The Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University

About the Collection

The Peabody Archives contain the records of the Peabody Institute of the City of Baltimore, covering the period from its founding in 1857 to its affiliation with The Johns Hopkins University in 1977.

The minutes of the Board of Trustees and supporting papers (committee minutes, reports, financial records, letters and memoranda) provide a continuous overview of the primary decision making body of the Institute. The operations of the major segments of the Institute, The Library, The Lectures, the Academy of Music, and the Gallery of Art are well-documented in all their aspects. Additionally, the Archives contains an extensive collection of architectural drawings of all of the Institute's buildings beginning with the original one begun in 1858 by Edmund G. Lind. The vast collection of sound recordings captures performances by guest artists, the Conservatory's artist faculty, students, and recordings of major musical events at Peabody. The Institute's records include a small but significant collection of photographs, starting with albumen prints recording the Dedication in 1866.