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Image Archive

The Image Archive of the Ibero-Amerikanisches Institut (IAI) comprises a total of 216,950 image documents. These include 142,700 photographs, 62,450 slides, 8,300 photographic glass plates, 1,100 film negatives, and 2,400 postcards. Most of the materials are part of the bequests held by the institute and are closely linked to the IAI's other special collections. The photographs relate to Latin America, the Caribbean, Spain, and Portugal. The Image Archive contains image documents dating from 1860 onwards and many items from the early years of photography. More detailed information about the Image Archive's holdings can be found further down this page by using the keyword search under “Search in the Image Archive” or the A-Z search. Some of the holdings are available online in the Digital Collections of the IAI.

 

The materials in the IAI's image archive are particularly interesting and important for national and international research because they are research data that are in a common context with manuscripts, notebooks, letters and drawings of excavation sites and buildings as well as books and journals in the Institute's library. For example, the estate of the German-Austrian architect and photographer Teobert Maler (1842-1917), who is considered one of the pioneers of research into Mayan ruin sites in Mexico and Guatemala, contains not only his notebooks, manuscripts, letters and architectural drawings, but also numerous photographs that document, among other things, the condition of pre-Columbian buildings at the time and are therefore still of great value for research today, precisely because they are recorded and accessible in the IAI in the context of his entire estate.

The legacies of Hans Steffen, Max Uhle, Eduard Seler, Arthur Posnansky, Erich Zurkalowski and Walter Lehmann include photographs by the Peruvian photographer Max T. Vargas (ca. 1874-1959), especially images of landscapes, excavation sites, cities and buildings in Peru and Bolivia. The legacies of Walter Lehmann and Max Uhle also contain portraits, landscape photographs and photographs of archaeological excavation sites, for example Machu Picchu and Cusco, by Martín Chambi (1891-1973), who worked as Max T. Vargas' assistant from 1908. Part of Max Uhle's estate includes photographs by the Austrian-born naval architect Arthur Posnansky (1873-1946), who arrived in Bolivia around 1900 and conducted research into Bolivian archaeology and antiquity, in particular Tiahuanaco. These are black and white photographs of Tiahuanaco, Isla del Sol and Isla de la Luna.

The image archive of the photographer Hugo Brehme (1882-1954) from Eisenach, who settled in Mexico in 1908 after traveling through Africa and Central America and founded a photo studio there, is exemplary for the close interlinking of the estates with the photo collections and the holdings of the IAI library. The photographic prints were made in 1927 by the librarian Herrman B. Hagen directly from Brehme's photo studio or come from the estates of Walter Lehmann and Eduard Seler. The photographs are of outstanding technical quality for their time and show a multifaceted picture of Mexico in the period 1910-1920. Several of the illustrated books published by Hugo Brehme and numerous secondary literature on Brehme's work are available in the IAI library. The photographs have been made available to the national and international public and researchers by the IAI in several exhibition and publication projects.

From the German photographer Emilio Biel (1838-1915), who emigrated to Portugal in 1857 and ran a photo studio in Porto, the IAI has photographs of traditional costumes and views of Porto around 1900.

Conditions and contact

Conditions of use

In principle, all materials in the Image Archive are for on-site consultation only and can only be accessed in the IAI reading room. Out of respect for cultural sensitivities, access to individual image documents may be restricted. To request the desired materials, you must submit an application for use and make an appointment.

The IAI's 8,300 photographic glass plates and 1,100 film negatives were catalogued and largely digitized in 2013 as part of an indexing project funded by the Federal Commissioner for Culture and the Media (BKM, Beauftragte der Bundesregierung für Kultur und Medien). The digital copies are available via the IAI online catalog (external link, opens in a new window) and the IAI's Digital Collections (external link, opens in a new window). The Image Archive of the IAI holds nearly 2,400 postcards (PDF, 344.52 KB) (opens in a new window), (this file is not accessible). Most of the slides can be viewed in slide showcases in the photo library. An appointment is required.

Upon written request, reproductions can be made for scientific purposes. However, this is only possible for materials for which the IAI holds the copyright or which are in the public domain. Likewise, there must be no reasons of preservation to prevent this. Out of respect for cultural sensitivities, access to individual image documents may be restricted. The request for scans is available here.

Consultation hours

Monday: 2 - 4 p.m.
Tuesday: 10 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Wednesday: 3 - 5 p.m. 
Thursday: 10 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Friday: 10 a.m. - 12 p.m.

Search in the Image Archive