THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Wednesday, May 8, 1996                 TAG: 9605080469
SECTION: LOCAL                    PAGE: B7   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS 
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE                    LENGTH: Medium:   52 lines

CHAIRS THAT WERE JEFFERSON'S, THEN JACKIE'S, WILL COME HOME

Two armchairs originally owned by Thomas Jefferson and later acquired by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis eventually will be returned to Monticello, thanks to new owner Patricia Kluge.

Kluge, an investor and former wife of media mogul John Kluge, bought the Louis XVI armchairs at a recent auction of Onassis' belongings.

Patricia Kluge paid $120,000 for the two off-white armchairs. The auction house Sotheby's had estimated the chairs would sell for between $10,000 and $15,000.

She plans initially to place the chairs in Albemarle House, her mansion south of Charlottesville. She will donate the chairs to Monticello within 10 years, according to a statement she released.

Dan Jordan, the head of Monticello, said he was elated.

``It's an extraordinary coup,'' he said.

The chairs were described in the Sotheby's catalog as having tapered upholstered rectangular backrests and top rails carved with leaf tips and beading.

``The extraordinary thing about these particular chairs is their connection to two American presidents,'' Patricia Kluge said. ``Such a significant piece of American history deserves to remain in this country as part of the Jefferson legacy at Monticello.''

The chairs are believed to have been acquired by Jefferson when he was in Paris in the late 1780s serving as the American minister, Jordan said.

With the advent of the French Revolution, Jefferson came home with 86 crates of household belongings, including the chairs. In 1827, shortly after Jefferson's death, daughter Martha Jefferson Randolph sold many of his personal effects to pay his debts.

The chairs apparently were bought by Capt. John M. Perry, an Albemarle resident. When Perry's estate changed hands in 1907, the armchairs were discovered in a stable loft.

The chairs then apparently were sold to the Fisher family of Baltimore. In 1962, they were sold to then-first lady Jacqueline Kennedy. She placed them in the west sitting room of the White House during her husband's presidency.

Patricia Kluge approached Monticello about purchasing the chairs, Jordan said. Susan Stein, Monticello's curator, examined the chairs in New York before the auction and determined their authenticity.

Stein will restore the chairs, which Jordan said are ``not in great shape, though they are attractive.'' by CNB