Taylor's Island from Running Royal (?), A Study in Solitude, H. Archer, 1893

The collection consists of four boxes of photographic materials, with approximately 1000 photoprints altogether. Of these, one box contains 111 modern photoprints made during the 1980s at the Maryland Historical Society from glass and film negatives created circa 1893-1910 or undated. Three additional boxes contain 868 photoprints and 18 slides which are undated or from circa 1922-1960. There are 70 vintage negatives for which we do not have prints, which are undated or from 1905-1929.

The collection depicts rural scenes and historic houses and estates in Baltimore City and County, and twelve other Maryland counties, especially Harford County. These include Gilman and Paul family homes. Among the Harford County subjects is the Susquehanna River prior to construction of the Conowingo Dam. Another subject in the collection is arboriculture, with a survey of trees in Baltimore and vicinity.

Apart from the set of 111 modern photoprints made from glass negatives, the degree of correspondance among prints and negatives is undetermined; it is possible that prints may actually be present for some of the "unprinted" film negatives. Many photographs are duplicates of those in PP107, the Legg Collection. Some photographs are identified as being by "Pickering/WPA", and may correspond to images in the PP85, the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) Collection. Other photographs are identified as being taken by H. Archer, Samuel Mason, Jr., or Alexis Shriver.

The collection includes ephemera and non-photographic items, including a copper plate related to Second Presbyterian Church, masks used in photography, and negative envelope sleeves with hand-written information.