Museum archives

During its long history, the RMAH have produced an extensive institutional archive which forms the backbone of our collections.

• Director’s archives - During the 19th and 20th centuries, the head curator, the board of directors, and other bodies created and received a lot of correspondence, minutes and other archival documents that shed light on the management of the collection, buildings, staff policies, public outreach, research and numerous other aspects of the museum. These archives cover some fifty linear metres and run from 1835 to about 1975 (inventory will be available soon).
• Administration - After closing the records of the Director’s archives in the 1970’s, the archives of the chief curators, the director’s board and executive secretary were filed as ‘Administration’. These records cover some sixty linear metres and run from about 1975 to today.
• Inventories - New acquisitions to the museum collections were registered since 1847 in the general inventory or catalogue of the RMAH. Besides this general inventory, there are also inventories of specific subcollections, bequests or donations. Usually, these inventories contain a brief description of the object as well as the names of the original owner in addition to the inventory number. (Download the inventory in pdf)
• Acquisitions - Purchases, bequests and donations were not only registered in the inventories, usually also an acquisition file was compiled. This systematic recording occurred from 1895 for purchases and from 1905 for bequests and donations, but acquisition files were also sporadically created previously. They were originally filed in the director's archives, but were later kept in two independent series Acquisitions and the Dons, Legs & Prêts. Both series were merged as Acquisitions. Files contain correspondence with private collectors, dealers and other parties involved. Occasionally, these records also include photographs or sketches of the objects. (Download the inventory in pdf)
• Internal depots, loans, exhibitions - In the late 19th and early 20th century, the series covering the internal depots, loans and exhibitions were also partially segregated from the Director’s archives and grouped in an independent series. (inventory in preparation)
• Department of ethnography - these archives shed light on the day-to-day management of the section, including curatorial correspondence, inventories, acquisition files etc. (Download the inventory in pdf). Of course, many records pertaining to this department can also ben found in the Directors’ archives, the acquisition files, …