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.

Buchanan, James (1791-1868) to Cyrus W. Field

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC00162.03 Author/Creator: Buchanan, James (1791-1868) Place Written: Bedford Springs, Pennsylvania Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 6 August 1858 Pagination: 1 p. ; 24 x 20 cm. Order a Copy

Congratulates Field on his transatlantic telegraph enterprise. "Under the blessings of Divine Providence, I trust it may prove instrumental in promoting perpetual peace and friendship between the Kindred nations." Informs Field that he has not yet received Queen Victoria's dispatch.

Field was an American financier noted for the success of the first transatlantic cable which was sent 16 August 1858 from Queen Victoria in England to President James Buchanan. Success was fleeting though and the cable broke the next month.

Buchanan, James, 1791-1868
Field, Cyrus W. (Cyrus West), 1819-1892

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