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.

Shaw, Samuel (1754-1794) to Henry Knox

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC02437.04075 Author/Creator: Shaw, Samuel (1754-1794) Place Written: Guangzhou, China Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 6 January 1789 Pagination: 1 p. ; 23.8 x 18.9 cm. Order a Copy

Written from Canton, present-day Guangzhou, China. Writes, "I love you too much to trouble you with a long tale of my disappointments. Randall has not yet arrived, nor do I know any thing of him since the 5 March at Madeira. Advantages which I had reserved for him I am under the necessity of transfering to the Washington, on board of which ship I take passage, and hope to see you in New York soon after you get this letter. My credit here is good. God bless you and your amiable family. If heaven means to perfect me 'through much suffering' (I think that is the phrase in the good book) I may consider myself high up on the list of its favorites. Continue to love me-as I am sure you do." Asks him to tell Joe Hoffman that he delivered Hoffman's letter to Mr. Delanoe, and says that he has "paid every attention to Mr McCall and think him a very good young man."

Shaw, Samuel, 1754-1794
Knox, Henry, 1750-1806
Randall, Thomas, d. 1811

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