The MarylandHistorical Society, founded on March 1, 1844, is the oldest cultural institution in the U.S. state of Maryland. The society "collects, preserves, and interprets objects and materials reflecting Maryland's diverse heritage". MdHS has a museum, library, holds educational programs, and publishes scholarly works on Maryland.
The MdHS has published a quarterly journal, now entering completing its 103rd year. The Maryland Historical Magazine is a peer-reviewed journal boasting one of the largest readerships among state historical society journals. The society also publishes books on Maryland history that are distributed through a partnership with the Johns Hopkins University Press, including Crime and Punishment in Early Maryland written by former MdHS librarian Raphael Semmes. MdHS has over 100 titles in the Library of Congress.
Exhibitions
Notables on exhibit at the MdHS are the original manuscript of "The Star-Spangled Banner" and the letters and journals of Benjamin Banneker. The MdHS showcases include 231 weapons, 866 pieces of jewelry, 2,200 Native American prehistoric archaeological objects, 15,000 musical scores as well as a remarkable collection of 18th- and 19th-century paintings and silver, maritime artifacts, Maryland painted and inlaid furniture, quilts, costumes, ceramics, dolls and toys. Exhibits include Maryland's history, Maryland in art and furniture in Maryland life.
Library
The H. Furlong Baldwin Library’s collections are both diverse and substantive. The library enables researchers, teachers, and students to see for themselves the records of the past, and to study and learn from its many treasures. The library’s collections include 60,000 books, 800,000 photographs, 5 million manuscripts, 6,500 prints and broadsides, 1 million pieces of printed ephemera, extensive genealogy indexes, and more, reflecting the history of Maryland and its people. These collections are accessible to visitors on-line and at the MdHS campus in Baltimore. On July 9, 2011, Barry Landau and Jason Savedoff were arrested and later indicted for the theft of 60 society documents.
MdHS is a community partner of Preserve the Baltimore Uprising, a digital archive devoted to preserving and making accessible media created and captured by people and organizations involved in or witness to the protests following Freddie Gray's death in 2015. The 2016-2017 MdHS exhibit What & Why: Collecting at the Maryland Historical Society included items from the Preserve the Baltimore Uprising collections in a video installation.
