Thomas Jefferson's Travels in Europe, 1784-1789

Thomas Jefferson's Travels in Europe, 1784-1789 by Shackleford, Professor George Green. hardcover edition. ISBN: 9780801848438.

"Shackelford captures Jeffersons intellectual vitality, his cultured interests, and the esteem in which he was held by so many who came into contact with him... [His] splendid account of Jefferson abroad captures what he was truly about." -- Times Literary Supplement "An intimate and richly detailed description of Jeffersons encounters with European culture... Shackelfords contribution to the study of Jeffersons intellect is as attractive as it is substantive in contributing to our understanding of Jeffersons intellect and the forces that shaped it." -- Georgia Historical Quarterly "This is a beautiful book: graceful in prose and rich in illustrations." -- Journal of American History During his time as minister to the court of Louis XVI, from 1784 to 1789, Thomas Jefferson became not only a friend of France but also the champion of European culture in the United States. Because the man who was to become Americas third president learned so much from his five years abroad -- about the fine arts of architecture and painting and about the practical arts of agriculture, bureaucracy, and commerce -- his stay in Europe remains one of the most important of any American before or since. Illustrated with more than sixty images of the actual places the future president visited and described -- including both contemporary works and new photographs -- Jeffersons Travels in Europe is the first book to describe and explore the significance of Jeffersons European journey, detailing the sights he visited, the people he met, and the events he attended. Based on extensive research into Jeffersons account books and correspondence, as well as the experiences of other travelers of the day, George Green Shackelford connects Jeffersons journeys in France, England, Italy, the Netherlands, and the German Rhineland to his intellectual and aesthetic development. "Immaculately researched, thoughtful, and persuasive... A valuable, handsomely produced book." -- Journal of the Early Republic "An engaging account of important cultural landmarks in late eighteenth-century Europe and... a useful contribution to the literature on Thomas Jefferson, providing an insight into the private man and his wide circle of friends in Europe. It reminds us again of the vitality and comprehensiveness of Jeffersons interests." -- Journal of Southern History "A meticulously researched and presented work that increases our knowledge of this period of Jeffersons life." -- William and Mary Quarterly [original long copy]"While Americans generally still consider Thomas Jefferson to be a veritable Apostle of Americanism, it was his foreign residence and travels that made him Americas most sophisticated national leader. To understand how Thomas Jefferson completed his metamorphosis from a talented provincial, it is necessary to reconstitute what he saw on his European journeys, to describe where he lived in Europe, and to speak of how his European friends influenced him."--George Green Shackelford, in Thomas Jeffersons Travels in Europe. During his time as minister to the court of Louis XVI, from 1784 to 1789, Thomas Jefferson became not only a friend of France but also the champion of European culture in the United States. Because the man who was to become Americas third president learned so much from his five years abroad--about the fine arts of architecture and painting and about the practical arts of agriculture, bureaucracy, and commerce--his stay in Europe remains one of the most important of any American before or since. In the first book to describe and explore the significance of Jeffersons European journey, George Green Shackelford offers the reader an intimate and richly detailed account of what Jefferson saw and how he saw it. In the process, he assesses the influence on Jefferson of such figures as the architect Charles Louis Clérisseau and the artist Maria Cosway. Illustrated with more than sixty images of the actual places Jefferson visited and described--including both contemporary works and new photographs-- Jeffersons Travels in Europe shows how Jeffersons journeys in France, England, Italy, the Netherlands, and the German Rhineland shaped his intellectual and aesthetic development. Coaxing meaning out of Jeffersons account books and correspondence, and the parallel experiences of other travelers of the day, Shackelford has created a unique document, one that bears "a general resemblance to the book that Thomas Jefferson never wrote, his Notes on Europe."