Access
To access the Branobel Digital Archives, follow the link below, create an account, and send an email to digitalaccess@naringslivshistoria.se, stating your interest and research purpose in the Branobel Digital Archives. Please note that the Digital Archive site is currently only available in Swedish, but any web browsing translation tool should provide helpful guidance.
The Branobel Digital Archives
This website is connected to a searchable digital archives database containing digital copies of the original historical documents related to the Branobel Company 1873-1969 and its activities in local and global arenas. The Digital Archives bring together archival material from various countries and sources, such as: company files, correspondence, private letters, personal diaries, pictures, books, documents and images.
The primary purpose of the Branobel Digital Archives is to enable and stimulate international research in hitherto dispersed and partly forgotten historical source material. This project has been made possible thanks to the support of several sponsors and partners. Numerous archive holders and owners of source material in various countries are partners in the Branobel History Project.
Language
The archive material presented in the Digital Archives is searchable in English only. Free text searches can be performed in English across volume descriptions and inventories. Volume notes and inventories for all material have been translated into English before being included in the digital archives.
The historical material speaks to us in several languages. Most company-related documents were written in Russian, while business correspondence with international stakeholders was often conducted in French, German or English. The archives of the Nobel brothers, other family members, and the many Swedish employees in Baku and their families are mainly in Swedish. Additional languages may also be present.
As noted above, the Digital Archive site itself is currently only available in Swedish, but any modern web browser should provide helpful tools in navigating the site.
Using the Digital Archives
You can search in several archives simultaneously and limit your searches by time period or document type. Most of the information about the documents is registered down to the volume level.
The Digital Archives site is still under development, and several functions, such as the ability to browse s single digital volume from front to back, are still to be added.
Records
A folder is a collection of document files that equals a physical volume or box as it appears in the physical archives. Typically, a collection of volumes with similar content constitutes a series of records. For example, a series of records might be titled “Correspondence between the head office in Saint Petersburg and the engineers office in Baku”. Well-defined archives can consist of multiple series. The archive, in turn, is a collection of series of records that come from the same company or, in some cases, the same regional office or department.
Practical tips
Instead of searching for a single document directly, you can try searching for the folder where the document might be located and then navigate through the folder. You can always make a note of the page number in the folder and return to the same page at a later stage.
In case of a problem
Please contact the Centre for Business History in Stockholm by email to info@naringslivshistoria.se
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