Author: Lindsey Loeper

It might be difficult to think about Baltimore without picturing the Baltimore Ravens, but this wasn’t always the case. Luckily, as with many of the major events in Baltimore’s history, the day this all changed was captured in The Baltimore Sun.

Plans for a NFL replacement team based in Baltimore began in 1995, when then-owner of the Cleveland Browns, Art Modell, announced that he would move the team to Baltimore. However, following a settlement with the city of Cleveland, Modell was forced to leave the Browns name, colors, history, and record in Cleveland for a replacement team. Thus, the new Baltimore team was left nameless, and a fan contest was held to determine what the new team would be. The winning name would be the team we know today: the Baltimore Ravens, which won with over 30,000 votes, and broke the record for the Baltimore Sun’s most well-responded call-in poll. The name pays homage to Edgar Allen Poe’s famous poem “The Raven,” as the writer and poet spent the early part of his career in Baltimore, and died and was buried here. It also parallels nicely with the already-existing Baltimore baseball team’s mascot, the Oriole. 

The winner of the name contest was announced at noon on Friday, March 29, 1996, at a public ceremony. Baltimore Sun photographer Ted Kirschbaum took these photos of the event, which ran in the paper the following day. The original rolls of film that Kirschbaum shot are now housed in UMBC’s Special Collections, as part of the Baltimore Sun photo morgue. A photo morgue may sound morbid, but it’s actually the name for an archival collection of past photographs, negatives, and press clippings from a major media outlet. It comes from the phrase “dead news” which refers to news that has already been published, or is no longer active. UMBC’s Special Collections is the repository for much of the Baltimore Sun’s photo morgue, including prints from the 1930-70s, and film negatives and digital images from 1982-2012. These photographs capture a snapshot of daily activities and major news from the greater Baltimore area across decades. 

The Baltimore Sun photographs are in Collection 117. You can view the finding aid for Collection 117 online and learn more about the Baltimore Sun archives at this webpage: https://library.umbc.edu/specialcollections/collections/baltimore-sun-archives/. Submit research requests to Special Collections by emailing speccoll@umbc.edu.

This post was written by graduate assistant Reese Finnigan with imaging help from student assistant Zen Fontanilla. Thank you, Reese and Zen!

This post was written by former Library Services Specialist Julie Loop. Julie recently started a new position as a Metadata Librarian at Yale University, but before she left she wrote this essay about one of the last items that she cataloged for the Library and Special Collections. Thank you, Julie! We miss you!

This large volume is a collection of music scores that were published in the mid-to-late 1800s, compiled by a music teacher named A. Jackson, who lived in Maryland. This work is made for A. Jackson’s singing courses and has songs in various languages, likely organized by level of difficulty. 

A. Jackson – graduate of the University of Berlin in Languages and Music – taught piano, organ, singing and harmony lessons. Due to the professor’s alma mater, I would assume Jackson was a German immigrant, one of many to arrive in the area during the 19th century. The works within the book are in multiple languages: English, German, Italian, French, and Russian. Many scores have lyrics in two languages, often English paired with the language of the original song. Along with singing instruction, it seems like A. Jackson was trying to show students in Frederick, MD and Camden, NJ songs that are more famous outside of the United States. 

This book made me feel really nostalgic. My great grandmother was a piano teacher and I’ve done many music lessons during my childhood for various instruments, including violin and french horn. I have sung works in Latin, German, French, and even some African languages for school concerts. These pieces were truly my favorites, as I felt extremely smart to be able to sing words I had never heard before. Just looking at the class information, the music, and the handwritten notes contained in this bound volume reminded me a lot of the classes I took, the songs I learned, and the things I would write on my own music. It was as if I was transported to two different times: my childhood music education and the 19th century music education of Professor A. Jackson.  

One of the many interesting parts about this volume is that some of the scores were made by publishers in Baltimore. Publishers include: G. Willig, Henry McCaffrey, F. D. Benteen, and Miller & Beacham. Musical score publishing was certainly a big part of Maryland, during this time.

You may be curious as to why all these works have been bound together in a single book. Well, in the 1800s, most books for purchase were not bound. A book’s binding could be expensive, depending on what materials you wanted to use and how personalized you wanted the design to be. However, a person could save money by binding all of their new works into one book, which is now called a “bound-with.” In this case, Professor A. Jackson likely bound together these vocal scores – or written music for singers and accompaniment – to more easily transport and use them while teaching singing courses. It is far more convenient to use and take care of a single book, compared to over 50 scores. And the professor purchased quite a nice binding, with a leather spine and marbled end papers! 

