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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.

Guesner Government blacksmith shop. [Washington] [1861-1865 ca.]

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC05111.01.0221 Author/Creator: Guesner Place Written: [s.l.] Type: Photograph Date: 1861-1865 ca. Pagination: 1 photograph ; 34.9 x 27.3 cm Order a Copy

A man, small black child and a dog pose in the center of the image. The blacksmith shops and horses are in the background. Men work with horses on the left side of the image. Washington became a major center for army services during the war. Numerous government repair shops [some massive in size] employing hundreds of skilled and unskilled workers were established to keep the armies running.

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