The holdings of the Picture Archives and Graphics Department

Portrait collection

• Main areas of focus:
  Habsburgica: Porträts von Mitgliedern des Hauses Habsburg, besonders reichhaltig zu Kaiser Franz Joseph und Kaiserin Elisabeth
  Topographic views: the main focus is the area of the Danube Monarchy, with abundant material on Vienna
  Ex Libris: from the 16th to the 20th centuries
• Special Collections:
  Porträtsammlung von Kaiser Franz I.
  Lavater’s art collection:  : about 22,000 sheets, Helvetica (on Switzerland), art sheets, portraits, pages on physiognomy
  Collection of over 600 portrait miniatures:  of members of the royal family
  Original drafts for the "Kronprinzenwerk"(Crown Prince’s Oevre): Illustrations from the work "Die österreichisch-ungarische Monarchie in Wort und Bild" (The Austro-Hungarian Monarchy in Text and Pictures) on art, the economy, and popular culture
  "Huldigungs- (=Glückwunsch-) Adressen an das Herrscherhaus" (Speeches of Homage (Congratulations) to the Ruling House):  predominantly from the period of Emperor Franz Joseph, partly outstanding examples of craftsmanship reflecting historicism and the Jugendstil (style of youth)
  Ex Libris:  The Ex Libris Collection is based on Ex Libris from the books of the Court Library as well as the Rudolf Benkard Collection acquired in 1930, with items from the 16th to the 18th centuries. Today it contains over 50,000 small graphics from early modern times to the present

Picture Archives

• Main areas of focus:
  Habsburgica: Emperor Franz Joseph, Empress Elisabeth, and other members of the imperial family
  Topographic and architectural photography: main focus is Austria, with abundant and detailed material on Vienna, large collection of picture postcards
   Contemporary history: e.g., the photo archives of "Wiener Kurier" (the newspaper ‘Vienna Courier’) held by the United States Service (USIS) 1946-1955
  Portrait photography: politicians, artists, business people, sportspeople, scientists, people prominent in theatre and film
  Theatre photography: Salzburg Festivals, presentations of Viennese theatres, etc.
  Austrian Posters: poster art from 1900 onwards, political posters, film posters
• Special Collections:
  Martin jun. and Kurt Gerlach: Photography of architecture with emphasis on Austria and particularly Vienna from the period 1920-1970
  Harry Weber: News photography of the period 1950 – 1975 with main focus on Austrian political happenings, such as the state treaty, consequences of the uprising in Hungary; theatre photography, particularly Salzburg Festivals, state opera; photographs of contemporary Jewry in Vienna
  August Stauda: Architectural photography of the turn of the century, with main focus on Vienna
  War Collection 1914-18: A comprehensive documentation of the events of the War. Objects: posters, broadsheets, postcards, extra editions, children’s drawings and school essays, “vivat” banners, postage and seal stamps, etc. – in process. Posters, “vivat” banners, and postcards are already catalogued.
  Poster Collection: with over 100,000 objects among the biggest in Austria. It documents the history of Austrian graphic design between the fin de siècle and the very recent past.

Fidei commis Library

The Fidei commis Library – the imperial family library – includes some 116,000 volumes. It includes among other things the books of Empress Ludovica, who was advised on purchases by no less than Johann Wolfgang von Goethe; the books of Emperor Maximilian of Mexico; and those of Crown Prince Rudolf.