Our Collection

At the Institute’s core is the Gilder Lehrman Collection, one of the great archives in American history. More than 85,000 items cover five hundred years of American history, from Columbus’s 1493 letter describing the New World through the end of the twentieth century.

Jefferson, Thomas, 1743-1826 to James Dinsmore re: architecture and building projects at Monticello

Order a pdf of this item here.

Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC04956 Author/Creator: Jefferson, Thomas, 1743-1826 Place Written: Washington, District of Columbia Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 1806/12/28 Pagination: 1 p. 24.7 x 20.2 cm Order a Copy

The document is overall tanned. Jefferson discusses the style of doors for the North Pavilion at Monticello, mentions Poplar Forest's window frames, and suggests dismissing the worker Stewart. Dinsmore (d. 1830) was a housejoiner who worked and lived at Monticello from 1798 until 1809. He was the principal joiner for the remodeling at Monticello and was responsible for important interior finish work. He also worked for James Madison and John H. Cocke. See Jefferson Memorandum Book p. 985, note 63.

Jefferson, Thomas, 1743-1826
Madison, James, 1751-1836

Citation Guidelines for Online Resources