Photographs

The collection of photographs and reproductions created on the basis of the photographic process from the period of the second half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th contains several dozen pictures.

The core of the collection consists of photographs from the estate of Zdeněk Wirth, including material that had been part of the "Monument Archive" of the State Photomeasurement Institute, the Archaeological Commission, and the Central Commission for Monument Protection in Vienna. Other important collections come from the estates of Josef Cibulka and Viktor Kotrba. A significant part consists of photographs of architecture, interiors, and photographic portraits. The locations that are represented most frequently include Kutná Hora, Plzeň, and various Prague districts.

The photographers and photographic studios whose work appears most frequently include František Fridrich, the Štenc Graphic Works, Wenzel F. Jantsch and Andreas Groll. The collection also contains large numbers of photographs of German, French, and Italian origin.

At present a thoroughgoing processing of the collection is under way, including making an inventory and gradually digitalising it. The processing of the first part of the collection is taking place as part of the project "Resurrected Treasure", carried out with the support of an EEA – Norwegian Funds grant.

The first part of the collection to have been processed will be made accessible to researchers from January 2011, including an online database.

Curator: Petra Trnková, Ph.D., trnkova.at.udu.cas.cz