Merchant's Exchange Reading Room record books

This collection can be divided into three main classes of docoments.

A. There are 32 large leather bound volumes marked Arrivals except for Volume One which is marked Entries. These volumes are in strict chronological order from July 12, 1833 to September 6, 1875. There are no breaks in the continuity. The Entries are in narrative style, the majority being notices of vessel arrivals including the name of the vessel the master and a notation of the category of cargo, and [UNK] rig, In addition, there are frequent reportings of vessels bound for or from Baltimore and located in other ports or on the high seas. Less frequently, there are interesting anecdotes of casualty losses, storms, rescues, etc. There are infrequent references to vessels clearing the port.

Starting in 1841 the daily weather in Baltimore City is noted including temperature, wind direction and velocity, barometric pressure and general conditions. In 1842 this information is noted three times a day until 1875.

B. There are nine leather bound volumes marked Foreign Imports. These started on July 24, 1835 and continue without a break until May 8, 1875. The entries are dated and include the name of the vessel, master and port of origin followed by a complete listing of the vessel's cargo.

C. There are 21 smaller leather bound volumes variously marked but all containing the same information. These volumes are arranged in tabular form, vessels entering the port on one page and those clearing the port on the opposite page. The information contained is the date, the name of the vessel and rig, the name of the master, the port from which the vessel departed or to which the vessel is bound, a general description of the cargo and the merchant or agent to which consigned. These volumes run consecutively without a break from July 24, 1835 to May 26, 1871. There is one other volume of cleared vessels only up to October 31, 1874.

D. There is one volume of domestic imports giving similar information noted in paragraph B, and this volume runs from July 24, 1835 to March 7, 1837. There is also one volume of foreign exports with similar information and running from November 1, 1865 to November 1, 1868.

X. There are a few miscellaneous records largely manifest records for a warehouse covering only a month in each paper-bound volume. These volumes cover September 1832, December 1832, December 1834, and some period about 1817. Finally, there is a Visitors Register which dates from January 1, 1851 to January 31, 1877, and a Minute Book dated from April 23, 1835 to June 1, 1862. This Minute Book gives some idea of the history of the Merchants Exchange.