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.

Roosevelt, Franklin D. (1882-1945) to Harry A. Woodring re: Christmas greetings, with envelope

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC02793.084 Author/Creator: Roosevelt, Franklin D. (1882-1945) Place Written: Washington Type: Typed letter signed Date: 1939/12/25 Pagination: 1 p. + env. 18 x 12 cm Order a Copy

Signed as President to his Secretary of War. The envelope has a silver foil seal reading "Please DO NOT OPEN until CHRISTMAS." Typed on White House stationery. Alluding to wartime rationing, FDR jokes "This metal [on the envelope seal] can be stamped out into a hand grenade if you need it!"

Roosevelt, Franklin Delano, 1882-1945

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