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We Ought to Handle it Ourselves
One of the things you’ve heard me quote again and again over the years is G.K. Chesterton’s adage: “If a thing is worth doing, it is worth doing badly.” In his characteristically provocative and opaque way, Chesterton tells us that the really valuable stuff of life (such as work, leisure, birthing and rearing children, etc.) is something we ought to handle ourselves, even if it won’t yield perfect results. It’s that important. A true amateur – as understood in its literal sense of a person who does something “for the love” of it – is still a rare breed it seems. The word is often hurled as a pejorative to disparage the work of the non-specialist, but in Chesterton’s view,...
Hemmings’ Masterpiece
It was also in this 15-year period that Hemmings crafted several pieces of furniture for Jefferson and his family. Though there are several references to furniture produced by Hemmings’ hands, no known examples currently exist with the exception of a round-top rotating table that was mentioned in a letter from Jefferson to Edmund Bacon; that table is now on display at Monticello. Other furniture pieces attributed to Hemmings include a sewing worktable for Jefferson’s granddaughter, a Campeachy lounge chair for Poplar Forest, a couple of bedsteads, dressing tables, and his “masterpiece:” a writing desk for another of Jefferson’s granddaughters. The aforementioned furniture can only be credited to Hemmings through written accounts, including the writing desk that was tragically lost at...
