Ross J. Kelbaugh's interest in military history and early photography was started while he was still in elementary school at the beginning of the Civil War Centennial celebrations in the early 1960s. He soon acquired his first photographs of Union and Confederate soldiers as part of his general collecting of relics from that conflict. At the same time, he began purchasing World War II relics from the fathers of many of his friends who were veteran's as well. After graduation from college, Ross broadened his focus to include 19th and early 20th century American photographs as part of his research and collecting. Over the past thirty-five years, he has assembled the largest private collection of vintage Maryland photographs and related material in the state. This interest has also laid the foundation for his lifelong involvement with historical artifacts with the mission of furthering their use in public education.

Mr. Kelbaugh was awarded a BA from the University of Maryland, College Park and a MLA from Johns Hopkins University. In recognition of his contributions to the field, he was selected as Teacher-Historian by the United States Capitol Historical Society in Washington, D.C. In 2007, he received the Ernest Peterkin Award from the Natonal Park Service in recognition for all of his various activities in the promotion of interest in American history.

Today Ross pursues his second career as founder and CEO of Historic Graphics, LLC, a vintage image solutions company that has provided period paintings, prints, and photographs from his collections for books, magazines, media, and museum exhibitions. Many items were selected for interior sets of the Ted Turner Picture's Civil War movie Gods and Generals. Images from his collection have also been selected for display in permanent museum exhibits around the country including the Reginald F. Lewis Maryland Museum of African-American History and Culture and the Sport Heroes at Camden Yards Museum in Baltimore. In addition to to his work on 19th century photographers, he has researched Civil War weapon serial numbers as well. He has now focused his research skills on World War II to provide a better interpretation of the artifacts of that era. To make his research experience available to the collecting community, he began Military Research Services as a subsidiary of Historic Graphics, LCC. Through this organization, he and his associates use the resources of the National Archives to provide collectors with a personal story about their attributed relics.

Ross Kelbaugh continues to be very active in pursuit of his interests in American images and military history. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Maryland Arms Collectors Association and chairs the Exhibit Judging Committee at their annual event The Baltimore Show known among collectors as The Crown Jewel of America's Arms Shows. He has also been an active member of the Library Committee of the Maryland Historical Society since 1987 where he has also served as the Society's photographic consultant. He has also served as a photographic consultant for the National Park Service, the Maryland State Archives, Maryland State Department of Parks & Recreation, the University of Maryland, and his collecting has been chronicled in many publications including Money magazine, Maine Antique Digest, Civil War News, The Baltimore Sun, and The Washington Post. Mr. Kelbaugh's books include the Directory of Maryland Photographers, 1839-1900, the first reference work ever published on this state's photographic industry; Introduction to Civil War Photography now in its seventh printing; the multi-volume series Directory of Civil War Photographers; and Introduction to African American Photographs, 1840-1950. Recently he was Guest Curator for The Civil War in Maryland: An Exhibit of Rare Photographs from the Collections of the Maryland Historical Society and its Members that was open from May 3rd to October 14th 2006. This landmark event was the largest collection of original Maryland Civil War photographs ever exhibited and included images from the Kelbaugh Collection as well as those from four other major private collections. He is also the author of the show's catalogue The Civil War in Maryland: An Exhibit of Rare Photographs.