Antique Book by Thomas Jefferson

A friend of mine had this on eBay but declined a quick $300 offer as he wanted to hold out for something better and let the auction run its course. There were no other offers. I'm wondering what you guys think it's worth! Thanks! More pics coming in a few minutes . . .

 

There are some similar condition books that have sold on ebay the last few years from between $300-$500. It's not a first obviously, and condition is fairly rough.

 

Notes on the State of Virginia (1785) is a book written by Thomas Jefferson. He completed the first version in 1781, and updated and enlarged the book in 1782 and 1783. Notes on the State of Virginia originated in Jefferson's responding to questions about Virginia, posed to him in 1780 by François Barbé-Marbois, then Secretary of the French delegation in Philadelphia, the temporary capital of the United Colonies.

Widely considered the most important American book published before 1800,[1][2] Notes on the State of Virginia is both a compilation of data by Jefferson about the state's natural resources and economy, and his vigorous argument about the nature of the good society, which he believed was incarnated by Virginia. He expressed his beliefs in the separation of church and state, constitutional government, checks and balances, and individual liberty. He wrote extensively about slavery, the problems of miscegenation, a justification of white supremacy, and his belief that whites and blacks could not live together in a free society.

It was the only full-length book which Jefferson published during his lifetime. He first published it anonymously in Paris in 1785, where he was serving the US government as trade representative. John Stockdale published the book in its first English edition in 1787 in London.

 

Thanks, Kronos!

 

Thanks for the info, Komokwa!

 

If anyone is interested in purchasing this copy, let me know. I think he'd bite @ 4 bills, and I don't mind helping both parties out since he doesn't advertise or sell online.

 

There should be a folding map in this. It's worth a lot more if it is present. Of minor interest, Howes' U.S.iana, an important reference on books on the US, notes that this is the first edition to mention the appendix on the Logan murder on the title page.

 

Thanks for your input, 2many. There is a foldout (I believe shown in the pics I posted).

 

Looks like the foldout shown is a table, not a map, as mentioned by @2manycats ... or is there a map also?

 

I do not have the book in my possession, but will ask my friend about it.

 

There should be the portrait, the folding table, both as seen, and a folding map. Often maps (and portraits) are extracted by their collectors, who are indifferent to the rest of the book.

 

He got back to me that he doesn't have the map, but I have some other books he gave me in storage and some paraphernalia that came out of the mostly-1800s materials. Hopefully, I'll come across it.

 

Good luck!

 

Thx

 

I wonder if Daniel Burt was someone that was well known and would make the book more interesting to a collector