BALTIMORE — As America prepares to mark its 250th anniversary this July, the Maryland Center for History and Culture is shining a light on artifacts connected to the four Maryland men who signed the Declaration of Independence.
The centerpiece of the exhibit is a collection of chairs, one belonging to each of the four Maryland signers, now displayed together on the museum's second floor for the first time.
"So for the impending 250th we decided to install chairs of the four Maryland signers of the Declaration of Independence and to tell a little bit of their stories," Chief Curator Catherine Arthur said.
Maryland Center for History and Culture spotlights artifacts from Maryland's Declaration of Independence signers
Three of the chairs have been part of the center's collection for decades. The fourth, belonging to signer Thomas Stone, arrived only recently as a donation.
"The final one, Thomas Stone's chair, we did not own an example of any furniture from him, until last fall when a donor made it as a gift to our institution. So now that we had 4, it seems like the perfect time to bring them all together for a closer look," Arthur said.
The chairs are just one part of what visitors will find on the second floor. Portraits of the signers hang in a separate area of the museum, alongside other artifacts from the Revolutionary era.
"I think you'll be shocked at sort of the, the treasures that we hold within our collection," Arthur said.
The center is also close to opening a new feature focused on Mary Katherine Goddard, the first person to print the Declaration of Independence with most of the signers' names included.
"Mary Katherine Goddard, so she is the first person to print the Declaration of Independence," Arthur said.
Arthur explained the historical significance of Goddard's work.
"John Hancock called for we need a copy of the Declaration we need to put everybody's names who signed it on there, so she printed it first in the newspaper when it was news, but then later was called upon by Congress to print this broadside for circulation," Arthur said.
Among the items on display is a print of the Declaration made 200 years ago, not a handwritten manuscript, but a copper plate reproduction printed on vellum.
"So this is not a manuscript, it is a copper plate print. So if you look around the edge you can see the plate mark where they engraved on a copper plate, inked it, and then printed on vellum again a limited number of copies, but the idea was to preserve sort of the appearance of the Declaration of Independence," Arthur said.
The Maryland Center for History and Culture is also partnering with Sail 250 and has additional events planned as part of the America 250 celebration.
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