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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.

Brady, Mathew B. (ca. 1823-1896) View of Professor Thaddeus Lowe and staff inflating reconnaissance balloon

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC05111.02.1345 Author/Creator: Brady, Mathew B. (ca. 1823-1896) Place Written: s.l. Type: Photograph Date: Pagination: 1 carte de visite 6.3 x 9.9 cm Order a Copy

Image shows a group of about five men inflating Lowe's reconnaissance balloon, with a large crowd gathered to watch. The balloon itself is about 1/2 inflated. Imprint on recto "Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1862, by M. B. Brady, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Columbia." Graphite inscription on verso "1.25.--." Photographers imprint on verso: "Brady's Album Gallery. No. 423. Professor Lowe inflating Balloon Intrepid To Reconnoiter Battle of Fair Oaks. The Photographs of this series were taken directly from nature, at considerable cost. Warning is therefore given that legal proceedings will be at once instituted against any party infringing the copyright."

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