Jefferson, Thomas:

$45,000 · Offered by William Reese Company

[AUTOGRAPH LETTER, SIGNED, FROM THOMAS JEFFERSON TO JAMES L. EDWARDS OF BOSTON, REFUSING DEMANDS FOR PAYMENT FROM A NEWSPAPER PUBLISHER]. An interesting Jefferson letter in which he rebuffs a request for payment of a thousand dollars by the editor of the Savannah Republican newspaper. He stridently objects to the payment demand and seeks to defend his honor and reputation in setting his correspondent straight.Jefferson subscribed to a number of newspapers while he was president, including the Savannah Republican. He cancelled almost all of these subscriptions, including that for the Savannah Republican, when he left office at the beginning of 1809, taking care to pay all his outstanding bills. It appears from this letter that Norman McLean, one-time editor of the Savannah Republican, promised his successor, James Edwards, that he would pay Edwards money he owed him once he collected $1000 owed McLean by Jefferson. Edwards wrote to Jefferson on August 20, 1811, asking for the money that Jefferson owed McLean. In the present letter Jefferson stridently objects to the request and insists that his account with McLean is settled. A review of Jefferson's memorandum and account books corroborates Jefferson's claim. McLean was seemingly trying to forestall Edwards' requests for payment by claiming that Jefferson still owed him money and that he would pay Edwards when he was paid by Jefferson.The present letter reads in full as follows (with Jefferson's unconventional approach to capi

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