The State of the Union: Reconstructing a Thomas Jefferson Family Library

In 1880, a gift of about 3000 volumes was given to Washington University from the library of Joseph Coolidge. In 2010 it was discovered that at least 82 volumes of this collection had once belonged to the nation’s third president, Thomas Jefferson.

Washington University is now the third-largest holder of Jefferson’s books, after the Library of Congress and the University of Virginia. We are pleased to provide additional details about the collection here and to report on Washington University’s ongoing stewardship activities.