Memory of the World; 2012 - unesdoc - Unesco

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Alfred Nobel family archives
Inscribed 2007
What are they
Documents, photographs, drawings and paintings
comprising the Nobel Family Archive and Alfred Nobel’s
archive which document their industrial and commercial
activities. Alfred Nobel’s will is included among
the papers.
Why were they inscribed
These archives depict the use of new inventions, the
international expansion of industrial enterprises and
the industrialization of modern warfare. Alfred Nobel’s
papers in particular reflect his creativity and also
highlight his philanthropic use of the family fortune.
Where are they
Regional Archives in Lund, Lund; National Archives,
Stockholm, Sweden
The Nobel Family Archive (Nobelska arkivet) in the
Regional Archives in Lund mainly originates from
the industrial enterprises of Alfred Nobel’s father,
Immanuel Nobel, of his brothers Robert Nobel and
Ludvig Nobel Sr, as well as of his nephew, Ludvig Nobel
Jr, during the period c.1840–1900. The main part of
the archive is related to the family’s industrial and
commercial activities in Imperial Russia, particularly
the production of land and sea mines intended for the
Russian armed forces and the family’s petroleum plants
at Baku. Of special interest is a series of handpainted
descriptions of the use of mines from c.1850 and a
series of photographs of the industrial establishment
at Baku from c.1880–90. The records thus reflect
the enterprising traditions and inventiveness of the
Nobel family, which provide an important background
to Alfred Nobel’s life as an inventor, international
industrialist and benefactor of world importance.
360 Alfred Nobel family archives
Alfred Nobel’s archive (Alfred Nobels arkiv) at the
National Archives in Stockholm mainly consists of copy
books, manuscripts, letters and correspondence,
documents concerning laboratories, patents, lawsuits
and disputes, factories, banks and stockbrokers, and
information on particular inventions and products.
In addition there are papers concerning Alfred Nobel’s
properties, his accounts, a collection of prints as well
as some drawings and photographs. His day-to-day
work as a talented inventor and industrialist is recorded
in his copy books and correspondence: he was always
busy, travelling, negotiating, carrying on lawsuits, etc.
His papers give evidence of an inexhaustible creativity
and energy resulting in new ideas and projects and his
professional role is fully documented in his archives.
The private side of his life, though the time left for this
was limited, is documented as well. It appears in his
correspondence on questions of war and peace with
Bertha von Suttner as well as in his exchange of letters
with his friend Sofie Hess. Among his literary files is
the famous but abstruse drama Nemesis. Finally, there
is his will, which established the Nobel Foundation,
whose annual prizes ensure that, more than 100 years
after his death in 1896, he will never be forgotten as a
great benefactor.
Alfred Nobel, the great Swedish industrialist and philanthropist,
photographed around 1890. When he died a few years later,
he directed that most of his fortune be used to establish
the Nobel Foundation which awards the annual Nobel Prizes for
outstanding work in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine,
literature, peace and, more recently, economics. �