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) to Edward P. Fry

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC04503.06 Author/Creator: Morse, Samuel Finley Breese (1791-1872) Place Written: New York, New York Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 11 March 1870 Pagination: 2 p. : docket ; 20.5 x 25.3 cm. Order a Copy

Thanks Fry for sending a memorandum that proves that Morse was interested in having the government own the telegraph invention back in 1844. States that he made concessions to make it easier and less costly for the government but that they did not take advantage before the offer expired. Believes that this is now to his advantage and that it would not have been a good idea to have the government control the telegraph.

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
Fry, Edward P., fl. 1844-1870

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