Saving Monticello: The Newsletter
The latest about the book, author events, and more
Newsletter Editor - Marc Leepson
Volume XVI, Number 5 May 1, 2019
“The study of the past is a constantly evolving, never-ending journey of discovery.” – Eric Foner
GRADE CHANGE: I owe H.C., a mid-19th century New York Times reporter, an apology. In last month’s newsletter, I called him out for writing in March 1866 that Monticello was “a copy of a building Mr. Jefferson saw in Paris, which struck his fancy.”
That statement, I said, was not true.
As I explained it:
I was wrong about that, as I was reminded by my friend Susan Stein, Monticello’s curator, and by my colleague Rick Britton, an esteemed historian in Charlottesville, both long-time subscribers to this newsletter. As Susan gently told me: the second version of Monticello, the “revision,” was “much influenced by several buildings that [Jefferson] saw in France, especially l’Hôtel de Salm, for its one-story appearance and dome. The influence of French neo-classical architecture on [Monticello’s] later design is widely recognized.”
Rick emailed to say the same thing, pointing me to the page on the Thomas Jefferson Foundation’s website that goes into Jefferson’s architectural influences in detail: http://bit.ly/MonticelloDesign
And Susan sent me this image which shows a side-by-side comparison.
So, with apologies to readers, I stand corrected. I hereby raise H.C.’s grade to a B-minus, because I’m an exacting grader and he failed to mention the exact Parisian building that Jefferson saw in Paris, l’Hôtel de Salm.
Said building, by the way, is a magnificent one, inside and out. It’s on the Left Bank facing the Tuileries Gardens. It was completed in 1787 for the German Prince Frederick III (aka the Prince of Salm-Kyrburg), and became the Palais de la Légion d’Honneur in 1804 (during Jefferson’s first term as president) under Napoleon Bonaparte.
l’Hôtel de Salm suffered severe damage in an 1871 fire, but seven years later was rebuilt with the same facades. Today it remains the home of the Legion of Honor, aka la Grande Chancellerie de la Legion d’Honneur. The website is: http://bit.ly/HoteldeSalm
That statement, I said, was not true.
As I explained it:
“Monticello is not a copy of any one structure. For one thing [Thomas Jefferson], designed and built two houses at Monticello—tearing down most of the first one. For another, he was most influenced by the 16th century Italian architect Andrea Palladio—not by a building he saw in Paris.”My conclusion: “H.C. gets a D-minus for his knowledge of Monticello’s architectural history.”
I was wrong about that, as I was reminded by my friend Susan Stein, Monticello’s curator, and by my colleague Rick Britton, an esteemed historian in Charlottesville, both long-time subscribers to this newsletter. As Susan gently told me: the second version of Monticello, the “revision,” was “much influenced by several buildings that [Jefferson] saw in France, especially l’Hôtel de Salm, for its one-story appearance and dome. The influence of French neo-classical architecture on [Monticello’s] later design is widely recognized.”
Rick emailed to say the same thing, pointing me to the page on the Thomas Jefferson Foundation’s website that goes into Jefferson’s architectural influences in detail: http://bit.ly/MonticelloDesign
And Susan sent me this image which shows a side-by-side comparison.
So, with apologies to readers, I stand corrected. I hereby raise H.C.’s grade to a B-minus, because I’m an exacting grader and he failed to mention the exact Parisian building that Jefferson saw in Paris, l’Hôtel de Salm.
Said building, by the way, is a magnificent one, inside and out. It’s on the Left Bank facing the Tuileries Gardens. It was completed in 1787 for the German Prince Frederick III (aka the Prince of Salm-Kyrburg), and became the Palais de la Légion d’Honneur in 1804 (during Jefferson’s first term as president) under Napoleon Bonaparte.
l’Hôtel de Salm suffered severe damage in an 1871 fire, but seven years later was rebuilt with the same facades. Today it remains the home of the Legion of Honor, aka la Grande Chancellerie de la Legion d’Honneur. The website is: http://bit.ly/HoteldeSalm
EVENTS: I’m in seven-day-a-week writing mode on my next book, and have just two events in May. Both are talks on Saving Monticello. The first is on Monday, May 5, for a retiree group in Charlottesville, one of my favorite places on earth.
The second will be on Thursday, May 16, in New York City. The American Sephardi Federation is sponsoring it at 7:00 at the Center for Jewish History, 15 West 16th Street. Here’s how the ASF is advertising the talk:
I would love to see my NYC friends at the talk. Ticket info at http://bit.ly/May16TalkNYC
There’s always the chance that I may be doing a last-minute talk or signing. For the latest on that, or to check out my scheduled 2019 events, go to the Events page on my website at https://leepsoncalendar.blogspot.com
The second will be on Thursday, May 16, in New York City. The American Sephardi Federation is sponsoring it at 7:00 at the Center for Jewish History, 15 West 16th Street. Here’s how the ASF is advertising the talk:
Journalist, historian, and author Marc Leepson will present a lively talk (complete with vintage images) of a little-known but important part of Sephardic Jewish-American history and American historic preservation: how U.S. Navy Commodore Uriah P. Levy and his nephew Jefferson M. Levy—who owned Monticello from 1834-1923—on two occasions repaired, restored, and preserved the Thomas Jefferson's iconic house in Charlottesville, Virginia.
The talk will include a history of the Levy-Phillips-Nunez Family, one of the most accomplished Jewish-American families of the 18th and 19th centuries. It begins with the arrival in 1733 of Dr. Samuel Nunez, a leader of a group of forty Sephardic Jews who fled Portugal and were among the founders of Savannah, Georgia. It includes the biographies of Uriah Levy (a fifth generation American, born in Philadelphia in 1792, who went on to a distinguished career in the U.S. Navy) and his nephew Jefferson Monroe Levy, who was born in New York City, and became a prominent lawyer, a hugely successful real estate and stock speculator, and a three-term member of Congress. The heart of the story is Uriah and Jefferson Levy's stewardship of Monticello, without which the house very likely would not have survived.
I would love to see my NYC friends at the talk. Ticket info at http://bit.ly/May16TalkNYC
There’s always the chance that I may be doing a last-minute talk or signing. For the latest on that, or to check out my scheduled 2019 events, go to the Events page on my website at https://leepsoncalendar.blogspot.com
If you’d like to arrange an event for Saving Monticello, or for any of my other books, email me. For info on my latest book, Ballad of the Green Beret, go to http://bit.ly/GreenBeretBook
GIFT IDEAS: Want a personally autographed, brand-new paperback copy of Saving Monticello? Please e-mail me at marcleepson@gmail.com I also have a few as-new, unopened hardcover copies, along with a good selection of brand-new copies of my other books.
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