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.

Ambrotype of a young artillerist and his wife

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC05131.04 Author/Creator: Place Written: s.l. Type: Photograph Date: 1861-1862 ca. Pagination: 1 photograph 12.5 x 10.1 cm Order a Copy

Piping on the soldier's uniform jacket and hat has been painted red. The woman's brooch and the cross cannon's on the soldier's hat have been painted gold. Crude red stripes have been painted on the American flag on the left side of the photo. CASE: Union case with elaborate acanthus & lily design. (See Clifford & Michele Krainik, Union Cases, #75) Case thickness 2.1 cm.

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