An Annotated Edition of Jefferson's Notes on the State of Virginia

FAIN: FA-57414-13

Robert Forbes
University of Connecticut (Storrs, CT 06269-9000)

I propose to prepare the first comprehensive, annotated edition of Thomas Jefferson's only published book, Notes on the State of Virginia, incorporating careful analysis of the manuscript in the collection of the Massachusetts Historical Society. Jefferson's Notes has often been described as the most important American book published before 1800. A paradox ever since its publication, Notes wavers between the lofty universalism of the great statesman and philosophe and the crass parochialism of the Virginia planter. Astonishingly for such a significant work, there is no edition of Notes prepared from the original manuscript, which contains extensive strikeouts and interlineations. In total, more than 2000 words have been obscured from the original text. The annotated edition will restore this deleted material. An extended introduction will explicate the context, composition, and significance of this landmark American document.

Associated Products

Notes on the State of Virginia (1785) (Web Resource)
Title: Notes on the State of Virginia (1785)
Author: Robert P. Forbes
Abstract: Notes on the State of Virginia, Thomas Jefferson's only published book, is at once a compendium of information about the state and a sweeping commentary on natural history, society, politics, education, religion, slavery, liberty, and law. Many consider it the most important American book written before 1800.
Year: 2014
Primary URL: http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Notes_on_the_State_of_Virginia_1785#start_entry
Primary URL Description: Encyclopedia entry, Encyclopedia Virginia
Secondary URL: http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/
Secondary URL Description: A project of the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities

Jefferson's Country: Notes on the State of Virginia and the Invention of America (Web Resource)
Title: Jefferson's Country: Notes on the State of Virginia and the Invention of America
Author: Robert P. Forbes
Abstract: This blog will look at one of the most important periods in Thomas Jefferson's life, during which he wrote and published one of the most important books in American history: Notes on the State of Virginia. The year 2015 is the 230th anniversary of its first private printing in Paris; the 230th anniversary of its formal publication will take place in 2017. I intend to prepare the first annotated edition of Notes made from Jefferson's original manuscript.
Year: 2015
Primary URL: http://notesonvirginia.blogspot.com/
Primary URL Description: This blog incorporates notes, reflections, and insights inspired by or related to the Notes on the State of Virginia editing project, including the history of the composition of Notes and its context, aspects of the physical manuscript and early editions, and important related contemporary events. It is supplemented by a Twitter account (described below) that frequently links to blog entries.
Secondary URL: @JeffersonsNotes
Secondary URL Description: Quotes and insights from the Jefferson Notes on the State of Virginia editing project.

Notes on the State of Virginia: An Annotated Edition (Book)
Title: Notes on the State of Virginia: An Annotated Edition
Editor: Robert Forbes
Abstract: The first edition of Thomas Jefferson's Notes on the State of Virginia to be based on both the 1785 first edition and the original manuscript.
Year: 2022
Primary URL: https://worldcat.org/title/1309042988
Publisher: Yale University Press
Type: Edited Volume
ISBN: 9780300262803
Copy sent to NEH?: No

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