“ tome de mes
essais de Geologie aussitot qu’il sera terminé. je serai tres empressé de le remetre ici a votre ministre pour vous le faire parvenir, il contient
la partie mineralogique, j’ai osé y hazarder une Conjecture un peu hardie sur l’origine des corps qui sont entrés comme principes
constitutif des granits, en me tennant toujours sur la ligne des faits . . .
"voules vous me permettre d’avoir l’honneur de vous presenter un recueil de mes voyages geologiques--on en a séparé quelques
exemplaires tirés des annales du museum d’histoire naturelle . . .”
The second volume was sent to Jefferson by the author in September 1818, three years after the sale of his library to Congress.
[640]
15
Whitehurst on the formation of the earth.
4
to.
1815 Catalogue, page 30. no. 35, as above.
WHITEHURST,
John.
An Inquiry into the Original State and Formation of the Earth; deduced from Facts and the Laws of Nature. The
Second Edition, considerably enlarged, and illustrated with plates. By John Whitehurst, F.R.S.
London: Printed for
W. Bent,
1786.
QE501 .W4
4to. 148 leaves; engraved portrait frontispiece by J. Hall after Jos. Wright, 7 folded and full-page numbered plates by John Whitehurst of which four are dated 1778, and three were made for this edition, dated 1785.
Lowndes V, page 2905.
This edition not in Poggendorff and not in Agassiz.
Jefferson discussed Whitehurst and his book in a letter to Charles Thomson, written from Paris, December 17, 1786. Commenting
on the contents of letters received from Thomson, Jefferson wrote: “
. . . you say you have not been able to learn whether, in the new mills in London, steam is the immediate mover of the machinery,
or raises water to move it? it is the immediate mover . . . you observe that Whitehurst supposes it to have been the agent
which, bursting the earth, threw it up into mountains & vallies. you ask me what I think of his book? I find in it many interesting
facts brought together, & many ingenious commentaries on them. but there are great chasms in his facts, and consequently in
his reasoning. these he fills up by suppositions which may be as reasonably denied as granted. a sceptical reader therefore,
like myself, is left in the lurch. I acknolege however he makes more use of fact than any other writer of a theory of the
earth . . .
”
In view of the date of the following letter to Madison, written on December 16, the day before his letter to Thomson above,
and that no book on this subject by one Whitford has been traced, it seems probable that Jefferson intended to write
Whitehurst for
Whitford: “
. . . another Theory of the earth has been contrived by one Whitford, not absolutely reasonable, but somewhat more so than
any that has yet appeared. it is full of interesting facts, which however being inadequate to his theory, he is obliged to
supply them from time to time by begging questions. it is worth your getting from London . . .
”
Entered on Jefferson’s undated manuscript catalogue, with the price
18/-.
John Whitehurst, 1713-1788, English horologer. The first edition of this book appeared in 1778.
[641]
16
De Luc sur la Suisse et le climat d’Hieres. vol I
re. part I
re.
8
vo.
1815 Catalogue, page 29. no. 19, as above.
DELUC,
Jean André.
Lettres sur quelques Parties de la Suisse et sur le Climat d’Hiéres; addressées a la Reine de la Grande Bretagne, par J. A. de Luc, Citoyen de Genève, Lecteur
