There is a miniature community of horrors on the third floor of the Maryland Medical Examiner’s Office. A display of 18 exquisitely crafted models of actual crime scenes presents grisly vignettes of violent death.

The models were made in the 1940s by Frances Glessner Lee, a wealthy, eccentric Chicago woman who had been raised on Sherlock Holmes tales and had a lifelong fascination with sleuthing. The studies were based on actual crime scenes, reconstructed from photographs, sketches and statements by witnesses and police. Only names and revealing details were changed. The dollhouse-like models are designed on a scale of one foot to one inch, perfectly proportioned for an investigator six inches tall.

The Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death may be viewed by appointment. For fullest appreciation, bring a small flashlight and a magnifying glass.

State of Maryland Medical Examiner’s Office
111 Penn Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
410-333-3250
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