Thomas Jefferson Letter on “The Ball of Liberty” Comes to Auction Just in Time for the Fourth of July
A Scan of the Autographed Thomas Jefferson Letter Photo Credit: Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries
Siegel Auctions to sell extraordinary Thomas Jefferson letter, 248 years after Jefferson completed his final draft of the Declaration of Independence.
In this letter, written in 1795, almost two decades after Jefferson penned the Declaration of Independence, as the United States struggled to keep its republican form of government together, Jefferson espouses the momentum of the "ball of liberty" and denounces the "atrocities of Robespierre" and the French Reign of Terror.
Jefferson had been conflicted between his support of the French Revolution and the spiraling violence. His friends in France were among those who lost their heads to the guillotine, and Lafayette, the great Revolutionary War hero, was driven from France and held prisoner in Europe.
This letter eloquently reflects Jefferson's change in tenor, from supporting the French Revolution, even if innocent blood was spilled, to rejecting the extremism that threatened the spread of republican government throughout the world.
“This ball of liberty, I believe most piously, is now so well in motion that it will roll round the globe. At least the enlightened part of it, for light & liberty go together… What a tremendous obstacle to the future attempts at liberty will be the atrocities of Robespierre!”
A press copy is in the Library of Congress and was displayed in the exhibit of April 24, 2004, “A Revolutionary World-Thomas Jefferson”. However, the original has always been held in private collections. The letter is estimated to sell for $100,000 to $150,000.
Scott Trepel, president of Siegel Auctions, commented on the significance of this letter:
“At the time he wrote this letter, Jefferson was home in Monticello, working to restore his plantation and manufacturing nails. He would be elected vice president 18 months later. Still very much informed about world events and involved in American politics, Jefferson maintained his voice for liberty and democratic government. Remarkably, he refers to the ‘ball of liberty’ he and the other Founding Fathers set in motion in breaking from Great Britain’s colonial rule. An extraordinary man and an extraordinary letter.”
The Auction
Siegel Auctions has held its annual Rarities of the World Auction since 1964. The Jefferson letter will be in good company alongside other treasures, including two examples of the famous Inverted Jenny postage stamp.
Alyssa Baumgardner
Siegel Auctions
+ +1 212-753-6421
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