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.

Ambrotype of soldier, 79th New York Highlanders

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC05131.16 Author/Creator: Place Written: [s.l.] Type: Photograph Date: 1861-1862 ca. Pagination: 1 photograph 9.2 x 8 cm Order a Copy

Full length, standing portrait of a young officer in a kilt, knee high socks and shoes with large gold painted buckles. Uniform indicates the soldier was a member of the New York 79th, "the Highlanders." [See Uniforms of the Civil War, p. 63] CASE: Stamped paper on wood with heraldic design. Case thickness 1.9 cm.

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