Saskia Asser | The Spaarnestad Collection, a Resourceful Archive. A Study of the Relevance of Analogue Press Photo Archives in Digital Times for the History of Photojournalism

— image: Nationaal Archief/Collectie Spaarnestad/Fotograaf onbekend —

Saskia Asser | The Spaarnestad Collection, a Resourceful Archive. A Study of the Relevance of Analogue Press Photo Archives in Digital Times for the History of Photojournalism | University of Groningen, The Groningen Research Institute for the Study of Culture (ICOG) | Promotor(es): Prof. dr. Huub Wijfjes, Prof. dr. Susan Aasman | 1 September 2022 – 1 September 2026 | s.e.asser[at]rug.nl

The central focus of my research is the Spaarnestad Collection in the National Archives of the Netherlands. The collection is a good example of a resourceful archive: an archive that is not so much a passive resource but reflects a social practice in its physical form and material coherence. The core is formed by the former photo library of De Spaarnestad, a major Dutch publisher of illustrated magazines in the 20th century. This provenance is reflected in the wide range of subjects, its international scope, and in the material form and organisational structure in which the photographs are still being preserved.

In the 1970s, Spaarnestad’s photo library transformed from a dynamic editorial archive into a historical image bank and a refuge for orphaned photo archives. Although ‘Spaarnestad’ has since been a household name among users of historical images, we know almost nothing about how the photo library functioned within the publishing company and reflected its photography practice. The fact that Spaarnestad’s company and editorial archives have not been preserved is partly to blame for this. Therefore, the analogue photographs and the magazines are the starting point and main primary source for this research.

Using case studies, I examine how the Spaarnestad Collection offers insight into how photojournalism was created at the De Spaarnestad, how its practice was influenced by religious, political and social ideas, how the use and meaning of the photographs changed over time, and what the transfer in 2008-2011 to the National Archives and various digitization projects have meant for the collection’s visibility and accessibility.