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.

Lewis, William (fl. 1784-1800) to Henry Knox

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC02437.03878 Author/Creator: Lewis, William (fl. 1784-1800) Place Written: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 29 May 1788 Pagination: 2 p. ; 20.8 x 16.6 cm. Order a Copy

Lewis transmits a certificate with a contiguous letter to Knox. Verifies that the ship the Empress of China left New York bound for China in 1784, and that prior to its departure, he was obliged to withdraw $2,300 on behalf of the owners. Notes, "if Mr. Parker will subscribe the certificate I think it will effectually serve Mr [Samuel] Shaw whose case is a cruel hard one-"

Samuel Shaw was the first American consul at Canton (present-day Guangzhou) China.

Lewis, William, fl. 1786-1800
Knox, Henry, 1750-1806

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