Some other highlights in this work are all the handwritten features provided by Jackson, such as a table of contents, continuous page numbers, and extra lyrics or verses provided between lines of music. Also, there is a beautiful hand-colored illustration for one of the scores and a lovely lithograph illustration for another! You can tell that this was a well used and beloved book. 

This bound-with item contains several dozen individual items. The catalog records for each item is linked below, and they can be viewed in the Special Collections reading room by requesting call no. Arnold M1.A15 J33. 

Scores: 

• Soldier’s Adieu by Abt Franz
• Earth It Loves Rain by Abt Franz
• My Fatherland by Abt Franz
• Farewell For Ever. op. 7, no. 2 (a.k.a. Due canoni a tre voci, op. 7, no. 2, Addio) by Friedrich Curschmann
• Protect Us Through the Coming Night by Friedrich Curschmann
• The Liberty Duett from I Puritani (a.k.a. I puritani. Rival salvar tu dei) by Vincenzo Bellini
• Our Way Across the Sea
• Holy Mother Guide His Footsteps by William Vincent Wallace
• Rhine Maidens by Stephen Glover
• What Are the Wild Waves Saying by Stephen Glover
• Messenger Bird by Miss Browne
• Jewish Maiden (a.k.a. Mädchen von Judah) by Friedrich Wilhelm Kücken
• Stay with me. op.72 by Abt Franz
• Lorelee by Friedrich Silcher
• Farewell to Home
• Image of My Rose by Gustav Reichardt
• ‘Tis thus ordain’d by Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy
• Wanderer’s Song (a.k.a. Wanderlied) by Heinrich Proch
• Weep Not Fond Heart (a.k.a. O weine nicht) by Friedrich Wilhelm Kücken
• Good Night, Farewell by Friedrich Wilhelm Kücken
• The Sea Has Its Pearls by Franz Lachner
• Standard Watch by Peter Joseph von Lindpaintner
• O Wert Thou But Mine Own Love (a.k.a. Wenn du wärst mein eigen) by Friedrich Wilhelm Kücken
• Schönsten Augen. op. 2 by Giorgio Stigelli
• Thou Art So Near And Yet So Far by Alexander Reichardt
• Wanderer by Franz Schubert
• Frühlings – Gruß by F. I. Keppner
• Das Bettelnde Kind by Ferdinand Gumbert
• Dreams by Faustina Hasse Hodges
• I Cannot Lose the Dream of Thee by John William Cherry
• When the Autumn Leaves Are Falling by John William Cherry
• Moonlight on the Ocean
• Oh! Whisper What Thou Feelest by Brinley Richards
• Sabbath Melodies: Consider the Lilies by Robert Topliff
• Sabbath Melodies: Ruth and Naomi by Robert Topliff
• Angels Ever Bright and Fair by George Frideric Handel
• True Love by George Alexander Macfarren
• Gentle Goddess (a.k.a. Norma: Casta diva) by Vincenzo Bellini
• Ernani! Ernani! Oh Fly With Me (a.k.a. Ernani. Ernani, Ernani, involami) by Giuseppe Verdi
• Salut à la France by Gaetano Donizetti
• Ah, What Delight the Soldier Knows (a.k.a. Dame blanche: Ah, quel plaisir d’être soldat) by Adrien Boieldieu
• It Is Wisdom to Laugh While We May
• M’appari Tutt’amor (a.k.a. Martha. Ach! so fromm, ach! so traut) by Friedrich von Flotow
• Voce Poco Fa by Gioacchino Rossini
• Ave Maria by Franz Schubert
• Separazione by Gioacchino Rossini
• I’m a Merry Zingara* by Michael William Balfe
  • *Romani person
• Of What Is the Old Man Thinking? by Joseph Philip Knight
• You Remember It? Don’t You? by David W. Belisle
• There’s a Harp in His Hall by David W. Belisle
• Love’s Guiding Star by David W. Belisle
• Within a Mile of Edinburg Town
• Shalisman by Nikolaĭ Sergeevich Titov
• Old Sexton by Henry Russell
• Down Where the Blue Bells Grow by Alex Lee
• Three Fishers by S. D. S.
• Never Give Up by John James Frazer
• Isle of Roses by William J. Lemon

Mergenthaler Linotype Company. Linotype Faces. Mergenthaler Linotype Company, 1928. Call no. General Z250 .L64 1928

This type specimen book is a paperbound publication produced by the Mergenthaler Linotype Company to promote their typefaces and typesets. The pamphlets are bound together using a metal clasp and each pamphlet showcases a different font – Bodini, Century, Jensen, Ionic No. 5, Franklin Old Style, just to name a few. The pamphlets print sample text in different sizes and strengths, showing the font in italic and bold, and bold italic! 

