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Viewing Thomas Jefferson's Bible requires a modern browser with Javascript enabled (if you've seen the book here, then you probably meet the requirements). This website has been designed to allow you to view the book in two ways. The first displays each spread or folio of the book in it's entirety allowing you to view the Greek, Latin, French and English as Thomas Jefferson painstakingly assembled. You can zoom in on any section of the page by double-clicking the area of the page you wish to view, alternatively you can use the small (+) and (-) butons located near the bottom, right corner of the book. The second way to view the book is by toggling on the transcription. This transcription is a digital copy of the text on each page (English-only). You can toggle the transcription on or off at any time but clicking the "Show the Transcription" button located above the book toward the right side of the screen. Regardless of how you choose to view the book, you'll be able to move between pages using the small arrows located to the left and right of the book. Finally, you can search the contents of the book (English-only) at any point using the search box near the top of each page.

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News

Conservation Blog Post: Disbinding Blog Post

It is difficult to describe how one faces the prospect of taking apart a national treasure. Of course, in order to reach the level of craftsmanship required, there are years of education and practice required, but that doesn't begin to fully describe it.

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All About Stubs Video

Book conservators always want to know how a book was bound. Before you can even think about how to fix something, you first have to know how it was made.

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History

Portrait of Thomas Jefferson
"I am of a sect by myself, as far
as I know." — Thomas Jefferson, 1819

Conservation

Separating pages
Removing the stubs
Resewing

Purchase a Copy

The Jefferson Bible, Smithsonian Edition, is a full-color facsimile created from high-resolution digital photographs of recently conserved and rebound pages.

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