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.

Pierce, Franklin, 1804-1869 [Appointment of John Kell to Lieutenant of the United States Navy]

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC00684.03 Author/Creator: Pierce, Franklin, 1804-1869 Place Written: Washington, District of Columbia Type: Document signed Date: 24 July 1856 Pagination: 1 p. : vellum Height: 45.2 cm, Width: 37.5 cm Order a Copy

Commission effective from 15 September 1855. Co-signed by James Cochrane Dobbin, Secretary of the Navy, and L.B. Hardin. Features two detailed patriotic scenes and a paper seal.

Pierce, Franklin, 1804-1869
Dobbin, James Cochran, 1814-1857
Hardin, L.B., fl. 1843-1856
Kell, John McIntosh, 1823-1900

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