Jefferson Letter Found

I was visiting my friend and fellow Alexandria dealer and collector Gary Elyer today and he mentioned a Washington Post article that mentions him and the discovery of a letter by Thomas Jefferson.

As appraisers we all know that you never know what you can find in the drawers of some homes and businesses.  The Washington Post tells of the discovery of a letter by Thomas Jefferson found in an American Legion Hall in Old Town Alexandria. The couple who discovered the letter contacted the National Archives and the Library of Congress and were referred to Gary.

The Washington Post states

"I saw the handwriting, and I knew," Eyler said. "It's one of the ultimate finds you can find, a letter from Thomas Jefferson that could have been tossed away."

Speaking generally, Eyler said a letter in Jefferson's own hand is worth more than a simple autograph. A letter detailing grand philosophies of state might fetch $100,000 or more. A brief, damaged correspondence would likely bring less than $10,000.

At Monticello, Jeff Looney is the editor of "The Papers of Thomas Jefferson: The Retirement Series," in conjunction with the project Oberg is directing. He hasn't seen the letter from the American Legion, but said that the inks and paper used back then would be hard to fake.

"You can't just take a letter like that from the Library of Congress and trace it," he said. "An expert can see that in an instant."

No one knows exactly how the letter ended up at the American Legion post.

Hewitt's best guess is that someone connected to the post years ago had no heirs, and so gave or deeded papers to the organization. It had happened before, most notably with a soldier's World War I diary.

To read the full Washington Post article on the discovery of the Jefferson letter, click HERE (free registration may be required).