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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.

Morse, Samuel Finley Breese (1791-1872) [Introduction for Mrs. Alfred Vail]

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC04650.02 Author/Creator: Morse, Samuel Finley Breese (1791-1872) Place Written: New York, New York Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 14 June 1871 Pagination: 1 p. ; 24.8 x 19.8 cm. Order a Copy

General introduction to "any of my friends with whom she may meet" for the widow of his colleague in telegraph business, Alfred Vail. Mrs. Vail was visiting Europe with her family. Notes Alfred Vail's authorship of an early history of the telegraph and comments, " ... to him belongs the credit of the first attempts to collate the facts bearing upon the invention."

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
Vail, Alfred, 1807-1859

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