With this outstanding document of photography of Germany, the library further expands its already extensive Image Archive, which is the largest of its kind held by any public-sector institution in Germany. The transition of the archive to the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek takes place in four parts up to the end of 2025.

The photographic work of Isolde Ohlbaum constitutes a unique contemporary-historical document and important Bavarian work. Since the mid-1970s, Isolde Ohlbaum has portrayed well-known authors and artists and many other persons of social life in Germany and far beyond. In her photos, she has documented numerous literary events, such as the Frankfurt Book Fair, the award ceremonies of the Petrarca Award, of the Hermann-Lenz Award, the Bachmann Award, the meetings of the German Academy for Language and Literature in Germany and abroad for decades. These pictures constitute an important testament to cultural life in Germany since the 1970s and up to the immediate present. Views of cities, pictures of graveyards, sculptures, flowers, etc. complement Isolde Ohlbaum's photographic oeuvre.

Minister of the Arts Blume stresses:

She has given the world of poets and philosophers faces in her photographs: Isolde Ohlbaum took photos of the big players of literary and cultural life in Germany. The acquisition of her photographic work adds a further treasure to the Image Archive of the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek. It is wonderful that this outstanding photographic work can be made accessible to research and the interested public!

Dr. Klaus Ceynowa, Director General of the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek:

Being in a position to acquire the photographic work of Isolde Ohlbaum for our Image Archive makes us feel proud and happy. New perspectives arise for literary and cultural research particularly in a synopsis with the original letters of the portrayed persons of artistic and social life. The acquisition firmly underlines the claim of the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek to conserve and make usable one of Europe's most important contemporary-historical photo archives. Through its successive digitization this image cosmos will be activated for future worldwide visibility.

About the Image Archive of the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek
The Image Archive of the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek comprises over 19 million images of a predominantly documentary character and with a contemporary historical emphasis. It is the largest image archive held by any public-sector institution in Germany. The main stock is constituted by the photo archive of the journal stern including more than 15 million pictures, which was taken over in 2019. The picture archive will be digitized step by step in the coming years.
https://www.bsb-muenchen.de/sammlungen/bilder/fotoarchive/

Press release for download  (PDF, 266 KB)

Contact

Dr. Cornelia Jahn
Bayerische Staatsbibliothek
Department of Maps and Images
Ludwigstrasse 16, 80539 Munich
Phone  +49 89 28638-2287
cornelia.jahn@bsb-muenchen.de

Peter Schnitzlein
Press and Public Relations
Phone  +49 89 28638-2429
presse@bsb-muenchen.de