Portrait. Thomas J. Wilson, undated

The collection is housed in 6 boxes, and spans the years 1884 to 1926, with the bulk of the images made in the 1890s. There are approximately 800 images which are predominantly photoprints, with a few negatives. Most of the photographs are captioned, and many include a date. One photograph album is present containing 486 images; due to the brittleness of the album pages, reseachers should use a photocopy of the album for reference.

The collection is strongest in images made in the late 19th century of buildings in Baltimore, including many historic houses and several African American churches. There are also sites and structures from Maryland counties including Baltimore, Anne Arundel, Cecil, Frederick, Howard, Prince George's, and Washington. The collection forms an excellent record of turn of the century Baltimore buildings, from newly-built 1880s townhouses and estates (many designed by the architectural firm of J.A. and W.T. Wilson), to examples of historic and vernacular architecture. Both exterior and interior views of many buildings are featured. Included are domestic scenes at "Oakley," the Wilson family residence.

The photograph album is dated 1901 to 1916 and documents Wilson's travel abroad (England, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Italy, and Egypt), as well as Maryland scenes. Maryland locations include the towns of Boonsboro and Keedysville in Washington County; the town of Blandensburg in Prince George's County; the town of Beverly in Worcester County; and the towns of Annapolis and Arundel-on-the-Bay in Anne Arundel County. Buildings featured include the Colored Ward Spring Grove; the Enoch Pratt Free Library Branches 16 and 17; Canton Box Factory; President St. station; and the ruins of the Maryland Institute and the Hurst building after the Great Baltimore Fire of 1904.