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.

Museum Exhibitions

Museum Exhibitions

 

George Washington’s Mount Vernon

Mount Vernon: The Story of an American Icon (On display through March 2024)

This exhibition explores the history of Mount Vernon, from its origin as the home of the Washington family to its ownership by the Vice Regents of the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association in the nineteenth century. The display from the Gilder Lehrman Collection includes a 1787 membership certificate for the Society of the Cincinnati and a 1783 ink wash drawing of an eagle medal for the Society of the Cincinnati by Pierre Charles L’Enfant.

George Washington’s Mount Vernon, 3200 Mount Vernon Memorial Highway, Mount Vernon, VA


Gettysburg National Military Park

Permanent Gallery Exhibit (On display through December 2028)

This permanent exhibit in the Gettysburg National Military Park Museum walks visitors through the events of the Civil War and the Battle of Gettysburg, featuring a number of artifacts from the battlefield.

On display from the Gilder Lehrman Collection is the inkwell used by General Ulysses S. Grant and General Robert E. Lee to sign the treaty of surrender at Appomattox, April 9, 1865.

Gettysburg National Military Park, 1195 Baltimore Park, Gettysburg, PA


United States Capitol Visitor Center

E Pluribus Unum, Out of Many, One (On display through 2027)

This exhibition is dedicated to telling the story of the US Congress and the making of the US Capitol. The hall includes rarely seen historic documents from the National Archives and the Library of Congress, artifacts from around the country, and a ten-foot-tall model of the Capitol dome. On display from the Gilder Lehrman Collection is a pin reading “You Fight & Die But Can’t Vote at 18.”

United States Capitol Visitor CenterFirst Street SE, Washington, DC 20004