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.

Taft, J. W. Large albumen photographs taken by Memphis photographer Taft

High-resolution images are available to schools and libraries via subscription to American History, 1493-1943. Check to see if your school or library already has a subscription. Or click here for more information. You may also order a pdf of the image from us here.

Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC06739 Author/Creator: Taft, J. W. Place Written: [various places] Type: Photograph Date: 1863-1864 Pagination: 10 albumens. Order a Copy

Photographs taken from life by Memphis photographer Taft, beginning with Admiral Porter's flagship U.S.S. Blackhawk, also the U.S.S. Tyler, U.S. Navy gun Bat Brown, the Memphis & St. Louis packet boat "The City of Alton," the U.S.S. Fawn, the U.S. Ironclad gun bat "Carondelet" near Vicksburg, U.S. Ironclad "Indianola, and others. Most photographs are oval images of naval vessels.

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