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.

Cravath, Erastus Milo to George May Powell

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 #: GLC00687.266 Author/Creator: Cravath, Erastus Milo Place Written: Nashville, Tennessee Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 16 May 1892 Pagination: 2 p. : docket ; 26.3 x 19.9 cm. Order a Copy

He thanks him for his comments on the work at Fisk. He sends condolences on the death of his brother. They are now building a Fisk Memorial Library. The author was one of the founders of Fisk University, an early African-American school of higher learning.

Powell was a Lincoln supporter and served as a statistician in the Treasury Department during the Civil War. Active in religious work as a young man, he was the secretary and manager of the Evangelistic Press Association and led a topographical corps through Egypt and North Africa to create Sunday School maps of Palestine and the Holy Land. Powell participated in the American Forestry Commission, the Grange and Patrons of Husbandry, the American Academy of Political and Social Sciences, and the National Geographic Society. He was active in Sabbath reform work.

Powell, George May, 1835-1905

Citation Guidelines for Online Resources