The ultimate tinkerer and putterer, Jefferson was always noting things that could make life easier and then adapting them for his own use. Unless otherwise noted, all of the items shown on this page were developed by Jefferson for use at Monticello; many of the originals are on display there.
An avid violinist
who frequently played in quartets, he designed and built
a special rotating music stand to hold the music for four
musicians (or when not being used for music could double
as a four-sided bookstand).
An author of more
than 25,000 letters during his lifetime, Jefferson
devised a polygraph (letter-writing machine) to cut down
writing time. This ingenious device could hold up to four
pens, each attached to the others via arms. While he
wrote using one pen, the other pens allowed him to make
up to four copies at one time -- the other three pens
duplicating each original pen stroke so exactly that it
was next to impossible to determine which letter was
written by his hand and which by the machine's.
Jefferson
maintained one of the finest wine cellars in Virginia,
and even attempted to cultivate wine grapes at
Monticello. A fireplace concealed a dumbwaiter, which
brought up wine bottles from the cellar.