Maryland Center for History and Culture (3/24/2021)

Wednesday, March 24, 2021 (continued)

Another stop on our trip to Maryland was the Maryland Center for History and Culture in Baltimore, MD. Here we used our Tyler Membership for free admission, but we had to reserve a timed-ticket in advance.

Sometime in the future we will follow Meriwether Lewis, later joined by William Clark, on their Corps of Discovery Expedition. One of the first things Meriwether Lewis did in preparation for the expedition was to visit the Philadelphia Museum, later known as Peale's American Museum. The collection of Charles Willson Peale was moved many times, and items were sold or lost. Eventually the collection was managed by his son, Rembrandt Peale, in a museum in Baltimore. Closed in 1997, the remaining specimens were donated to the Maryland Historical Society, now the Maryland Center for History and Culture.

RA Giant RCA Dog, Nipper (1950s, originally located on
the RCA Building on Russell Street in Baltimore)

Exhumation of the Mastodon (1806-1808, by Charles Willson Peale),
which unfortunately is a reproduction as the original was out on loan!

Kent with "Shorty," a reproduction of the
mastodon skeleton excavated by Peale

Some of the original bones of the mastodon with a couple
fashioned out of wood in order to complete the skeleton
of the mastodon; these items were returned by the Smithsonian

Photo of a photo of The Artist in His Museum
(1822, by Charles Willson Peale) shows Peale
himself revealing his museum when it was located
in the Long Room on the second floor of
Philadelphia's Independence Hall (it was here
that Meriwether Lewis would have seen it)

Known primarily as an artist, Charles Willson Peale was a Renaissance man with many talents. He was a captain of troops he raised during the American Revolution and painted miniatures of many fellow officers, later to be repainted in life-size. Peale served for a time in the Pennsylvania state assembly. As a scientist and inventor, he sometimes collaborated with Thomas Jefferson. As a naturalist, Peale personally collected and preserved specimens (mostly birds) for his museum, and solicited many other artifacts. One of his major achievements was exhuming/excavating the bones of a mastodon and being the first to display a re-assembled skeleton of this animal.

Diorama of the founding of Maryland on March 25, 1634
with the arrival of settlers under Leonard Calvert at what
is now St Clement's Island in the Potomac river

The Lord of Baltimore, George Calvert, secured a charter from King Charles I of England to establish a colony that would guarantee religious freedom to all Christians, but primarily for Catholics fleeing persecution following the Protestant Reformation. It turned out that only 17 of the first 100 settlers were Catholic, the rest were Protestant indentured servants. The settlers arrived on ships named Ark and Dove.

King Gambrinus (1879, by Joseph A Stoll),
the mythical patron of brewers, stood above
the doors of the old J F Wiessner Brewery
on Belle Air Avenue (now N Gay Street)

Lady Baltimore (1822, by Antonio Capellano
in Carrara marble) stood atop Battle Monument
(1815-1825) until 2013 when she was replaced
by a sturdier concrete version

Special exhibit Flickering Treasures had a unique way to
show the many movie theaters of Baltimore over the years

The Baltimore Album Quilt collection is the largest
in the world, showcasing a style using blocks,
each appliquéd with a different design

Created by prosperous women of Baltimore before the
Civil War, new fabrics were used with stronger colors (KSS)

From the Paul Henderson (photo journalist for the
Baltimore Afro-American newspaper from 1929 to 1965)
Collection, a photo (c 1956) of Supreme Court Justice
Thurgood Marshall receiving an NAACP Lifetime Membership plaque

Tap shoes worn by Bill "Bojangles" Robinson,
were given to Paul Henderson

Lady's Cabinet Dressing Table and Desk (1800-1820,
attributed to William Camp) is a one-of-a-kind with
adaptations to suit the client's taste (KSS)

The exhibit, A Woman of Two Words, tells the
story of Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte, a
Baltimore socialite who was briefly married
to Jérôme Bonaparte, the youngest
brother of Napoléon Bonaparte; this painting
of her, dated 1804, is by Gilbert Stuart

The McCormick Family (1804-1805, by Joshua Johnson);
while the upper class could afford to have portraits
done by Rembrandt Peale (son of Charles Willson Peale),
the rising middle class used the self-taught talents of
Joshua Johnson, a free-black portrait painter of Baltimore

Battle of North Point Near Baltimore (War of 1812) (1814,
by Thomas Ruckle) was painted by a participant in the battle

Battle of North Point Near Baltimore detail

Handwritten manuscript (1814, by
Francis Scott Key) of The Star Spangled Banner

On the third floor of the museum was a detailed model called
Bozo Brothers Circus (1970-1989 by Joseph F Schmitt and family)
in HO scale - this is the Big Top tent (KSS)

Bozo Brothers Circus detail

The model included a sideshow tent, animal tents, circus performer dining hall tent, etc.

Spectrum of Fashion exhibit included quotes
from fashion designers, and dresses worn by
Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte and Wallis
Simpson, Duchess of Windsor, who was
also a Baltimore socialite

Polyester Knit Pantsuit (1969-1970, by
Max "Mr Dino" Cohen)

Harper's Ferry (1863, by Augustus C Weidenbach) with
Maryland to the left and Virginia to the right (KSS)

Mason Dixon Line Crownstone Mile Marker
with the side showing the crest of the
Calvert family of Maryland; on the opposite
side is the crest of the William Penn family