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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.

Douglass, Frederick (1818-1895) to Mrs. M.A. Bosbyshell

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC01467 Author/Creator: Douglass, Frederick (1818-1895) Place Written: Washington, D.C. Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 15 July 1879 Pagination: 1 p. ; 20.5 x 12.7 cm. Order a Copy

Douglass cannot help Mrs. Bosbyshell obtain the postage stamps she asked for. Advises her to apply to the President of the United States, the Secretary of State, the President of Liberia, or the Post Master General of Bolivia.

Washington D.C. July 15. 1879
Mrs. M.A. Bosby Shell:
Dear Madam,
I should be glad if I could help you to the Postage Stamps for which you ask, but I cannot. You might apply to the President of the United States - or to the Secretary of State of the United States - or better still, perhaps, the President of Liberia - or to the Post Master General of Bolivia. I think, that either one or the other or all of them might be able to respond to your request favorably.
Respectfully yours
Fredk. Douglass

Douglass, Frederick, 1818-1895
Bosbyshell, M.A., fl. 1879

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