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.

Diamond, Sidney (1925-1945) to Estelle Spero

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC09120.427 Author/Creator: Diamond, Sidney (1925-1945) Place Written: Bougainville, Papua New Guinea Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 5 June 1944 Pagination: 10 p. ; 16 x 18 cm. Order a Copy

Diamond writes that the night before, the radio broadcast Fiji music, and he expresses surprise that "somehow the music - melody - intonation - of those not marred by civilization can be so completely expressive." He then goes into a lengthy description as to why he disagrees with the word "aficionado" being perverted by contemporary magazines, explaining its meaning in the context of bull fights.

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