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.

Columbus, Christopher (1451-1506) Epistola Christofori Colom... de insulis Indie supra Gangem.... [exploration]

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC01427 Author/Creator: Columbus, Christopher (1451-1506) Place Written: Rome Type: Pamphlet Date: 1493 Pagination: 8 p. ; 19.6 x 13.9 cm. Order a Copy

First edition, in Latin, second (corrected) issue, printed at Rome after 29 April 1493. Gothic type; 33 lines per page. Pamphlet printing letter to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain concerning his first voyage to America, the so-called Barcelona letter. The earliest printed Columbus letter, describing his discovery of the Caribbean islands of Juana and Hispaniola.

Columbus, Christopher, 1451-1506
Ferdinand V, King of Spain, 1452-1516
Isabella I, Queen of Spain, 1451-1504

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