The Maryland Zoo Collection features photographs from the 1920s through the 1990s that capture the Zoo’s evolution in the care of animals as well as its importance as a social and educational hub. Maryland Zoo was created by an act of the Maryland state legislature on April 7, 1876. Its origins in Druid Hill Park date to the early 1860s, well before its formal founding, when the Park Superintendent first began caring for a small collection of animals donated by local residents.
The history of zoos can be challenging to reflect on. While many practices that are documented in this collection, such as dressing animals in clothing and housing in bare cages, reflect the thinking of their times, they are not considered acceptable today. Modern, accredited facilities like Maryland Zoo have evolved tremendously since their founding–and continue to evolve. As it celebrates 150 years and counting in 2026, Maryland Zoo is proud to acknowledge its transformation and show how far zoos have come.
Digital Maryland is a collaborative, statewide digital preservation program of the Enoch Pratt Free Library / Maryland State Library Resource Center. The goal of the project is to facilitate the digitization, digital preservation, and access for historical and cultural documents, images, audio, and video that record Maryland’s history.
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The Natural History Society of Maryland’s (NHSM) Howard A. Kelly Collection consists of publications, documents, and letters which capture the legacy of the prominent physician’s contributions to the field of natural history in the early 20th century and his support of the NHSM. Howard Atwood Kelly is best known for his work as a gynecologist and obstetrician and one of the “Big Four” founding physicians at Johns Hopkins Hospital and Medical School. Throughout his successful career in medicine, Kelly continued to dedicate himself to the study and support of the natural sciences, with particular interests in herpetology, botany, and mycology.
Included in the collection are letters and documents which record Kelly’s efforts to promote shared knowledge in the natural sciences, such as the annotated draft copy and final printing of Kelly’s “Snakes in Maryland”, numerous correspondences documenting his support of naturalists such as Louis C.C. Krieger and Eleanor C. Allen, and his research promoting the work of under-recognized scientists such as mycologist Mary Elizabeth Banning and astronomer Henrietta Swan Leavitt. The collection also highlights a dynamic and expansive network of relationships between Kelly, scientific institutions, and scientists at NHSM and beyond.
This collection consists of photographs taken by Stewart’s Department Store photographer Francis Valentine Szczepanski from 1954-1968, a pivotal period for the Stewart’s brand. These images capture the Downtown, York Road, and Reisterstown Plaza locations' window displays, boutiques, specialty shops, and themed events. Szczepanski also captured multiple years' of Christmas displays and events, including performances by the Stewart’s Choir. The pictures provide views into the time period's fashion, social customs, and retail strategies.
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The Herbert H. Jones Family Loan collection consists of photographs, correspondence, and airport operation ephemera relating to the operation and history of Columbia Air Center (CAC) and collected by Herbert H. Jones Jr. Operating from 1940-1962 in Croom, Prince George’s County, MD, CAC was the nation's first licensed Black-owned and operated airport. CAC first opened in 1940 as Riverside Airfield under the operation of Cloud Club Inc. John W. Greene Jr., a pioneering Black aviator and Cloud Club member, managed the airport in 1941. World War II closed CAC from 1942-1944. Greene assumed co-ownership and reopened the airfield as Columbia Air Center in 1944 and operated it until 1956, when he retired. Herbert Jones, a WWII veteran and Columbia Air Center member, co-owned CAC from 1954-1956. Both Greene and Jones remained active in the DC area's Black aviation community and preserved the history of CAC until their deaths in 1988 and 2020, respectively. Greene had no family, so he passed his collection of Columbia Air Center history to Jones for preservation.
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