ARCHIVIST OF THE HALL OF RECORDS 11

there were 726, For the first year since the opening of the Hall of
Records there was not a single visitor from a foreign country and
only twenty-two states were represented. There is little doubt that this
narrowing of the hinterland of the Hall of Records may be attributed
for the most part to the difficulties of travel.

The table below listing the records most in demand during the
past year is self-explanatory. However, several items calls for com-
ment. It will be seen that almost the total circulation to searchers who
visited the research room may be described as genealogical rather
than historical, although to be sure, there is no fast and sure line of
demarcation between the categories of records or between the two
disciplines. This is another indication that the study of history, at
least of academic history, has been adjourned for the war while
genealogy, since it is practiced for the most part by persons not sub-
ject to military call, is rapidly recovering from the depression caused
by the first impact of Pearl Harbor and the enormous civilian mobili-
zation of the first years of war.

The more than normal increase in the use of the Testamentary
Proceedings reflects the increased availability of this series due to the
filing last year of the card index to all names in the record. The use of
the Gist Papers must be attributed to the publication of the Catalogue,
and the "Black Books" were used while the other divisions of the
"Rainbow Series" were neglected because of the appearance last year
of the Calendar to the "Black Books." The Deed records of Somerset
and Frederick Counties were more frequently used than before, but
since these series are being brought to the Hall of Records piecemeal
and not in chronological sequence, we shall have to wait for another
year in order to determine how much sought after they really are.

	1943-44	1942-43
Wills ...............................................................................	700	372
Testamentary Proceedings .............................................	504	143
Accounts	462	261
Deeds, Baltimore County................................................	301	19S
Inventories	279	155
Inventories and Accounts	216	131
Deeds, Anne Arundel County..................................	195	120
Deeds, Prince George's County.......................................	127	60
Judgments, Provincial Court...............................	66	44
Testamentary Papers, Anne Arundel County Wills, Original ..... ........	58 58	43 23
Wills, Anne Arundel County.....................	57	21
Balance Books .........................................................	47 .	39