Message:

<p>[QUOTE=&quot;James Conrad, post: 4128461, member: 5066&quot;]Now here we have an example of a John Adams era baize writing surface, the portable desk TJ used to write the declaration of independence in 1776.</p><p>At the Smithsonian, the nation&#039;s attic, worth a visit if in the DC area.</p><p>BTW, Adams &amp; TJ HATED each other!<img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie78" alt=":rage:" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /><img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie77" alt=":punch:" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /></p><p>The baize maybe sun faded but, it&#039;s still there!<img src="styles/default/xenforo/smilies/tongue.png" class="mceSmilie" alt=":p" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>Mr. Jefferson&#039;s Writing Box</p><p><br /></p><p>&quot;Jefferson designed the desk while a delegate to the Continental Congress in 1776, and had it built by a Philadelphia cabinetmaker. The &quot;writing box,&quot; as he later called it, is of mahogany, and of modest size: 9 3/4 inches long by 14 3/8 inches wide by 3 1/4 inches deep. There’s a folding board, lined with green baize, attached to the top—when it is opened, the writing surface grows to 19 3/4 inches. A drawer in one end of the desk has space for paper, pens and a glass inkwell. The whole is about the size of an attaché case—barely larger than the first generation of laptop computers in our own day. But this 18th-century think pad, at least, earned the name.&quot;</p><p><br /></p><p>11 photos of the desk at this link</p><p><a href="https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_513641" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_513641" rel="nofollow">https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_513641</a></p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]331357[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]331358[/ATTACH]</p><p>[ATTACH=full]331359[/ATTACH][/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

Your name or email address:

Do you already have an account?

• No, create an account now.
• Yes, my password is:
• Forgot your password?

Stay logged in