Flachware mit Tiefgang: das Archiv des Deutschen Schiffahrtsmuseums

Abstract

In the twenty-five years of its existence, the archive of the German Maritime Museum has become a significant collection whose approximately 19,000 technical drawings, 140,000 photographs, 5,600 printed art leaflets, 1,600 posters, 5,600 nautical charts and large number of files and documents of all kinds provide sources for a wide range of maritime-historical research intentions. Among the archive’s users are not only historians, but also amateur researchers, journalists, film makers and ship model builders. Numerous publications – monographs and essays – are based wholly or in part on the corresponding sources from the museum. For a fee, a scientific information service team carries out research assignments and responds to extremely diverse requests for pictorial material. There are a few aspects which have a negative effect upon the operation of the archive: It is housed in rooms which are to some extent unsuitable for the purposes of accommodating an institution of this kind; what is more, the archive is understaffed. Without the extensive aid of volunteers, it would not have been possible to take complete stock of the archive material and make it accessible to the public by means of a systematic catalogue. The posters, art leaflets and a proportion of the technical drawings have recently been catalogued electronically, making these objects all the more accessible and allowing searches to be carried out according to a wide range of criteria.