Maureen Stack Sappey

As well as being a fascinating addition to the library of any Jefferson history buff, Kindred Spirits: Thomas Jefferson & Aeschylus offers a captivating window into the warm-hearth world of book-collecting, binding, and preservation in the early days of the United States and today’s process for restoring a book from that era. Did you know that President Jefferson had a penchant for taking apart various translations of Classical texts and then rebinding them into his own unique editions? That makes the discovery and acquisition of one of these books all the more valuable and historically significant. Sappéy and Buckley take us through their journey of discovering, acquiring, researching, and restoring “The Seven”: Thomas Jefferson’s personal copies of The Tragedies of Aeschylus in seven volumes. Despite the sweeping history laid out here, this is, at heart, a very personal story, beginning with a bit of intrigue and overheard conversation in a small rare book shop in Chestertown, Maryland, then moving to excited meetings at the Library of Congress in the nation’s capital, and finally to Jefferson’s home at Monticello. Each chapter is framed as a “step” in this bibliographic journey, giving the reader the privilege of experiencing the elation felt by the authors at each fresh discovery along the way, of slowly realizing the magnitude of the historical treasure held in their hands. The book they made of this experience is now its own treasure, and the book-obsessed reader could do worse than to give over a few snowy or rainy afternoons to its enjoyment.… (plus d'informations)

Fictionalized history/biography of Lavinia Ream, the youngest (at 18) and first female artist to be awarded a government grant by the United States – which she received to sculpt the full-size marble statue of Abraham Lincoln and which still stands in the U.S. Capitol rotunda where it was installed in 1869. Sappey uses a series of letters (written to a fictional friend) to allow Vinnie to tell her own story, documenting her years in Washington DC between 1861 and 1869. There are descriptions of Vinnie’s almost accidental opportunity to become a sculptress, friends and family members role in the Civil War (with a brother who fought for the South and lived to tell about it while the rest of the family was rabidly pro-Union), her opportunity for 6months to observe, draw and sculpt a bust of Lincoln while he was still serving in the White House, and Senator Ross’ infamous vote over Andrew Johnson’s impeachment. Letters From Vinnie doesn’t really address some of the more sensational aspects of Ream’s life (she was quite a controversial personality in Washington DC, as well as a controversial choice for the Lincoln statue). This is not a book that is going fly off library shelves but it would be an interesting addition to round out materials about the Civil War and its impact on both Northern and Southern families.… (plus d'informations)