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.

Gardner, Alexander (1821-1882) Unknown suspect

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC07738.06 Author/Creator: Gardner, Alexander (1821-1882) Place Written: Washington, D.C. Type: Photograph Date: April 1865 Pagination: 1 albumen ; 31 x 26 cm. Order a Copy

Photograph of a suspect later identified as Captain Joao Celestino. Photograph shows Celestion wearing a heavy coat and facing slightly to the left. The Photograph is mounted on board.

Celestino was a Portuguese sea captain who had been heard to say that Seward ought to be assassinated. He was transferred from Old Capitol Prison to U.S.S. Montauk.

Gardner, Alexander, 1821-1882
Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865
Celestino, Joao, fl. 1860-1865

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