Saving Monticello: The Newsletter
The latest about the book, author
events, and more
Newsletter Editor - Marc Leepson
Volume XV, Number 5 May
1, 2018
“The
study of the past is a constantly evolving, never-ending journey of discovery.”
– Eric Foner
MYSTERY
SOLVED: Readers of this
newsletter may remember that we have written several times over the years about
the fate of the “Levy Lions,” the four statues that Jefferson Levy had arrayed
at Monticello. The lions—which were pictured oin the engraving of Monticello
that was on the back of the $2 bill from 1929-1976—were sold after the Thomas
Jefferson Foundation bought Monticello from Levy in 1923 and disposed of all of
its non-Jefferson contents.
Decades later, we learned that two of the lions made their
way to Cheekwood Gardens in Nashville. But the fate of the other two remained
unknown. Until now.
Rebecca English, who lives near Charlottesville, started a
quest to find the two missing Levy Lions after she thought she spotted one
outside a house not far from Monticello nearly five years ago. She first wrote
about that on her excellent Forsythia Hill blog in December of 2013.
In that and subsequent posts Rebecca reported on her
progress (or lack thereof) trying to track down the missing lions. Then early this
year she hit pay dirt. She discovered the lions at a historic home listed for
sale in Hendersonville, North Carolina, near Asheville.
“I knew the second I saw the lions that they were authentic,”
Rebecca writes in her blog. She did some close side-by-side comparisons of
photos of the lions from the late 19th and early 20th
century at Monticello and shots of the ones in North Carolina. The only discrepancy
Rebecca found was “time and wear,” she wrote. “The lions are missing a few
teeth but everything else matches up!”
The Levy Lions sit regally on the rear terrace (see photo above) of a historic house
called Chanteloup, which was built in 1840 for a French count and countess on
28 acres of land and sometimes is known as “Little Biltmore.” In 1900 new owners
brought in the pioneering landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted to design
the terraced gardens.
Rebecca drove to Hendersonville to confirm what she
suspected. “Not only was the trip to see the lions amazing,” she wrote, “but
the property owners celebrated this event with us by providing lunch on the
veranda. I could gaze upon the lions and the Olmsted gardens and watch the
birds dip and dive down in the valley below.”
Below are photos Rebecca took and
kindly gave us permission to use of the lions at Chanteloup.
You can read her entire post at http://bit.ly/LevyLionsFound
EVENTS: Here’s
a rundown on my May speaking events. For info on my latest book, Ballad of the Green Beret, please go to http://bit.ly/GBBallad
·
Tuesday,
May 1– Talk on Ballad of the Green
Beret and book signing for the Veterans Military History Group at the
Silver Spring (Maryland) Senior Center.
·
Saturday,
May 5 – Talk on Ballad for the
Lane’s Mill DAR Chapter and book signing at monthly meeting in Centreville,
Virginia
·
Monday,
May 14 – Talk on What So Proudly We
Hailed: Francis Scott Key, A Life for the Chasseur Chapter of the United
Daughters of 1812, Sandy Spring, Maryland.
·
Tuesday,
May 15 – Talk on Francis Scott Key, the “The Star-Spangled Banner,” and the
history of the American flag at the JCC of Northern Virginia, 8900 Little River
Turnpike, Fairfax. More info at http://bit.ly/JCCFlag
·
Saturday,
May 19 – Moderator of a 9:30 a.m. panel on Vietnam War Biography at the
annual Biographers International Organization (BIO) Conference, at the CUNY
Graduate Center in New York City. For more info and to register go to https://www.regonline.com/2018BIOconference
If you’d like to arrange an event
for Saving Monticello—or for any of
my other books, including Ballad of the
Green Beret—please email me at marc527psc@aol.com
For details on other upcoming
events, go to http://leepsoncalendar.blogspot.com
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.
Or go to marcleepson.com/signedbooks.html to order copies through my local
bookstore, Second Chapter Books in Middleburg, Virginia. We also have copies of
Desperate Engagement, Flag, and What So Proudly We Hailed, and Ballad
of the Green Beret.
