrated by some very useful photographs of the work as it was being done. The final stage of conservation was to have a new set of photographs of the restored pages taken with the most modern and sensitive equipment. It is therefore quite easy to read the restored text and keep it handy for reference purposes. A short bibliography is also included, as well as some beautiful contemporary paintings of several of the key actors.
It seems that the Jefferson bible is once again becoming a center of attention--and it is one thing to read about it in a number of fine volumes, and another to hold an exact duplicate in your hands. Having this book handy while reading, for example, Peter Mansea's new book on the TJ bible, greatly enhances the reading experience and takes the reader directly back to being in contact with Jefferson. A salute is in order for the Smithsonian for undertaking this project and doing it so extremely well.
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Stunning edition
I purchased this edition for an elderly friend (she turns 101 shortly) who is the curator of her church's library which houses an extensive collection of Bibles of scholarly and historic interest, and mentioned that she would really like to add the Jefferson Bible. She believed the Jefferson Bible would be out-of-reach, as it had been for much of her early life as a librarian. With my iPhone handy, we quickly checked an online auction site, then checked Amazon to be find editions currently available. We were lured by the Library Journal review, no doubt about it, and ordered it on Thursday afternoon at 4PM EST, Prime two-day shipping. When it arrived on Friday at 1 PM, I was very surprised, but my friend nearly had the Fatal Event.The Smithsonian edition is quite impressive, both as an introduction to Jefferson's work, and as a work of art in its own right. Pages are a thick (imitation) vellum, with rounded corners; there is a fold-out multi-panel map, and even tiny pasted-in sections that are true to the original (see uploaded photos for numerous details). Each page of the original book was hand numbered, and laboriously constructed from four texts - Greek, Latin, French, English - beginning with Jesus' birth, and ending with the tomb sealed with a stone. We see the man Jesus and his core teachings through the eyes of one of our Founding Fathers. The Smithsonian version introduction details the process of the Smithsonian Institution's restoration of this historic American volume, as well as Thomas Jefferson's creation of the original book. In spite of concerns about printing in China, it is a delight to hold a volume that is such a gorgeous example of the bookbinder's art.This edition has brought hours of joy to a dear friend, assisted her in curating an important local Bible collection, and is a treasure of a book for the scholar or historian.*I offer this as a review of a book, a beautiful book; not my faith, or Jefferson's, or the politics or economics of printing; none of which I care to discuss. You might want to read the book.*
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I never realized that Jesus was not God before
Reviewed in Canada on July 27, 2023