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Collections

The Maryland Center for History and Culture collections include more than 350,000 objects and 7 million books and documents, ranging from pre-settlement to the present day and representing virtually every aspect of Maryland history and life.

Drawing of the bombardment of Fort McHenry.
Image: A View of the Bombardment of Fort McHenry, aquatint by John Bower, circa 1814, H89, Hambleton Print Collection

Museum Collections

As the oldest continuously operating cultural institution in the state, the museum houses a significant collection of Maryland cultural artifacts. Our permanent collection boasts some of the most significant artists and makers of fine and decorative arts, as well as material culture representing every aspect of Maryland life.

Library Collections

The H. Furlong Baldwin Library maintains an extraordinary collection of materials reflecting the history of Maryland and its people. The library preserves and makes accessible materials divided between the Main Reading Room and the Special Collections.


Main reading room

The Main Reading Room includes books and pamphlets, genealogical materials (published family histories, genealogical manuscripts, and reference resources), journals and magazines, and microfilm.


Special collections

Special Collections includes rare books and pamphlets, manuscripts, photographs, maps and atlases, oral histories, ephemera, posters, prints and broadsides, sheet music, and architectural drawings.

Please Note: Due to the impacts of COVID-19 we are requiring appointments for all library visits.

Featured Collections

Preserve the Baltimore Uprising

The Preserve the Baltimore Uprising archive project began as a digital repository designed to preserve and make accessible original content captured and created by individual community members, grassroots organizations, and witnesses to the protests that followed the death of Freddie Gray on April 19, 2015.

This Omeka-based collection site was built by Denise D. Meringolo, Director of Public History at UMBC. The materials donated are preserved in partnership with the Maryland Center for History and Culture. Visit the site.

collecting in quarantine

Launched in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Collecting in Quarantine is a Maryland Center for History and Culture initiative to document the experience of Marylanders living through this unique moment in history. The project includes two calls for materials. Through the Letters from the Homefront initiative we are calling on Marylanders to send their personal stories – written accounts, photographs, video, or audio – of how the pandemic is impacting their lives.  Through the Business Unusual initiative, we are asking business employees, owners, customers, passers-by, and neighborhood residents to share photograph how business in Maryland has been anything but usual due to COVID-19. Learn more here.

1000
Maritime Objects
866
Pieces of Jewelry
900
Pieces of Furniture
231
Weapons