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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.

Webster, Daniel (1782-1852) [Patent for Ansel Thayer's improvement in the manner of manufacturing boots and shoes by substituting a metallic shank for that portion of the outsole which answers to the hollow of the instep and heel]

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC06362 Author/Creator: Webster, Daniel (1782-1852) Place Written: Washington, D.C. Type: Document signed Date: 24 April 1841 Pagination: 4 p. ; 40 x 29.4 cm. Order a Copy

Signed by Webster as Secretary of State. Countersigned by Henry Leavitt Ellsworth, Commissioner of Patents. Thayer's written description of his improvement is signed by Thomas P. Jones and George West as witnesses. Includes a one page diagram of Thayer's invention. Sealed and bound with light blue ribbon.

Ellsworth, Henry Leavitt, 1791-1858
Jones, Thomas P., fl. 1841
Thayer, Ansel, fl. 1841
Webster, Daniel, 1782-1852
West, George, fl. 1841

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