Collections

Collection of photographs

  • Collection type
    archival, documentary, historical, artistic, cultural-historical, media art, sports
  • Number of items
    more than 300 000 units
  • Type of items
    photographs, negatives on celluloid, negatives on glass, diapositives, photo albums, postcards
  • Territorial scope
    Croatia, global
  • Period
    1880. – danas
  • Collection head
    Petra Huan Pustaj, Curator
  • Material composition
    paper, cardboard, glass, celluloid

The Collection of photographs is the largest and one of the oldest collections of the Croatian Sports Museum and it encompasses a period stretching from 1880 until today, keeping a record of numerous sports events, competitions, clubs, sporting structures, athletes, sports journalists and many other individuals, private and public, who contributed to the development and promotion of sports through their work. For ease of access and research, photographs are sorted by subjects: sporting branches and professions.
Besides valuable examples of atelier photography, the Collection contains photographic work of sports journalists, amateur photography, documentary photography, negatives on celluloid, negatives on glass, diapositives, postcards and numerous photo albums. Among the most interesting, aside from modern photographs, are undoubtedly the oldest photographs in the Collection dating to the end of the 19th century which show the Course of Physical Education Teachers, the first cycling, rowing and swimming competitions, as well as the first group portraits of football teams.
The items within the Collection of photographs represents a valuable and rich source of information relevant to the study of sports history, owing to its sheer diversity in themes, types of items and the wide scale of time it captures. The Collection continues to grow, enriched by gifts, purchases and inheritances.