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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.

Riley, Richard Collection of loose cyanotypes, Calhoun, Ala., mostly black students

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC05140.03 Author/Creator: Riley, Richard Place Written: [Calhoun, Alabama] Type: Photograph Date: 1870s-1900s ca. Pagination: 20 photographs Order a Copy

The images derive from the Calhoun Industrial School, founded by the Hampton (Va.) Institute. Most appear to be circa 1895-1905 (based on when Riley worked at Hampton). The images were taken by Richard Riley. The Calhoun School was a social experiment in which local plantations were purchased and land distributed to local blacks. See GLC 5140.02 Album

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