The repeating text used in the specimen sheets captures the spirit of the Industrial Age in America:

Modern man cannot be served by a tool that is just good enough or a little better than pretty good. The good tool must do all that man can demand today and it must be able to meet his greater demands of tomorrow.

The idea for a linotype machine came from James Clephane (1842-1910, United States), although Ottmar Mergenthaler (1854-1899, Germany) developed the machine itself at the clockmaker’s shop where he worked in downtown Baltimore. The idea came from Clephane’s work with typewriters. Hand setting type for printing presses was slow and error-prone; with the linotype machine, operators produced single lines of text on demand which could be easily checked and redone if needed. Once the text run was complete, the linotype was melted down and reused! Linotype was used until the 1980s to print newspapers. This video documents the last day of production using Linotype machines at the New York Times on July 2, 1978. 

Many people don’t know that this technology was developed in Maryland. Mergenthaler worked with the company bearing his name, Mergenthaler Printing Company, until his resignation in 1888, subsequently he established the Ott. Mergenthaler & Co. machinist company, located in Locust Point in Baltimore. Mergenthaler continued to improve upon his original machine until his death at 45 years old  in 1899. Visitors to the Baltimore Museum of Industry can see a linotype machine; stop by on Saturday mornings for demonstrations by dedicated volunteers. 

See also:

Mergenthaler Linotype Company Records, 1886-1997, Archives Center, National Museum of American History. 

Romano, Frank J. The History of the Linotype Company, Rochester: RIT Press, 2014. 

Baltimore was no exception to the wave of youth radicalism that swept the United States during the 1960s. Students disenchanted with the United States looked for news sources outside the mainstream press. For this reason, alternative media boomed. Newspapers like Harry published content that no established newspapers would touch. Coarse, obscene, and irreverent, Harry spoke to Baltimore youths in a way a newspaper like The Baltimore Sun was unable to. Not all of them liked what it said. One day in August 1970, a group of communists seized the paper. They used Harry’s press to create the only issue of their paper: The Balto-Cong.¹  

On its first page, the Balto-Cong denounced Harry and the style of youth politics it represented. Harry opposed conservatism, but also lampooned Black power, communism, and women’s liberation. Such views were anathema to the people who seized Harry. The columnists at the Balto-Cong defended the Black Panthers, condemned patriarchy, and lionized communist movements from Cuba to Vietnam. Further, they proposed the creation of a new society, with communal property, free love, and easily available drugs.

For them, the path to this new society began with having their own newspaper. The people behind the Balto-Cong believed that revolutionary media was the most powerful tool to spread revolutionary consciousness. Through cartoons, poems, and journalistic exposes, they hoped to convince a critical mass of Baltimoreans of the revolution’s validity. However slim the chances of this were, the project died quickly. Harry’s staff took back their office after one issue of the Balto-Cong, and the experiment of fashioning a Baltimorean communist culture died as quickly as it was born. 

These publications are available to view in person in the Special Collections reading room. Plan your visit today!

This post was written by former Special Collections graduate assistant Yoni Isaacs. Thank you, Yoni!

1. Though the issue is undated, the various news bulletins republished in the work reveal that it was written after August 8, 1970. The mention of all events in September in future tense further suggests it was published in August 1970. ↩︎

Papermaking in Baltimore County Maryland, 1775-1850 by R. Carlton Seitz was published in 2024 by The Hill Press and added to the Joseph L. Arnold Maryland book collection. The Arnold book collection includes histories and historical texts about and from Maryland with particular strengths in travel accounts and local community histories. 

Seitz’s book is about the early American papermaking industry in Maryland. The primary text is drawn from a prepared lecture and is supplemented with engravings, maps, and sample watermarks. He focuses specifically on the mills of northern Baltimore County. The first mill in Maryland, Clipper Paper Mill, was established around 1775 by William Hoffman. This followed the first paper mill in the colonies which was opened in Philadelphia in 1690 by William Rittenhouse. Hoffman went on to open Gunpowder Mill in 1781, and others followed, centered along the “clean, swiftly flowing streams and rivers” in the area north of Gunpowder Falls and Prettyboy Reservoir. Other paper mills were established during this time on rivers in Ellicott City and Frederick.   

Seitz was deliberate in the construction of the book and an extensive colophon is included, noting the source and creators of the paper, type, and book binding. These skills and services are still employed today. There are many examples of letterpress in the Special Collections book holdings, including handpress printed pages and handmade paper. Books on the history of Maryland and historical examples of printing and bookmaking techniques can be searched in the Library Catalog using the Special Collections Advanced Search function. You can view these items in our reading room in the Library. Directions and guidelines for the reading room are available online or you can reach out to a Special Collections librarian for assistance.