William Henry Harrison Correspondence, Volume 7

What it is

This is one volume in a bound collection of letters written by William Henry Harrison, dated 1856 in the library's record (after Harrison's death, referring to when the volume was bound or catalogued). The cover shown is a plain, dark cloth binding with a library call number label; no title appears on the outside.

Why it matters

Collections of a public figure's correspondence are valuable primary sources because they preserve a person's own words, decisions and relationships, rather than someone else's later description of them. This volume is part of a larger set gathering Harrison's letters for historians to study.

Look closer

• Why is a plain library-bound cover different from the original letters themselves?
• What might a collection of someone's letters reveal that a biography cannot?
• Why do libraries store historical letters in bound volumes with catalog labels?