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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.

Winchester, James, 1725-1826 to David Winchester

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC06997.071 Author/Creator: Winchester, James, 1725-1826 Place Written: Cairo Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 27 June 1822 Pagination: 2.5 p. : Height: 24.5 cm, Width: 19.7 cm Order a Copy

Writes regarding court case in which David Winchester is currently involved. He encloses documents for David to complete, and hopes for a favorable settlement. He conveys greetings from family and acquaintances. He ends with a discussion of the prospects of war in Europe: "We here, like you in Baltimore, look forward to the event of a war in Europe with pleasure, you because it will enlarge the field for enterprize [sic] and we because we think it will excite a demand for our surplus produce, but these are unworthy motives we should not rejoice at so great a calamity on our fellow man for any prospects of pecuniary advantages."

Winchester, James, 1752-1826

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