Our Collection

At the Institute’s core is the Gilder Lehrman Collection, one of the great archives in American history. More than 85,000 items cover five hundred years of American history, from Columbus’s 1493 letter describing the New World through the end of the twentieth century.

Stoddard, Richard H. Birds [poem]

High-resolution images are available to schools and libraries via subscription to American History, 1493-1943. Check to see if your school or library already has a subscription. Or click here for more information. You may also order a pdf of the image from us here.

Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC02453.33 Author/Creator: Stoddard, Richard H. Place Written: [s.l.] Type: Autograph manuscript signed Date: 1861/06/30 Pagination: 1 p. 19 x 15.3 cm Order a Copy

[Draft Created by Crowdsourcing]
Birds

Birds are singing round my window,
Tunes the sweetest ever heard,
And I hang my cage there daily,
But I never catch a bird.

So with thoughts my brain is peopled
And they sing there all day long;
But they will not fold their pinions
In the little cage of song.

June 30th '61
R. H. Stoddard

Citation Guidelines for Online Resources