Laura Dean Bennett
Staff Writer
For self-styled students of American history, like me, Presidents Day provides an annual reminder of how Americans’ lives were shaped by our founding fathers.
There have been countless books published about them and there will, without doubt, be many more to come.
But when we say, “a picture is worth a thousand words,” we might be describing our modern literary invention – the coffee table book.
These delightful creations bring us beyond the words on a page to an actual vision of their subject and can certainly bring history to life.
This is why I am so enamored with coffee table books about the lives of our founding fathers and I recommend them to our readers.
Any of these books would interest someone who enjoys studying the lives of our founding fathers, and in particular, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson – two of America’s most beloved political and cultural figures.
They shine a bright light on life as it was lived at Mount Vernon and Monticello, the homes of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, who were – each in their own way – “Renaissance men.”
Washington and Jefferson’s wide-ranging interests ran from military strategy to botany, gardening, cuisine and international diplomacy.
Their lives reflected the convergence of history and culture, architecture and landscape design, horticulture and science and their homes are a testament to it.
The informative narratives and captivating photography in each of these books take us on a compelling journey through Mount Vernon and Monticello, offering us an intimate tour of these magnificent living history museums.
We are blessed to live as close as we do to both. It would be a shame not to make at least one pilgrimage there.
Until you can visit in person, any of these beautiful books can take you there in spirit.
Dining with the Washingtons: Historic Recipes, Entertaining, and Hospitality from Mount Vernon
Edited by Stephen McLeod
This well-researched book offers essays and handsome illustrations which combine to give readers a glimpse into the homelife of and the meals enjoyed by George and Martha Washington and their many distinguished guests.
It’s part 18th century history lesson and part cookbook –filled, not only with the social and culinary culture of the day, but authentic recipes (thankfully updated for today’s cooks) from Mount Vernon’s kitchen.
Dining with the Washingtons will surely engage gourmands and history buffs alike and will find a place on both their coffee tables and their kitchen counters.
It features a foreword by former White House executive chef Walter Scheib and more than 90 historic recipes adapted for the modern kitchen by renowned culinary historian Nancy Carter Crump.
The General in the Garden: George Washington’s Landscape at Mount Vernon
The General in the Garden is composed of three essays, by Adam T. Erby, J. Dean Norton, and Esther C. White, which chronicle Washington’s extensive work to transform Mount Vernon in the years between the American Revolution and the Constitutional Convention.
These knowledgeable authors also explain how exhaustive research and archaeological discoveries led to the ground-breaking recreation of Mount Vernon’s gardens, two centuries after Washington’s death.
The book’s lavish illustrations bring Mount Vernon’s landscape features to life. These are arguably the best-documented and best-preserved complex of gardens and grounds to survive from 18th century America.
This book will appeal to students of American history who are interested in President Washington’s intense love and sophisticated knowledge of farming, gardening and landscaping and the enduring legacy in agrarian culture that Mount Vernon has given America.
The Worlds of Thomas Jefferson at Monticello
Written by Susan R. Stein, a curator of Monticello, this magnificent book contains photographs of more than 150 of the objects that President Jefferson acquired.
The book’s photography documents the priceless historical treasures Jefferson brought to Monticello.
They range from the lap desk on which the Declaration of Independence was composed, to the Mandan buffalo robe which was part of Jefferson’s collection of Native American artifacts.
The book includes an exhaustive catalogue of Monticello’s art and artifacts, with details about their history and their significance to Jefferson.
Significantly, it represents the first time these objects have been seen together since the contents of Monticello were dispersed at the president’s death.
This astonishing collection reveals the range of Jefferson’s curiosity and interests. It reveals him not only a great statesman but as an accomplished architect, amateur scientist, farmer and student of historian.
Monticello reflects not only the mind of America’s greatest statesman, but also and the styles of colonial America.
Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello
by William L. Beiswanger, Lucia C. Stanton, Peter J. Hatch and Susan R. Stein
The book includes five essays by the noted scholars with an introductory essay by Wendell Garrett.
Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello is a thoroughly researched look at President Jefferson’s beloved “little mountain.”
Jefferson, the third president of the United States, designed his Virginia residence with innovations that were unprecedented in the New World.
The beauty of the house and innovation of its design stand as a testament to Jefferson’s architectural prowess. A visitor in 1782 famously wrote: “Mr. Jefferson is the first American who has consulted the Fine Arts to know how he should shelter himself from the weather.”
Jefferson’s extraordinary designs and inventions found throughout the house are explored in great detail in the book.
Readers are also given a tour of Monticello’s celebrated gardens and grounds – gardens and vineyards – a lovely landscape of flowers, fruits, herbs and vegetables gathered from both from the Old and New Worlds.
Monticello’s historic value is reflected in the fact that the site is included in the United Nation’s list of World Heritage Sites, which must be protected at all costs, designating the house and grounds as an international treasure.
Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello is a fitting tribute to one of America’s greatest homes.
Dining at Monticello, In Good Taste and Abundance
Edited by Damon Lee Fowler, author of Classical Southern Cooking
This stunningly beautiful book takes readers on a wonderful “cook’s tour” of Monticello, Thomas Jefferson’s beloved “little mountain” home.
It features essays on 18th and early 19th century culinary culture along with 75 recipes, authentic to the period, augmented by historical illustrations and sumptuous color photography.
It recounts details Monticello’s extensive gardens and vineyards and the exquisite hospitality they afforded family and guests in Monticello’s dining room.
I was given a copy for Christmas and since then, have pored over its pages many times, making promises to recreate some of these recipes in my own kitchen – one of these days!
Thomas Jefferson at Monticello
by Leslie Greene Bowman (president of Monticello and the Thomas Jefferson Foundation) and Charlotte Moss (designer and author)
Photography by renowned interiors photographer, Miguel Flores-Vianna
Narratives in Thomas Jefferson at Monticello include contributions by some of America’s foremost experts in their fields and they do honor to President Jefferson’s vision.
Contributors include: Pul-itzer Prize-winning historian Annette Gordon-Reed; Carla Hayden – the 14th Librarian of Congress; Pulitzer Prize winning presidential historian Jon Meacham; wine columnist Jay McInerney; Xavier Salomon, deputy director/chef at New York’s Frick Collection; Gil Scha-fer, award winning architect; Alice Waters, renowned chef and author and Thomas Woltz, an award-winning landscape architect.
Obviously, this is a scholarly text, but it is anything but a dry read.
Thomas Jefferson at Monticello is both an academic a tour de force combined with an irresistible collection of phenomenal photography.
The book examines Jefferson’s passion for art, culture and science – his adaptation of Palladian architecture and visionary landscape design, his horticultural experimentation and passion for French wine and cuisine and his creation of America’s seminal library.
It belongs on the bookshelf of everyone interested in the genius of Thomas Jefferson.