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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.

Unknown [Shackles]

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC05338 Author/Creator: Unknown Place Written: s.l. Type: Object Date: circa 1840-1850 Pagination: 1 metal leg chain ; 8.7 x 35 cm. Order a Copy

These shackles resemble those used during the mid-1800s. Handwrought iron, consisting of two leg shackles linked by a flat iron plate. Could have been used for slaves, but also might have been used in a jailhouse for criminals.

Previously dated as 1760.

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