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.

Clarkson, Matthew (1758-1825) to Samuel Blatchley Webb

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC01450.458.01 Author/Creator: Clarkson, Matthew (1758-1825) Place Written: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 12 March 1779 Pagination: 1 p. : address : docket ; 22.1 x 18.6 cm. Order a Copy

Written by Clarkson as aide-de-camp to General Benjamin Lincoln to Colonel Webb. Encloses a letter for his father (not included) and hopes Webb will deliver it. Hopes he can procure papers for "the Girls to pay us a Visit." Apologizes for the short letter, but business and the impatience of Webb's brother, who is going to deliver the letter, forced him to write quickly. Postscript says to remember him to the family and Giles. Red wax seal partially extent.

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