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.

Morse, Samuel Finley Breese (1791-1872) Statement Showing expenditures on account of Magnetic Telegraph

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC04234 Author/Creator: Morse, Samuel Finley Breese (1791-1872) Place Written: Washington, D.C. Type: Autograph document signed Date: 1 January 1844 Pagination: 1 p. : docket ; 37.8 x 24.1 cm. Order a Copy

Details the amount of money drawn from the Treasury, expenditure, and the balance left for the magnetic telegraph. Morse signed as Superintendent of the Electro Magnetic Telegraph. Entire right edge of paper is damaged with paper loss.

Morse is credited with inventing the telegraph and Morse code. In 1844, he sent the first telegraphic message, from Baltimore to Washington, D.C. He was also an accomplished artist and politician.

Morse, Samuel Finley Breese, 1791-1872

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