Update, 26 Jul 2010

Greetings comrades,

It has been far too long since we last spoke. Nevertheless, I thought a little update on our work here in Annapolis would find you in good stead. With all of the scanning that has been done over the past two years, I am pleased to report that everything has been completed, and the scans are ready to be placed into ebooks for all of you to see via the internet. The very next step involves taking the jpgs for each series and running them through the ebook software.

By my count, there are approximately 28,406 images in the Poplar Grove Collection. That's a staggering amount of scans. Better yet, it's 28,406 glimpses into the past — some of which will surely offer viewpoints that have not previously been touched upon or known to exist. Just imagine all of the things that are waiting to be found.

For instance, one of my favorite documents, (which I will enclose an image of), is this land document from 1664: It details various "parcells" of land that were laid out at the head of the Wye River. To give a little bit of context, at this point in time, Maryland was still a Province — under control of the British Crown — some 112 years away from declaring its independence with the rest of the 13 Colonies. In fact, when this document was originally penned, with a quill undoubtedly, the Governor of Maryland (or Proprietary Governor for that matter) was this guy:(Charles Calvert, 3rd Baron Baltimore, 2nd Proprietor Governor of Maryland), from the original painting in the collection of the Enoch Pratt Free Library, Baltimore, Maryland.

Any local document that survives from the seventeenth century already carries a great deal of importance. But as someone who has been fortunate enough to hold this one in his own hands, I can honestly tell you that it's in absolutely superb condition. It's truly a pleasure to be able to work with a collection like this.

Until next time,

Jas. Goldſborough Bigwood