These volumes were given by John Adams as a gesture to Jefferson following their reconciliation in 1812. Adams inscribed the title page “John Adams to Thomas Jefferson, Jan. 1. 1812,” and sent a letter to Jefferson informing him that the package was on its way: “I take the Liberty of sending you by the Post a Packett containing two Pieces of Homespun lately produced in this quarter by one who was honoured in his youth with some of your Attention and much of your kindness.” Jefferson assumed Adams was sending two samples of cloth. In characteristic style, he responded with a lengthy discussion of the virtue of homespun, forcing Adams to reply: “The Material of the Samples of American Manufacture that I sent you, was not Wool nor Cotton nor Silk nor Flax nor Hemp nor Iron nor Wood. They were spun from the Brain of John Quincy Adams.”