"Nieu Amsterdam" (New York City). Peter Schenk, 1702. (GLC 03022) he Gilder Lehrman Collection, on deposit at the New-York Historical Society, contains more than 60,000 documents detailing the political and social history of the United States. The collection's holdings include manuscript letters, diaries, maps, photographs, printed books and pamphlets ranging from 1493 through modern times. The Collection is particularly rich with materials in the Revolutionary, Antebellum, Civil War and Reconstruction periods. Highlights of the Collection include signed copies of the Emancipation Proclamation, the Thirteenth Amendment, a rare printed copy of the first draft of the Constitution, and thousands of unpublished Civil War soldiers' letters. Letters written by George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass and others vividly record the issues and events of their day. The writings of such notable women as Lucy Knox, Mercy Otis Warren and Catherine Macaulay discuss a variety of military, political and social issues. For more detailed information about Collection holdings, click here. Due to renovations at the New-York Historical Society, the Gilder Lehrman Collection will be closed from June 1, 2008 through 2009. During this time, we will be unable to accommodate researchers or process any requests for images or photocopies. For general questions, contact: reference@gilderlehrman.com. A searchable database of over 60,000 documents from the Gilder Lehrman Collection Interactive features from the Collection, including Battle Lines: Letters from America's Wars Featuring newly published historical documents from the Collection A not-to-be-missed selection of 24 documents and images Posters, calendars, books, documents, electronic publications, and more A virtual museum with rotating exhibitions from the Collection