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TheBettmann Archive is a collection of over 18 million photographs and images,[1] some going back to the United StatesCivil War and including some of the best known U.S. historic images. The Archive also includes many images from Europe and elsewhere.
It was founded in 1936 byOtto Bettmann (1903–1998),[2] aGermancurator who immigrated to the United States in 1935.[1] He actively expanded his collection by advertising in magazines,[1] e.g. in the Winter 1959 issue ofFilm Quarterly "Wanting to buy: Old movie stills - ca. 1915 to 1935; early comedies -- well-known stars and productions."[3]
In 1960, Bettmann moved it from his apartment at 215 East 57th Street, inNew York City to theTishman Building. In 1981, Bettmann sold the archive to theKraus Thomson Organization.[2]
In 1995, the archive was sold toCorbis, a digitalstock photography company founded byBill Gates.[1][4] Restrictions of access to the collection arising from this sale were described in the editorial "Goodbye to All That" in the May 2001 issue ofAmerican Heritage magazine.[5]
Between late-2001 and March 2002, to preserve the photos and negatives, Corbis moved the archive from Manhattan to theIron MountainNational Underground Storage Facility, a formerlimestone quarry located 220 feet (67 m) below ground in westernPennsylvania. The temperature of the storage room is gradually being lowered to -4 °F (-20 °C), which was determined by film preservationistHenry Wilhelm to be the optimal temperature for the long-term storage of the archive.[6] At this temperature, the collection will degrade 500 times more slowly in than it did in Manhattan.[7] Meanwhile, Corbis has been scanning the negatives into digital form as they are ordered by clients.
The archive began with Otto Bettmann's personal collection of 15,000 images which he brought with him in suitcases when he escaped from Nazi Germany.[5] Over the years, it acquired other collections, including theGendreau Collection of Americana in 1967, theUnderwood & Underwood Collection of material from late 19th century to World War I in 1971, and theUnited Press International collection in 1984.Louis Stern Fine Arts exhibited a selection of works from the Bettman Archive in 1999.[8]
Today,Getty Images had taken over the Bettmann Archive beforeVisual China Group acquired Corbis in 2016.[1]
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