I was off last week from the blog, gallivanting around the northeastern states for personal vacation time mixed with research for my historical fiction novel about the American Revolution. The highlight of the research portion of the trip was undoubtedly a stop made in Philadelphia. I had planned for a one-on-one tour with an historian, Bill Ochester, to determine what was where in 1776.

Imagine my delight to discover Bill plays Ben Franklin. He plays him at reenactments, readings of the Declaration and Constitution, and various school presentations among others.  As if with a paint brush in his hands that removed the years, he walked me through Philadelphia as it may have been in 1776. In the words of Elton John, “It’s Philadelphia Freedom. I love, love, loved it. Yes I do!”

I learned in 1776:

• The whole of town was about eight by six city blocks in total.
• Houses were built on plots of about one acre and surrounded by gardens.
• Church bells were rung often, sometimes to ward off lighting and evil.
• The streets were swept to keep them clean.
• Elfreth’s Alley existed. Still does. It is the oldest intact residential block in the country.
• Taverns abounded for food, coffee, drink and to conduct business. (Some estimates say one per every 125 people.)
• There were 30,000 people living in what became the capital of the states. (=240 taverns.)
• The tower on Christ’s Church was funded by Ben Franklin. Not because he was religious, but so he could have unlimited access to perform  electrical experiments. Shocking.

Click on the thumbnails for enlargements and descriptions.

As a lover of books and history, I am fascinated by the library collection of Thomas Jefferson. Over six thousand of his books became the Library of Congress. Terribly, in 1851 a fire reduced it to 2,465 volumes, and one-by-one, the Library of Congress has sought to replace the lost books as best they can. But those new acquisitions don’t always bear the mark of Jefferson’s library.

Bookplates, small paper panels glued into the inside cover or first page, were common in the 18th and 19th century. Books were costly treasures, definitely not 99¢, and so owners inserted custom engraved bookplates, and often signed them.

However, the bookplate wasn’t for Jefferson. During his lifetime, books were hand-printed and bound in small sections called signatures, and then those signatures were stitched together into the book. To ensure those signatures were put in the right order, each one had a tiny letter stamped on the bottom of the first page. “A” for the first signature, “B” for the second signature, “C”, etc.

In his books, Jefferson cleverly hand wrote a “T” before the small imprinted “J” and sometimes a “J” after the “T.” Nothing more. I can just see it. Jefferson, sitting alone in his study, tongue in the corner of his mouth, inking in a small “T” or “J” and nothing more. Smirking. It makes him seem mischievous and not just a little cunning.

Do you write in, or mark up your books as your own? How?

The bookplate of George Washington and others can be seen at Bookplate.org.
Learn more about Jefferson’s collection on display now at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC.