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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.

Humphreys, David, 1752-1818 to Henry Knox

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC02437.04954 Author/Creator: Humphreys, David, 1752-1818 Place Written: Lisbon, Portugal Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 21 May 1791 Pagination: 1 p. : Height: 22.9 cm, Width: 18.4 cm Order a Copy

Written by Humphreys as the American Minister to Portugal to Knox as Secretary of War. Humphreys writes a letter of introduction for the Chevalier de Freire, who will be a Portuguese diplomat to America. Describes the minister as a man "of infinite worth," and asks that Knox "do him all the good in your power, more as an honest tribute of veneration for his merit, than in simple compliance with the recommendation of" Humphreys.

Knox, Henry, 1750-1806
Humphreys, David, 1752-1818

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