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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.

Painter, Heber, 1841-1900 to sister Kate

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC02016.002 Author/Creator: Painter, Heber, 1841-1900 Place Written: Washington, District of Columbia Type: Autograph letter signed Date: December 25, 1860 Pagination: 4 p. : Height: 21.5 cm, Width: 27 cm Order a Copy

Letter is entitled "My Christmas gift to Kate". Describes his walk down Pennsylvania Avenue during the Christmas shopping season. Visits the navy yard and barracks with his friend Russ and remarks that Uncle Sam does not consider Christmas a holiday, as soldiers were on duty Christmas morning. States that there are many printers in the city without jobs. Reports that "the South Carolina delegation withdrew very quietly."

Painter, Heber, 1841-1900
Painter, Catherine, fl. 1844-1870

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