Ordering his favorite French wines
Thomas Jefferson, 14 May 1803
JEFFERSON, Thomas (1743-1826). Autograph letter signed (“Th: Jefferson”), as President, to Fulwar Skipwith (1765-1839), Washington, 4 May 1803. [With:] DU PONT DE NEMOURS, Victor Marie (1767-1827) Document signed ("V. du Point de Nemours"), a bill of exchange "à l'Ordre de Thomas Jefferson Esqr." for 2,100 francs, Paris, 7 May 1803.

Two pages, bifolium (248 x 208mm), docketed on verso in an unknown hand. (Minor loss at top right corner not affecting text, paperclip mark at top left and minor dampstain at bottom left). Bill of exchange: one page, 93 x 192mm.

"When in France, I visited all the remarkable wine cantons, went into the vineyards & cellars of those whose crops were of the first quality." Jefferson asks his cousin—now the American Consul-General to France—to buy wines for him. “The meanness of quality, as well as extravagance of price of the French wines which can be purchased in this country have determined me to seek them in the spot where they grow,” he explains. “When in France, I visited all the remarkable wine cantons, went into the vineyards & cellars of those whose crops were of the first quality, noted their names, quantities and prices, & after my return to Paris took my supplies regularly from the owner of the best vineyard, whose interest for the character of his wine ensured his fidelity as to quality & price.” He is particularly interested in “the wines of Champagne,” which can be best got by the way of Paris, where the agency of a friend becomes necessary. This agency I take the liberty of soliciting from you.” He then lists the best vintners he encountered “when I was there in 1788.” But of all the names he lists, the best was a M. Dorsay. “I would wish 400 bottles of the white champagne non-mousseux, of the best year now on hand, for which purpose I shall inclose herein a bill of exchange for 400. Dollars, which, not being yet received, shall be explained in a postscript.” (The postscript explains that the note he encloses is for 2100 francs from Victor du Pont de Nemours & Co.). He needs the wines by the middle of July, “Consequently there will be no time to lose after you receive this letter.” He then drops further hints about burgundies and white wines he would not mind having. “We are just now learning,” he says at the end of the letter, “from a message of the British king to parliament that war with France is possible.” An eventuality that seems to distress him more about the fate of his wine shipments than for mere geopolitical reasons! According to The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, this letter was written in quadruplicate, and the present example is considered to be the first. Another version of his letter sold at Christie's, New York in 2015 (12 June 2015, lot 51, $35,000). Provenance: H. W. Lende, Jr.