William A. Bartow to Thomas Jefferson, 3 August 1822
From William A. Bartow
Richmond Augt: 3rd 18221
Sir,
Yours of the 26th ult: has been duly received and is now before me; so far as I am informed there is no edition of the translated classics going on in England upon an extended scale, some new translations of individual authors or works have lately been given to the world, and occasionally a new edition of translations heretofore published—translations of, Aristotles rhetoric by Crimmin 1 vol 8vo of Aristophanes by Mitchell in 2 vols 8vo, Quintus Curtius by Pratt 2 vols 8vo and some others, have lately appeared—some of these I have now on sale, and can readily procure any work as I regularly import direct from London—I have no printed catalogue of my books but will do myself the pleasure of transmitting to you by the earliest opportunity some of the english catalogues with which I am regularly furnished by my2 London correspondents
W A Bartow
RC (MHi); at foot of text: “Thos Jefferson Esq.”; endorsed by TJ as received 18 Aug. from “Bartow D. A.” and so recorded (with full 18 Aug. 1822 date of receipt) in SJL.
William Augustus Bartow (1794–1870), bookseller, stationer, and farmer, was born in Westchester County, New York. After serving as a private during the War of 1812, he moved around 1815 to Richmond, where he joined his brother Robert to form R. & W. A. Bartow, a bookselling firm that also operated in New York City. Bartow relocated his offices to the latter city by 1825, and until early in the 1830s he also did business in Washington, D.C. In 1836 he closed his shop and turned to farming. Settling permanently by 1838 in East Fishkill, New York, Bartow owned real estate worth $16,200 in 1850 and more than $20,000 a decade later (Evelyn P. Bartow, Bartow Genealogy [1875], 92–3; New-York Gazette & General Advertiser, 11 Nov. 1817, 18 Oct. 1819; Richmond Commercial Compiler, 24 Nov. 1818; Richmond Enquirer, 21 Feb. 1822, 9 Apr. 1824; [1825]: 72; [1836]: 81; Washington Daily National Intelligencer, 16 Nov. 1825, 7 June 1828; Washington Daily National Journal, 16 Mar. 1831; DNA: RG 29, CS, N.Y., East Fishkill, 1850, 1860; New York Herald, 21 Feb. 1870).
A missing letter from TJ to Bartow of the 26th of July 1822 is recorded in SJL.
1. Reworked from “1821.”
2. Manuscript: “mey.”
Index Entries
- Alexander (“the Great”), king of Macedon search
- Aristophanes; The Comedies of Aristophanes (trans. T. Mitchell) search
- Aristotle; Dissertation upon Rhetoric, translated from the Greek of Aristotle (trans. D. M. Crimmin) search
- Bartow, William Augustus; and books for TJ search
- Bartow, William Augustus; identified search
- Bartow, William Augustus; letters from search
- Bartow, William Augustus; letter to accounted for search
- books; biographical search
- books; classical search
- books; on rhetoric search
- Crimmin, Daniel Michael; translatesDissertation upon Rhetoric, translated from the Greek of Aristotle (Aristotle) search
- Curtius Rufus, Quintus; The History of Alexander the Great (trans. P. Pratt) search
- Dissertation upon Rhetoric, translated from the Greek of Aristotle (Aristotle; trans. D. M. Crimmin) search
- Jefferson, Thomas; Books & Library; catalogues from booksellers search
- Mitchell, Thomas (1783–1845); translatesThe Comedies of Aristophanes (Aristophanes) search
- Pratt, Peter; translatesThe History of Alexander the Great (Q. Curtius Rufus) search
- rhetoric; books on search
- The Comedies of Aristophanes (Aristophanes; trans. T. Mitchell) search
- The History of Alexander the Great (Q. Curtius Rufus; trans. P. Pratt) search