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.

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This page was last updated on 09/15/2011.