Intimate Expressions

Personal Diaries of Maryland Life—Open through May 2022

A diary is a record of one’s most private thoughts, feelings, and view of life. It is also an important historical document, providing a very personal view of major moments in Maryland history. Located in our niche gallery outside of the library, this intimate space allows visitors to step into the minds of Marylanders, read their innermost thoughts, and see the world through their eyes. Open through May 2022.

Image: Portrait of a woman seated at the desk, photograph by Emily Spencer Hayden, undated. Maryland Center for History and Culture, Emily Spencer Hayden Photograph Collection, PP92.15

Image inset: Display case in the Intimate Expressions exhibition.

Intimate Expressions: Personal Diaries of Maryland Life is now open and highlights eight diaries from the 18th-20th centuries, as well as related Museum and Library objects. An iPad also shares diaries acquired over the last year during MCHC's Collecting in Quarantine initiative.

Featured Items

Three pages from the diary of William Faris, a silversmith, gardener, and clockmaker from colonial Annapolis, Maryland. The first page from May 10, 1799 contains brief daily entries regarding the weather and events, as well as a list of flowers in Faris' garden. The second and third pages are undated but list all of the flowers named by Alex C. Hanson, Esq. in 1798. –– Diary, William Faris (1728–1804), Annapolis, Maryland, 1792–1804. Maryland Center for History and Culture, H. Furlong Baldwin Library, MS 2160

World War I American Red Cross nurse and Baltimore-native Florence May Cooper (1893-1982) owned the diary shown here. In it, she describes her time at a military hospital in LaPanne, Belgium. In the entry dated February 29, 1916, Cooper describes watching an enemy observation balloon being shot down into the ocean and also provides a sketch of the balloon. –– Diary, Florence May Cooper (1893–1982), La Panne, Belgium, 1915–1917. Maryland Center for History and Culture, H. Furlong Baldwin Library, MS 2545

Two pages containing brief entries for four days--August 26 to August 29, 1960--from the diary of Treva Walkling (1909-1997), a waitress at the Randy Rock Drive-In located in Randallstown, Maryland. These entries record her house and car maintenance, the amount of money she spent each day, and the hours that she worked at the diner. –– Diary, Treva Walkling (1909–1997), Baltimore, Maryland, 1960. Maryland Center for History and Culture, H. Furlong Baldwin Library, Treva Walkling Collection, MS 2979

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