National Museum Archives in the 20th Century

The history of the National Museum Archives since the beginning of the 20th century is the history of the transformation of what was essentially an ordinary collection department of the National Museum into a self-confident and fully-fledged archival institution, which acquired the status of a special (later specialized) archive. The emphasis is on institutional history on several levels: what was the position of the archive within the organization of Czech archival science, for what reasons and in what way did its functioning change within the parent institution, and how did the internal mechanisms of its activities develop (acquisitions, research agenda, exhibition activities). Attention is also paid to archive buildings and important figures in the museum archive. The history of archival funds and collections is also partially reflected. The publication is supplemented by a complete list of archive professionals, a rich pictorial appendix, and editions of some interesting documents.