The Picture Collection
The Picture Collection is one of the country’s oldest and most recognized archives for historical photography. The collection includes well-known motifs from Norway and Bergen, private albums dating back to the 1860s, documentation from research archives, and examples of early photographic techniques. It consists of individual photographs and photo collections of varying sizes from photographers, collectors, and private donors — approximately 2 million images in total, of which more than 98.000 are currently available to the public at marcus.uib.no.
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The Picture Collection houses a wide range of photographic materials and subjects, reflecting the development of photographic history from a local perspective, but with many national and international elements. For example, the Knud Knudsen collection provides valuable historical documentation of Bergen from 1860 onwards, in addition to his landscape photographs from Western Norway and the rest of the country, which are of great significance. The Tromholt collection depicts Sami life and traditions as they appeared in Finnmark in 1882–1883. Architect Olai Schumann Olsen’s collection contains many images of Bergen in the 1920s and 1930s, while Gustav Brosing’s photographs show the city’s streets and alleys in the 1950s and 1960s. The “Unika” collection includes images from the earliest period of photographic history.
The Picture Collection originated from photography work at the University Library in the early 1960s, led by pioneer Susanne Bonge. 1967 is considered the birth year of the Picture Collection, and since then, the unit has gradually grown in size and importance. It has developed a cataloging system and subject index for photography, published important contributions to Norwegian photo history such as the book Older Norwegian Photographers, and holds some of the country’s most significant photographic collections. The Tromholt and Knudsen collections are listed on UNESCO’s Norwegian Documentary Heritage list, and Tromholt has also been elevated to the international documentary heritage list “Memory of the World.”
The Picture Collection continuously works on digitizing and cataloging its collections, which are gradually made available on Marcus. Digitization is prioritized based on preservation and dissemination considerations and public requests. At the same time, efforts are made to preserve the analog material. Photographic material requires very specific conditions to be preserved for the future, so all original material is stored in closed archives. In addition to being digitally available on Marcus, a large part of the collections is physically accessible in our reading room in the form of folders with analog copies.
Users of the Picture Collection include researchers, students, media, publishers, and private individuals. In 2020, the Picture Collection moved to the basement of the Arts and Humanities Library. We are open to the public by appointment and also respond to inquiries by phone and email.