Shellfish Commission, 1906

The collection contains scrapbooks and correspondence related to Governor Edwin Warfield’s career. The scrapbooks hold newspaper clippings, correspondence, and more about major issues Warfield faced as governor, especially on environmental issues such as oyster preservation and game and hunting laws. A large portion of correspondence is related to the proposed Poe Amendment, a voter disfranchisement bill, which Warfield did not support. Most of the letters praise Warfield for going against the amendment and his political party, but some correspondents wrote in support of the bill. Of particular note are copies of “Maryland,” a song by Minnie E. Hicks sung at the Jamestown Exposition, typed in braille.

The collection is divided into five series based on document type or topic: Scrapbooks, Correspondence, Jamestown Exposition, Maryland Democratic Party, and English Law. The series are organized chronologically, and items with the same date are arranged alphabetically. Photocopies of the loose newspaper clippings have been included due to the deteriorating condition of the originals. The strings which bound the scrapbooks have also been removed as they caused tearing to the pages when turned.