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Baltimore Pride: Highlighting Our LGBTQ+ Collections

June is celebrated nationwide as Pride Month. To celebrate this year’s Pride Month, we showcase some of the LGBTQ+ materials found within the Maryland Center for History and Culture’s Museum and Library collections. 

Photos by Joseph Kohl: mysteries solved

At the opening of Unscripted Moments: the Life and Photography of Joseph Kohl, individuals from all walks of life convened in MdHS’s new photograph and prints gallery. As anticipated, a few individuals from Kohl’s images were identified by attendees.

What's New: The Work of Late Photographer Joseph Kohl

Have you seen the latest exhibit here at the Maryland Historical Society? Unscripted Moments: The Life and Photography of Joseph Kohl has just opened in our new photography gallery, and the show is amazing.

Joseph Kohl was an accomplished fine art and studio photographer whose work was featured in a variety of local and national newspapers and journals. He captured the diversity of Baltimore life--politicians, celebrities, underground music, the BDSM lifestyle--with genuine respect, and an aim to portray all of Baltimore and its residents.

Because Kohl did not shy away from any job or subject, his resulting body of work is immense and diverse. Visit the new show and see captured moments of tenderness between couples, provocative figures in leather and handcuffs, and passionate citizens in protests and in pride parades.

There is also a satellite exhibit of Kohl's work at the Windup Space, an arts and culture venue, with its own opening reception on Friday, November 17th.

A small selection of Kohl's images are available as magnets, postcards, and bookmarks in the museum store. Click here to see more items exclusive to the MdHS collections, or stop by the store. We are open Wednesday through Saturday, 10 AM to 5 PM, and Sunday, 12 PM to 5 PM.

5x4 postcard santas.jpg Magnet - Hons.jpg

 

Photo by Joseph Kohl: Reptile House

A not-quite-tender tender moment of band-audience communion in Baltimore’s hardcore punk scene, this shot by Joseph Kohl was taken during a rowdy (but apparently democratic) set by the local group Reptile House.

What to Read: Defenders Day & the War of 1812

Defenders' Day is being celebrated throughout Baltimore this weekend. The holiday on September 12th commemorates a specific event during the War of 1812, which took place in September of 1814. After several days of battle, the American soldiers successfully defended Fort McHenry and the city against bombardments from the British naval fleet. It was this victory, and the powerful image of seeing the American flag still flying over the fort, that inspired Francis Scott Key to wrote the poem that would later become our national anthem.

Want to know more about the War of 1812 and Maryland's role? Check out these titles below. All are available online at shop.mdhs.org or in store.