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.

Van Valkenburgh, Robert B., 1821-1888 to Franklin Butler Van Valkenburgh Esquire

Order a pdf of this item here.

Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC06253.03 Author/Creator: Van Valkenburgh, Robert B., 1821-1888 Place Written: Poughkeepsie, New York Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 6 March 1849 Pagination: 4 p. : Height: 19.9 cm, Width: 13 cm Order a Copy

A letter written by Robert B. Van Valkenburgh to his younger brother Franklin Butler Van Valkenburgh. In this letter Robert speaks about family affairs, including his mother and young brothers who are now living in Michigan. Robert also speaks of Franklin's schooling and asks a series of questions regarding his goals and ambitions. The name of the author was determined based on other letters in the collection. Michigan is believed to be the location of Franklin's mother's new home based on letter GLC06253.01.

Citation Guidelines for Online Resources