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Polygraph letter as president, one page, 7.25 x 9, July 11, 1808. Thomas Jefferson's retained polygraph copy of a letter to his daughter, Martha Randolph, focused on arranging a visit to Philadelphia for his favorite grandson, Thomas Jefferson Randolph. Hand-docketed on the reverse by Jefferson, "Randolph, Martha, July 11. 08." Jefferson was an avid user of a copying machine known as a 'polygraph,' which he acquired around 1804 from inventor Charles Willson Peale. The device used a system of connected pens to create a simultaneous copy of whatever Jefferson wrote by hand. He considered it 'the finest invention of the present age' and used it extensively to duplicate his correspondence for his own records. Today, Jefferson's retained polygraph letters are highly prized by collectors and historians alike, often realizing higher prices than their autograph twins when auctioned.
The letter, in part: "My last letter from Edgehill mentioned that you had been indisposed but had got the better of it. Having no letter from Edgehill by this mail I can only hope you continue well.
In a conversation with you on the subject of Jefferson's going to Philadelphia you mentioned that Mr. Randolph thought of declining it, and I do not know whether I inferred rightly from what you said, that a supposed inconvenience to me might make a part of his reason. If a disapprobation of the measure or any other reasons prevail with him against his going there, the measure certainly rests with him altogether. I only wish that so far as any supposed inconvenience to me might be a motive for declining, that that may cease to have any weight. What I mentioned in a former letter, that I would furnish his expences during my stay here, and attend to whatever concerned him, I wish to do, and can do without inconvenience. His fixed expences there will not exceed 40 or 50 d. a month, which I shall not feel while I am here. Should therefore this be the only ground of Mr. Randolph's hesitation, I intreat that it may be done away, without however any opposition to his own judgment or any other grounds which may excite any doubt with him as to the advantage of the measure.
Anne's matter with Mrs. Madison has been attended to. I think it possible I may be able to leave this three or four days earlier than I mentioned…I think you will see me from Friday to Sunday or Monday. Present me affectionately to Mr. Randolph and the children and be assured of my tenderest love. Th. Jefferson." In fine condition, with uniform toning and archival reinforcements to intersecting folds.
Provenance: Property of the Elsie O. and Philip D. Sang Foundation, Sotheby Parke Bernet, June 3, 1980.
Thomas Jefferson had a close and affectionate relationship with his eldest grandson, Thomas Jefferson Randolph, whom he helped raise and educate. Jefferson took a personal interest in Randolph's development, grooming him as a potential heir to his legacy. In 1808, at the age of 16, Randolph traveled to Philadelphia at the president's behest, where he studied natural sciences and anatomy at the University of Pennsylvania. This visit marked an important step in Randolph's education and reflected Jefferson’s belief in the importance of rigorous learning and civic responsibility for the next generation.
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