SMC 47

The history of archiving and record-keeping has recently attracted a lot of attention, however, scholarship on the physical and spatial aspects of that history are still scant. Hence, the volume foregrounds the material aspect of record-keeping and highlights the object-nature of archiving. Chapters on archive-related document preparation and the composition of archivable records are followed by explorations of storage containers, furniture, and spaces.
The volume is cross-cultural in nature, highlighting the materiality of record-keeping practices as a prime entry point for a globally comparative history of archiving. Exploring the rich traditions of record-keeping practices and facilities makes visible previously underappreciated parallels and unique specifics of various archival cultures from around the globe.

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FrontmatterI

ContentsV

Why Materiality Matters in Archival History: An Introduction1
Markus Friedrich

Chapter 1: Archival Artefacts: From Sheets and Files to Digital Documents19
Peera Panarut

Case Study 1.1: Archiving Ancient Papyrus in Modern Times66
Jakob Wigand

Case Study 1.2: Material Traces of Piercing and Bundling in the Ḥaram al-Sharīf Corpus68
Anna Steffen

Chapter 2: Books as Archives71
Benedikt Reier

Case Study 2.1: A Medieval Cartulary: The Codex Eberhardi96
Till Hennings

Case Study 2.2: The Golden Gospel of Dabra Libānos, at Ham, Eritrea98
Alessandro Bausi

Chapter 3: Containers: From Wrapped Textiles and Jars to Hard Disks101
Cécile Michel

Case Study 3.1: An Archival Backpack from Gotha142
Ann-Sophie Hellmich-Schwan

Case Study 3.2: Archival Bags in Ethiopia144
Alessandro Bausi

Case Study 3.3: Leather-laminated Boxes from Ethiopia146
Case Study 3.3: Leather-laminated Boxes from Ethiopia

Case Study 3.4: An Early Modern Coptic Slipcase from Cairo, Egypt148
Eliana Dal Sasso

Case Study 3.5: A Decorated Charter Ark from Xanten, 1460150
Ann-Sophie Hellmich-Schwan

Chapter 4: Furniture153
Markus Friedrich

Case Study 4.1: Fluchtkisten206
Ann-Sophie Hellmich-Schwan

Case Study 4.2: Shelves and Manuscripts in Tibet208
Agnieszka Helman-Ważny

Case Study 4.3: Storing Books (and Potentially Archival Bundles) in Medieval Arabic Societies210
Konrad Hirschler

Case Study 4.4: Ida Dehmel’s Archive Cabinet (Hamburg, 1901)212
Sebastian Schirrmeister

Case Study 4.5: Working the Archive: An Archival Desk and Many Drawers214
Ann-Sophie Hellmich-Schwan

Chapter 5: Storage Spaces: Rooms and Buildings217
Philippe Depreux

Case Study 5.1: Caves as Storage Spaces250
Agnieszka Helman-Ważny

Case Study 5.2: Archive Building in Gondar Ethiopia252
Dirbwork Bitsu Kassa

Case Study 5.3: The Archives Internationales de la Danse in Paris254
Franz Anton Cramer

Case Study 5.4: The ʿĀbdīn Palace Archive in Cairo: Merging Monarchy and Nation256
Konrad Hirschler

Contributors259

General Index