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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.

Forbes, Edwin (1839-1895) A Christmas dinner

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC08653.07 Author/Creator: Forbes, Edwin (1839-1895) Place Written: New York, New York Type: Print Date: 1876 Pagination: 1 etching : b&w ; 47.9 x 60.5 cm. Order a Copy

Marked "Plate 9." A lonely image of the outer picket line. An off-duty soldier next to a make shift shelter of pine boughs and fence rails cooks a meager meal and is tries to keep his hands warm. Actual size of the image without the margins is 27.8 x 40.3 cm. Outline from matting is faintly visible. Titles taken from the table of contents from GLC02199. Paper is brittle and edges damaged.

Created by Forbes, a member of the French Etching Club, while he travelled with the Union Army from 1862-1865. Born in New York City, Forbes became a Civil War reportorial artist for Leslie's Illustrated newspaper, joining the staff at age 22 in 1861.

Forbes, Edwin, 1839-1895

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