Additional Resources
Digital Facsimiles
Over 10,000 items comprise the Arthur H. and Mary Marden Dean Lafayette Collection. A sampling of sixty images and documents have been digitized and are presented in this web site, organized into seven thematic categories. Use the thematic links below to browse.
Collection Guide
The Lafayette Collection contains materials by, to or about Lafayette and his family, with family documents extending back to 1245 and through the death of Georges Washington Lafayette in 1849. The series "Medals and Coins" covers a century and a half, up to 1931. The collection includes the oldest existing letter from Lafayette (1772), long missives he sent to his wife from America during the Revolution, other letters he wrote while imprisoned in Austria (1792-1797) and during his 1824-5 trip to the USA; texts of Lafayette's speeches, his commentary on public events, material compiled for inclusion in his memoirs, financial statements ; many letters from foreign correspondents on the progress of liberal causes in their countries, including letters from leaders of the Italian revolutionary movement; notes concerning the Belgian revolution, letters and documents on his involvement in the Italian and Polish revolutions, and documents concerning the management of family business affairs, including the management of the family estates.