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.

Barrell, Joseph (1739-1804) to Henry Knox

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC02437.03652 Author/Creator: Barrell, Joseph (1739-1804) Place Written: Boston, Massachusetts Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 2 September 1787 Pagination: 1 p. : address : docket ; 22.7 x 17.7 cm. Order a Copy

Thanks Knox for his good wishes "respecting the Enterprize I am engaged in for the Northwest Coaste of America & China..." Knox had recommended Samuel Shaw to assist Barrell's venture in China (see GLC02437.03644). Stamped "Boston" on the address leaf. "Free" handwritten on address leaf with no signature. See GLC02437.03637, .03638, and .03647 for related documents.

Barrell, a Boston merchant, was one financier of the expeditions of the Columbia Rediviva and Lady Washington to the Northwest Pacific and China in the late 1780s.

Knox, Henry, 1750-1806
Barrell, Joseph, 1739-1804
Shaw, Samuel, 1754-1794

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