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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.

Archer, Edward R. (fl. 1830-1917) to friend Paddon

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC01896.084 Author/Creator: Archer, Edward R. (fl. 1830-1917) Place Written: Richmond, Virginia Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 20 December 1866 Pagination: 4 p. ; 27 x 22 cm. Order a Copy

Requesting information about the process of pressing and refining the surplus coal at the Tredegar Iron Works into a saleable product for steamers through compression into blocks that burn longer and produce more steam than unrefined bituminous coal. Archer also gives Paddon information on mutual acquaintances within associated with the Virginia Volunteer Navy. Letter also contains the interesting contention that the spirit of rivalry between North and South has grown sharper since the end of the war and that far from "harmonizing," relations between the two sections are "as mixing oil with water".

Archer, Edward Richard, 1834-1918
Paddon, fl. 1866

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