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.

Brady, Mathew B., 1823-1896 [Collodion glass plate negative of Robert E. Lee].

Order a pdf of this item here.

A high-resolution version of this object is available for registered users. LOG IN

Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC05111.01.0478 Author/Creator: Brady, Mathew B., 1823-1896 Place Written: Washington, District of Columbia Type: Photograph negative Date: May 1867 Pagination: 1 glass negative Height: 25.4 cm, Width: 20.2 cm Order a Copy

Shows Robert E. Lee as an older man in dark civilian clothing, seated in a room with an old mantel clock. The clock appears to have been insribed with "M.B. Brady, Washington, D.C." Marked in negative: "R.E. Lee." The numbers 1318 and 554 also appear on the plate. Loss at upper edge that does not affect the portrait.

Lee, Robert E., 1807-1870
Brady, Mathew B., 1822-1896

Citation Guidelines for Online Resources