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.

St. John, James Augustus (1801-1875) to Thomas Pringle

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC00496.217 Author/Creator: St. John, James Augustus (1801-1875) Place Written: Paris, France Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 9 February 1831 Pagination: 4 p. : docket ; 18.5 x 11 cm. Order a Copy

Apologizes for not writing sooner on grounds that he was busy with his most recently published work, "Lives of Distinguished Travellers." Discusses his upcoming "Anatomy of Society" and expresses concern over its critics' reception and his friends' reactions. Inquires after Pringle's upcoming work of fiction about South Africa and wishes him future success.

St. John was a British author and traveller. Pringle was a Scottish poet and abolitionist.

St. John, James Augustus, 1801-1875
Pringle, Thomas, 1789-1834

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