December 2020

 

Saving Monticello: The Newsletter

The latest about the book, author events, and more

Newsletter Editor - Marc Leepson

 

Volume XVII, Number 12                                                     December 1, 2020

“The study of the past is a constantly evolving, never-ending journey of discovery.” – Eric Foner

 

THE GREAT LADDER: If you have taken the house tour at Monticello, it’s a hundred percent certain that your guide called your attention to the Thomas Jefferson-designed Great Clock near the ceiling just inside the Entrance Hall where the tours begin.

Also known as the Seven-Day Clock, the one-of-a-kind timepiece features two sets of eighteen-pound weights that hang on ropes that descend through holes in the floor to keep it running. The six cannon-ball-like weights on each side also mark the days of the week on the wall as they move up and down. 

The Great Clock most likely came to Monticello in 1794, but was not installed in the Entrance Hall until 1804 when Jefferson was President.

The Great Clock required weekly winding, which was done on Sundays. Jefferson had a wooden folding ladder made in the Monticello joinery to do that job. That ladder (in the present-day photo above and the below take around 1925), as unprepossessing as it is, is worthy of note as it’s one of just a handful of furnishings that has been in the house from Thomas Jefferson’s time to today.

I saw the 1825 photo in an post in November from the Instagram feed (“Preserving Monticello” put together by the Curatorial, Collections, and Restoration teams at the Thomas Jefferson Foundation. They regularly post rare, vintage photos of every aspect of the house and grounds, as well as images and videos of the staffers at work doing their fascinating jobs.

The Great Ladder post went on to describe the historic item as “just under 14 feet tall,” a “library-style ladder constructed of two rounded ‘L’ shaped poles with multiple rings between that can be folded in to create one large pole and save on space.”

The available evidence indicates, the post said, is that Jefferson had the ladder  made “based on one he saw in Bergen, Germany in April of 1788.”

The curatorial staff no longer uses the ladder to wind the clock. But it’s on display for all to see (tours of the house are now self-guided), although the staff removed the ladder and stored it upstairs for safekeeping recently when the Great Clock was removed for repairs.

Check out the entire post at https://bit.ly/MontInstagram

 

1905 FAMILY PHOTO: Many thanks to Levy descendant Michael Lewis for sending an image of an evocative photo taken at Monticello in the summer of 1905. In it, Jefferson Levy’s brother, L. Napoleon Levy (wearing the bowler hat), is posing with his four daughters—Agnes, Alma (on the pony), Fanny and Florence—and his nephew Monroe Mayhoff at Monticello in front of the house.

At right is twenty-year-old Willis Henderson, who worked for Jefferson Levy as a cook, waiter and house guide, as well as for his sister Amelia Mayhoff and her family, who often made extended visits to Monticello.  

Willis Henderson was the grandson and namesake of Monticello’s long-time gatekeeper Willis Shelton, who was born into slavery at Monticello around 1835, and continued to work for the Levy family until his death in 1902.  Willis Henderson (1885-1966) and his sister Mary Elizabeth Henderson, who also were born at Monticello, spent time in New York City working for Jefferson Levy and Amelia Levy Mayhoff and her husband Charles. 

Willis Henderson later returned to Monticello, and continued his work on the Mountain after Jefferson Levy sold Monticello to the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation in 1923. According to the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, Willis Henderson (in photo below, later in life) “greeted visitors there through the 1960s, including Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt.” 

For more info on the Henderson family go to this page on the Monticello website: https://bit.ly/HendersonFamily

EVENTS: Because of the pandemic I have no events scheduled for December. 

HOLIDAY GIFT IDEA:  Want a personally autographed, brand-new paperback copy of Saving Monticello? Please e-mail me. I also have a few as-new, unopened hardcover copies, along with a good selection of brand-new copies of my other books.

The SM Newsletter on Line: You can read back issues of this newsletter at http://bit.ly/SMNewsLtr