The Photographic Library

The collection of photographs preserved in the Library has been formed from material of various provenance.

Collezione Simeom [Simeom Collection]: a daguerrotype taken at Stupinigi in about the mid 19th century; the Brogi factory album on the city of Turin, datable to c. 1890; views of Turin, streets and squares of the city,… (about 150 items).

Fondo Dall'Armi-Cagliero [Dall'Armi-Cagliero Collection]: portraits and documentary images (art and architecture, industrial buildings and production) from the studio of the photographer Giancarlo Dall'Armi (1880-1928) and his wife; portraits, especially of theatre people, by Ernesto Cagliero (1920-1993) (more than 10,000 positives and at least 20,000 negatives).

Fondo Ratti [Ratti Collection]: photographs by the photographer Giuseppe Ratti (1890-1965); the collection is small (4 albums) but important (the largest part is conserved in the National Museum of Cinema - Fondazione Maria Adriana Prolo of Turin).

Fondo Pozzo [Pozzo Collection]: studio and special occasion portraits by the photographer Carlo Pozzo, active from the Second World War to about 1970 (about 15,000 items, mostly negatives).

Serie Via Roma anni '30 [Series of Via Roma in the 1930s]: photographs taken before, during and after the enlargement of Via Roma, Turin's main street, in the Fascist period (2 albums).

Fondo UPA [UPA Collection]: series of photographs of the bombing of Turin and its surroundings, taken by SATIZ, by the journalists of the Gazzetta del Popolo and by the photographer-firemen of the 83rd Fire Brigade for the Town Council's Office of Anti-Aircraft Protection and Civil Mobilization (11 albums).

Fondo Gazzetta del Popolo [Gazzetta del Popolo Collection]: the editorial archive of the Turinese newspaper of the same name composed of numerous series of envelopes containing photographs, printing blocks and newspaper cuttings dating from the 1930s to 1983. The collection numbers some 500,000 items; the nucleus of about 20,000 images of the Second World War is particularly important.

Fondo Bubbio [Bubbio Collection]: prints and slides of local documentary importance taken mostly by the amateur photographer Aldo Bubbio in the period 1970-1980 (several thousands of images).

Nuove acquisizioni [New Acquisitions]: views of Turin from the end of the 19th century, documentary images of Turinese history and local events, portraits,… (several hundreds of images).

All the material is currently being reorganised, catalogued and restored to better condition.

The Photographic Library also conserves a series of reproductions, in negative and/or positive, of material belonging to other collections in the Historical Archives, which has been built up over the years thanks to the Archives' own publishing activities and to copies given by various bodies, publishing houses, scholars and students (more than 20,000 items). A considerable part of this series reproduces drawings and engravings from the Collezione Simeom and from the Fondo Tipi e Disegni [Building Types and Plans Collection]. These reproductions can be hired. Work has also begun on digitally reproducing the Collezione Simeom starting with the iconographic material in Series D.
A photographic studio next to the Photographic Library is available for photographing the original material in the Archives. If a reproduction of the material one would like to photograph already exists in the Library it is obligatory to hire that, in order to reduce handling of the original to a minimum.
The reproduction and hire service is governed by the following resolutions of the Mayoral Council: no. 5398 of 15 October 1996; no. 337 of 3 March 1998; and no. 422 of 26 March 2001.

Below are the updated tariffs for the Photographic Library's services:

Le richieste che si riferiscono ad ipotesi non espressamente contemplate dal presente tariffario, formeranno oggetto di esame e accordi specifici, di volta in volta.

Compatibilmente con l'assolvimento dei compiti di istituto, potranno essere forniti, a richiesta, preventivi indicanti il periodo di validità e le modalità di pagamento. Gli interessati saranno tenuti al rimborso delle spese sostenute dall'Amministrazione.

L'Amministrazione è esente da responsabilità per i danni eventualmente arrecati a cose e persone durante le riprese fotografiche, cinematografiche o televisive effettuate nella sede dell'Archivio Storico.

I canoni ed i corrispettivi previsti nel presente tariffario non comprendono le spese di spedizione e di imballaggio che sono a carico degli interessati.

I pagamenti dovranno essere effettuati anticipatamente:

- tramite apposito bollettario;
- con versamento presso la Civica Tesoreria, Via Bellezia 2 - Torino;
- con bonifico bancario: Comune di Torino - CRT Ag. Tesoreria Civica n. 162 ABI
2008 CAB 1033 c/c 493670

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