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.

Winchester, James, 1725-1826 to Maria Breedlove

Order a pdf of this item here.

Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC06997.043 Author/Creator: Winchester, James, 1725-1826 Place Written: Mobile Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 8 December 1814 Pagination: 2 p. : Height: 24.5 cm, Width: 20.2 cm Order a Copy

General Winchester writes his daughter on the subject of women's dress. He has just returned from a ball, which he attended out of curiosity to see the local ladies, whom he found them much less attractive than the women of Quebec. He adds a paragraph about the fleet of enemy ships currently approaching the point, concluding: "this last paragraph is added for your male acquaintances."

Winchester, James, 1752-1826

Citation Guidelines for Online Resources