THE WARBURG INSTITUTE ARCHIVE
Warburg.archive(at)sas.ac.uk
Tel: 020 7862 8911
Hours of Opening - Aids to Consultation - Access
Copyrights and Permission to Publish - Conditions - Note Taking
Reproductions - Charges for Photographs
Quotation of Archival Material
The Archive of the Institute preserves the working materials and papers of the Institute’s founder Aby M. Warburg (1866-1929) and of other distinguished scholars closely associated with the Institute from its days in Hamburg to the present, including the former directors Fritz Saxl (1890-1948) and Gertrud Bing (1892–1964), the cultural historian Dame Frances A. Yates (1899–1981), the historian of religion Robert Eisler (1882-1949) and the art historian Otto Kurz (1908-1975). In addition it contains papers relating to the following scholars: A.A. Barb (1901-1979; Leopold D. Ettlinger (1913-1989); Henri Frankfort (1897-1954); Sir Ernst H. Gombrich (1909-2001); Evelyn Jamison (1877-1972); Karl Ernst Krafft (1900-1949); Otto (1908-1975) and Hilde Kurz (1910-1981); Charles Mitchell (1912-1995); R.A.B. Mynors (1903-1989); Siegfried Seligmann (1870-1926); Walter Solmitz (1905-1962); Daniel P. Walker (1914-1985); Roberto Weiss (1906-1969) and the academic and administrative records of the Institute.
The Warburg Institute Archive now also incorporates the working papers and private
correspondence of E. H. Gombrich, consisting of some 10,000. catalogued items. To access those items that are open to readers, permission must be obtained in advance from the Literary Estate of E. H. Gombrich, 6 Celia Road, London N19 5ET. Please allow sufficient time for a response, which may not be immediate, before making travel or other plans. On obtaining permission, please contact the Warburg¹s archivist in the usual way.
II. AIDS TO CONSULTATION
The portion of the Archive relating directly to Aby Warburg has been briefly described by E. H. Gombrich in his Aby Warburg: an Intellectual Biography, London (2nd ed.) 1986, pp. 343-47; there is a fuller but now superseded summary list in Aby M. Warburg, Ausgewählte Schriften, ed. D. Wuttke, Baden-Baden (3rd ed.) 1992, pp. 585-97, 648; cf. also Wuttke's list of over 3000 published works concerning Warburg in Aby M. Warburg-Bibliographie 1866-1995, Baden-Baden 1998. Additions as well as an update consisting of over 1300 titles are published in Björn Biester, Dieter Wuttke Aby M. Warburg-Bibliographie 1996-2005, Baden-Baden 2007.
Aby Warburg’s working papers have been inventoried and described by A.M. Meyer and J.B. Trapp; the catalogue has been revised by S. Meurer and C. Wedepohl. It is not yet in definitive form, but is available for consultation at the Institute.
The General Correspondence of Aby Warburg, and of the Kulturwissenschaftliche Bibliothek Warburg (K.B.W.) in Hamburg, has been catalogued by D. McEwan as well as the Family Correspondence of Aby Warburg. It is complete for the years from 1873 to 1929. A fully indexed database of all the correspondence, including a short synopsis in English of each document, may be consulted in the Archive, but scholars who wish to consult original documents must comply with the procedures described under Access below, and should make an appointment with the Institute Archivist, Dr. Claudia Wedepohl.
III. ACCESS
Access to all materials in the Archive is at the discretion of the Director; considerations of working space and staffing may make it necessary to restrict the number of persons admitted at any given time. Written applications from suitably qualified persons must reach the Director at least fourteen days in advance of the beginning of any proposed visit (applications by telephone are not acceptable), and should specify as exactly as possible the material to be consulted. They must be accompanied by a letter of recommendation from an academic referee. Applicants should note that restrictions apply to materials which mention persons now living, as also materials of a clinical nature relating to the years 1918-24. Those wishing to consult archival material are advised to make preliminary contact with the Archivist (Warburg.archive@sas.ac.uk).
IV. OPENING HOURS
The Archive is open Monday – Friday, 10 am – 5 pm, except during the week at Christmas and at Easter when the Institute is closed. Due to shortage of staff it may be necessary to restrict this timetable.
V. COPYRIGHT
Copyright in unpublished notes and letters belongs to their authors or his/her heirs or assigns, irrespective of present ownership.
VI. CONDITIONS
Material, whether text or images, is available on the following conditions:
1. That due acknowledgement is made in any resulting publication, whether as book, thesis, article, microfilm, other photographic or audiovisual medium, of the Institute’s ownership and, where relevant, copyright.
2. That two copies of offprints or one copy of books are supplied free of charge, addressed to the Director; the author of an unpublished M.A. or Ph.D. dissertation which draws substantially on material in the Archive is requested to submit one copy.
3. That any material prepared for publication on the basis of papers in the possession of the Institute which makes reference to persons now living will be shown to the Institute in typescript before it is sent to a publisher, and that the Institute retains the right to delete or amend reference to living persons in it.
4. That the Institute is indemnified by the person to whom material as specified in 3. is made available against any action brought as a result of publication.
5. That correct archival references are provided for any material that is published.
VII. NOTE-TAKING
Pencil only is to be used in the Archives NO ball-, fibre- or metal-point pens; computers may be used.
VIII. REPRODUCTIONS
Reproductions may be ordered for study purposes only. [cf. IX].
At the Archivist’s discretion, typescript and manuscripts written in ink may be photocopied by authorized staff only. Manuscripts written in pencil and any material in a fragile condition may not be photocopied.
Photographs in the collection of the Archive may not be photocopied. Reproductions need to be ordered.
Black-and-white photographs, colour slides which can be used as a positive colour microfilm, digital photographs or scans can be supplied.
Before leaving users must supply on their order forms the catalogue numbers of material reproduced. Please note that the reproduction of material is restricted to a maximum of 10 % of every pressmark or 50 copies per week – keeping in mind other restrictions mentioned above. Reproduction of letters in the Correspondence Archive is at the discretion of the Archivist. Reproduction of unsorted material is not permitted.
Reproduction fees: price list on application.
Dictation into a recording machine is not permitted.
IX. PERMISSION TO PUBLISH
Permission to publish copyright material must be sought in writing from the Director.
X. HOW TO QUOTE ARCHIVE MATERIAL
The Archive is currently organised into four main sections.
I. Material relating to the library in Hamburg and in London .
II. Photographs
III.-IV. Aby Warburg’s Papers
This structure will be subject to changes in the near future.
Quotations should be as follows:
Papers:
WIA [for Warburg Institute Archive], complete catalogue number, title.
Example:
WIA, III.53.2. ‘Bildniskunst und florentinisches Bürgertum’, Leipzig 1902, Presentation Copy, inscribed to F. Saxl, 12 March 1914, p.7.
Photographs:
Letters:
WIA, GC [General Correspondence], F. Saxl to A. Warburg, 12 April 1929.
WIA, FC [Family Correspondence], A. Warburg to Max M. Warburg, 5 April 1908.
The Archivist (Warburg.archive(at)sas.ac.uk), will be pleased to answer any enquiries regarding the Archive, and to provide further information.
The website of the Archive has been included in the new UNESCO Archives Portal at http://www.unesco.org/webworld/portal_archives.
