Enoch Pratt Free Library, Maryland Department
Mailing Address
400 Cathedral Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
Phone: 410-396-5468
E-mail: mdx@prattlibrary.org
Web: http://www.prattlibrary.org/locations/maryland/index.aspx
Finding Aids: On the web site.
Hours of Service
Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday 10-8
Thursday 10-5:30
Friday and Saturday 10-5
Overview
Enoch Pratt Free Library's Maryland Department has an extensive collection of materials relating to the history, economics, social conditions, literature and the arts and all aspects of the development and status of Maryland and its citizens. Materials include query and biography files, vertical files, maps, journals, newsletters, magazines, photographs, ephemera, and books.
Type of Materials
- Artifacts
- Books and Monographs
- Maps
- Photographs
- Primary Resources
- Printed Ephemera
- Prints and Drawings
- Serials
- Vertical File Material
Detailed Description of Collections
- Artifacts
- Books and Monographs
- Maps - There are approximately 2100 maps of Maryland and its jurisdictions, with special consideration given to Baltimore City. The maps are arranged in chronological fashion. Included in the collection are Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps (1890-1984), and selected atlases of Baltimore and Maryland counties from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
- Photographs - Approximately 24,000 black-and-white photographs covering persons and places in Maryland. Photos date primarily from the World War I era through the nineteen-fifties, with especially heavy emphasis on the nineteen-thirties. Many photos have accompanying negatives. Special permission is needed to reproduce photos.
- Primary Resources
- Printed Ephemera - A sizable historical collection of material that represents areas from around the state. The oldest item is a letter dated Baltimore Town, 1792. The majority of the items are advertisements, flyers, and catalogs. There are almost 6,000 items in this collection.
- Serials- Hundreds of journal, newsletter and magazine titles dating from the early nineteenth century to the present.
- Vertical File Material - Approximately 275,000 mounts, primarily newspaper clippings that cover subjects as well as individuals, families, and businesses. Files date from the nineteen-thirties, yet there are a significant number that precede that period. The files may also include lists, bibliographies, pamphlets, government publications, and other ephemera.
- Other rare and unique items include: postcards, theater programs (1795-), music programs, (1850-), opera programs, election/campaign literature, and annual reports.