Collections Online

Welcome to the Maryland Historical Society’s Collections Online Database. Browse through both Museum Department collections and the Special Collections Department of the H. Furlong Baldwin Library by subject or by medium. Here you will see paintings, photographs, manuscripts, decorative arts pieces, lithographs, and more.

With well over one million items housed at MdHS, this database contains merely a fraction of what can be found in the combined collections. Information contained in the records of the Collections Online Database is subject to change as a result of ongoing research.

For information on how to get started, take a look at the About page.  Use or reproduction of MdHS images without permission is not permitted. For more information, see the Terms of Use page. For reproductions or permission to use images, please visit the Rights and Reproductions page. 

Browse by subject using these links or enter a term in the search boxes below (scroll down for results):

American Civil WarAfrican American HistoryPhotographs
War of 1812Women's HistoryBenjamin Henry Latrobe
PaintingsMining the Museum (exhibit)

Works on Paper

Emigration & immigrationMaritimePrints
Darnall III, Henry, 1702-ca.1787
Portrait male--Child; Paintings; African American history
Kühn, Justus Engelhardt
Full-length portrait shows Henry Darnall III as a boy in yellow-orange tunic and green cape holding a bow and arrow. To the left is an African American boy in an orange coat, holding a dead bird. Darnall stands in an architectural setting with balustrades at sides, and formal gardens and buildings behind. Oil on canvas by Justus Englehardt K
For more information, please contact the Museum Department: museum@mdhs.org
Copy of original owned by the Maryland Historical Society. For reproduction and permission information, please contact imagingservices@mdhs.org
ca. 1710
1912.1.3


Joshua Johnson manumission record, July 15, 1792.
Johnson, Joshua; African American history; Manuscripts
Pages 298-300 of Volume I of Baltimore County Chattel Records, 1773-1788, recording Joshua Johnson
For more information, please contact the Special Collections Department: specialcollections@mdhs.org
Copy of original owned by the Maryland Historical Society. For reproduction and permission information, please contact imagingservices@mdhs.org
1773-1784
MS2865


Diagram of Eclipse on April 3, 1791
Banneker, Benjamin, 1731-1806; Manuscripts; Manuscripts--Pictorial works; African American history
Banneker, Benjamin, 1731-1806.
Diagram of eclipse on April 3, 1701. From Benjamin Banneker
Public use restricted to photocopies. For more information, please contact the Special Collections Department: specialcollections@mdhs.org
Copy of original owned by the Maryland Historical Society. For reproduction and permission information, please contact imagingservices@mdhs.org
April 3, 1791
MS2700


Cover: Benjamin Bannaker
Banneker, Benjamin, 1731-1806; Manuscripts; Manuscripts--Almanacs; Manuscripts--Pictorial works; African American history
Banneker, Benjamin, 1731-1806.
Benjamin Banneker
Public use restricted to photocopies. For more information, please contact the Special Collections Department: specialcollections@mdhs.org
Copy of original owned by the Maryland Historical Society. For reproduction and permission information, please contact imagingservices@mdhs.org
1795
MS2700


John Brown Letter book, 1859
Abolitionists.; Manuscripts; African American history
Brown, John, 1800-1859.
Letter book by John Brown containing three chapters of autobiographical narrative of
Public use restricted to photocopies. For more information, please contact the Special Collections Department: specialcollections@mdhs.org
Copy of original owned by the Maryland Historical Society. For reproduction and permission information, please contact imagingservices@mdhs.org
1859
MS155


The Result of the 15th Amendment and the rise and progress of the African race in America and its final accomplishment, and celebration on May 19th A.D. 1870.
African American history; Suffrage; Lithograph; Celebrations and parades
Metcalf & Clark, Publishers
The Result of the 15th Amendment and the rise and progress of the African race in America and its final accomplishment, and celebration on May 19th A.D. 1870. Published by Metcalf & Clark.
For more information, please contact the Special Collections Department: specialcollections@mdhs.org
Copy of original owned by the Maryland Historical Society. For reproduction and permission information, please contact imagingservices@mdhs.org
ca. 1870
H85


Baltimore's African Americans celebrate the Fifteenth Amendment
PP1; American Civil War; 1861-1865; African American history; Celebrations and parades; Suffrage; Photograph
Chase, William
Baltimore's African American's celebrate the Fifteenth Amendment, Establishing the right of Suffrage. 1870. Stereoview taken in Monument Square celebrating the 15th Amendment. (Previously Z24.797)
For more information, please contact the Special Collections Department: specialcollections@mdhs.org
Copy of original owned by the Maryland Historical Society. For reproduction and permission information, please contact imagingservices@mdhs.org
1870
PP1.2


The Fugitive's Song (Illustration)
American Civil War, 1861-1865; African American history; Slavery.; Sheet music
The Fugitive's Song illustration.
For more information, please contact the Special Collections Department: specialcollections@mdhs.org
Copy of original owned by the Maryland Historical Society. For reproduction and permission information, please contact imagingservices@mdhs.org
MD12078


Broadside for runaway slave, Phillip Adams
Slavery.; American Civil War, 1861-1865; African American history; Broadsides.
Tilghman, Tench
Broadside for runaway slave, Phillip Adams, by Tench Tilghman. May 4th 1861.
For more information, please contact the Special Collections Department: specialcollections@mdhs.org
Copy of original owned by the Maryland Historical Society. For reproduction and permission information, please contact imagingservices@mdhs.org
May 4, 1861
[Broadside 1861]


The Sun
American Civil War, 1861-1865; African American history; Abolitionists.; Baltimore (Md.) Newspapers and periodicals; Newspapers and periodicals; Slavery.; Broadsides.
The Sun, Publishers
The Sun- Extra Baltimore. Slave Insurrection at Harper's Ferry. The Defeat of Insurgents. Probably end of the battle, orders for troops countermanded. October 18, 1859. American Civil War.
For more information, please contact the Special Collections Department: specialcollections@mdhs.org
Copy of original owned by the Maryland Historical Society. For reproduction and permission information, please contact imagingservices@mdhs.org
1859
[Broadside 1859]


Fourth Regiment United States Colored Troops Flag
American Civil War, 1861-1865; African American history; Flags
Fourth Regiment United States Colored Troops Civil War Flag. Silk mounted on a wooden pole (with the eagle missing).
For more information, please contact the Museum Department: museum@mdhs.org
Copy of original owned by the Maryland Historical Society. For reproduction and permission information, please contact imagingservices@mdhs.org
1863
2004.22


Installation view: "Cabinetmaking, 1820-1960"
Wilson, Fred, 1954-, African American history, Exhibitions, Mining the Museum
Maryland Historical Society Exhibition
"Cabinetmaking, 1820-1960" from Mining the Museum: An Installation by Fred Wilson. Maryland Historical Society, 1992-1993. Joint exhibition with The Contemporary in Baltimore.
For more information, please contact the Museum Department: museum@mdhs.org
Copy of original owned by the Maryland Historical Society. For reproduction and permission information, please contact imagingservices@mdhs.org
1992-1993 (exhibit)
MTM 037B