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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.

Currier & Ives Fort Sumter. Charleston Harbor, S.C.

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC02881.21 Author/Creator: Currier & Ives Place Written: New York, New York Type: Print Date: circa 1862 Pagination: 1 lithograph : col. ; 30 x 40 cm. Order a Copy

Hand colored lithograph published by Currier & Ives at 152 Nassau Street, New York. Print is mounted. Depicts Fort Sumter, seemingly before the Confederate bombardment on 12-13 April 1861, with the American flag flying above it. A sailing ship floats by the front of the fort on a breezy day (strangely enough, the sailing ship and flag seem to be catching breezes in opposite directions). Fort Moultrie and the Morris Island batteries can be seen in the background, each labelled below the image.

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