Thomas Jefferson
1789 Catalog of Books, [manuscript], [circa 1789]
From the collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society, Boston, Massachusetts.
Jefferson's Classification Scheme for the 1789 Catalog of Books
Jefferson arranged his 1789 Catalog of Books into three sections--History, Philosophy, and Fine Arts--adapted from Francis Bacon's three categories of knowledge: Memory, Reason, and Imagination. Within Jefferson's three main divisions, he subdivided his catalog into 46 chapters.
Below is a list of chapters and subject categories used by Jefferson in this book catalog, with links to the corresponding pages. Occasionally a chapter starts on an odd-numbered page but continues on the facing page preceding it. For example, Chapter 12, "Zoology," starts on page 21 but continues on the top of page 20. To assist in navigation, directional notes and links have been added to such pages.
History |
|
|
| Chap. 1 |
Ancient history |
pages 1 and 2 |
| Chap. 2 |
Modern history, Foreign |
pages 5, 4, 6-7 |
| Chap. 3 |
Modern history, British |
page 9 |
| Chap. 4 |
Modern history, American |
pages 13 and 12 |
| Chap. 5 |
Ecclesiastical History |
page 17 |
Philosophy |
|
|
| Chap. 6 |
Cosmology |
page 17 |
| Chap. 7 |
Agriculture |
pages 18 and 19 [top] |
| Chap. 8 |
Chemistry |
page 18 |
| Chap. 9 |
Surgery |
page 18 |
| Chap. 10 |
Medicine |
pages 18 and 19 [bottom] |
| Chap. 11 |
Anatomy |
page 18 |
| Chap. 12 |
Zoology |
pages 21 and 20 [top] |
| Chap. 13 |
Botany |
pages 21 and 20 [middle] |
| Chap. 14 |
Mineralogy |
page 21 |
| Chap. 15 |
Technical arts |
pages 22 and 23 [top] |
| Chap. 16 |
Ethics, Ethics proper |
pages 22, 23 [bottom half], 24 |
|
Ethics, Natural law of nations |
page 27 |
|
Ethics, Conventional law of nations |
page 27 |
| Chap. 17 |
Religion |
pages 28 and 29 [top] |
| Chap. 18 |
Equity |
page 28 |
| Chap. 19 |
Common law |
page 28 |
| Chap. 20 |
Law, mercantile |
page 28 |
| Chap. 21 |
Law, maritime |
pages 28 and 29 [bottom] |
| Chap. 22 |
Ecclesiastical law |
page 28 |
| Chap. 23 |
Foreign law |
pages 31 and 30 [top] |
| Chap. 24 |
Politics |
pages 31, 30 [bottom], 32-35 |
| Chap. 25 |
Commerce |
pages 36 and 37 [top] |
| Chap. 26 |
Arithmetic |
pages 36 and 37 [middle] |
| Chap. 27 |
Geometry |
page 36 |
| Chap. 28 |
Mechanics, Statistics, Pneumatics, Phonics and Optics |
page 36 |
| Chap. 29 |
Astronomy |
pages 39 and 38 [top] |
| Chap. 30 |
Geography |
pages 39 and 38 [middle] |
|
Geography, Asia |
pages 40 and 41 [top] |
|
Geography, Africa |
pages 40 and 41 [middle] |
|
Geography, North America |
pages 40, 41 [bottom half], 43 [top] |
|
Geography, South America |
pages 43 and [42] |
|
Geography, Islands |
page 43 [bottom] |
Fine Arts |
|
|
| Chap. 31 |
Gardening |
page 44 [top] |
| Chap. 32 |
Architecture |
pages 44 [towards top] and 45 [top] |
| Chap. 33 |
Sculpture |
page 44 [middle] |
| Chap. 34 |
Painting |
pages 44 [middle], 45 [middle] |
| [Chap. 35] |
[Music, Theory] |
[no entries for Ch. "35," but see p. 44, bottom] |
| Chap. 36 |
[Music, Vocal] |
page 44 [bottom] |
| [Chap. 37] |
[Music, Instrumental] |
[no entries for Ch. "37," but see p. 44, bottom] |
| Chap. 38 |
[Poetry, Epic] |
pages 46 [top], 47 [top] |
| Chap. 39 |
[Poetry, Romance] |
pages 46 [top], 47 [top] |
| Chap. 40 |
[Poetry, Tragedy] |
page 47 [middle] |
| Chap. 41 |
[Poetry, Comedy] |
pages 46 [middle], 47 [middle] |
| Chap. 42 |
[Poetry, Dramatic--Pastoral, Odes, Elegies] |
pages 46 [bottom], 47 [bottom], 50 [middle] |
| Chap. 43 |
[Poetry, Didactic] |
pages 46 [bottom], 47 [bottom], 50 [top] |
| Chap. 44 |
[Oratory] |
pages 48 [top], 49 [top] |
| Chap. 45 |
[Criticism] |
pages 48 [middle], 49 [middle] |
| Chap. 46 |
[Polygraphical] |
pages 48 [bottom], 49 [bottom] |
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