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.

Portrait of Black soldier Private Co. I, 54th Mass. Infantry [ambrotype image]

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC03027 Author/Creator: Place Written: [s.l.] Type: Photograph Date: 1863 ca. Pagination: 1 cased image 11.2 x 8.6 cm Order a Copy

Unidentified soldier. (Identification based on insignia pinned on hat: "I 54".) Full length standing portrait of man sporting a moustache and carrying a bayonet and ammunition pouch on his belt. Paper and wood (floral design) case lacking cover. Brass mat by Dean & Emerson.

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