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.

Pickering, Timothy (1745-1829) to Sylvanus Bourne

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC02505.36 Author/Creator: Pickering, Timothy (1745-1829) Place Written: Washington, D.C. Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 3 July 1797 Pagination: 1 p. : address : free frank ; 25 x 19.9 cm. Order a Copy

Serving as Secretary of State, Pickering responds to a letter received Bourne. Relates some of President John Adams' diplomatic appointments, including Bourne's appointment as Consul General for the Batavian Republic. Informs Bourne of the appointment of John Beeldemaker as United States Consul to Rotterdam.

Bourne was consul at San Domingo (1790-1791) and was commissioned vice-consul to Netherlands in 1794. He later served as consul-general until his death in 1817.

Bourne, Sylvanus, 1761-1817
Pickering, Timothy, 1745-1829
Adams, John, 1735-1826
Beeldemaker, John, fl. 1797

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