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.

Unknown to William McBlair

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC00722.70 Author/Creator: Unknown Place Written: Elmina, Ghana Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 27 September 1858 Pagination: 3 p. ; 22 x 14 cm. Order a Copy

Sends letters and information, and thanks McBlair for a dog given as a gift. Written from Saint George's Castle, also known as Elmina Castle, a former prison and center of the African slave trade. Name of signer is illegible.

William McBlair was a United States naval officer in command of the ship "Dale," responsible for catching illegal slave trading ships off the coast of Africa. Later served in the Confederate Navy.

McBlair, William, ?-1863

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