The Collection

The archives of mission 21 / Basel Mission contain historical photographs, written records, printed and hand-drawn maps, and building plans. This collection is a very important resource for research in many academic fields such as history and church history, social and cultural anthropology, geography, and environmental sciences. The cross-linking of available information is one of the goals in the process of improving accessibility to these materials.

The collection contains images from the early years of photography to the middle of the 20th century, including 28,400 images that are digitally accessible. The images were taken in the historic Basel Mission fields in Africa and Asia, with a principal focus on Ghana, Cameroon, South India (mainly Karnataka and Kerala), South China (mainly Hakka-speaking parts of the Guangdong province and Hong Kong), and Kalimantan. The photographic collection has been on the web since 2002 and was relaunched at the University of Southern California in 2008. This re-launch of the collection (see Addendum 2008) included around 1,500 additional images, selected from new entries in the archives of mission 21 / Basel Mission, together with complementary information from users worldwide.

Addendum 2008: More images, new information, more data
Since the Basel Mission collection went online in 2002, there has been a constant flow of donations, mainly from family collections. These roughly 12,000 images taken before 1950 were screened and a selection of 1,500 images has now been added to the website.
As an important part of the updating process of this website, the catalogue data has been revised and amendments have been incorporated. These changes are a product of the intercultural and international dialogue that developed when users in former mission fields and scientific researchers began to explore the website after its original launch in 2002. Thus, an interactive process brought a new quality to the scientific and documentary work.

This selection includes several highlights:

• There are specimens of special photographic techniques, which have not yet been represented in our archives, such as cyanotypes, early color transparencies dating back to the late 1930s, and a series of colored early albumen prints from Japan. As regards content, the selection focuses on cultural history as well as on mission history.
• The Basel Mission House is quite large and, occasionally, in remote wall cupboards, some smaller boxes with old photographs are found. In one such box — amidst many non-valuable items — we found three portraits that enriched our collection. One is of Johannes Zimmermann (1825 - 1876), who was in Ghana from 1849 to 1872 and this image has until today only been known as a wood carving (QD-30.001.0039, QQ-30.145.0003). The other two seem to originate from the same source. One is showing Mrs. Thal-Zimmermann, a daughter of Johannes and Catherine Zimmermann-Mulgrave (QQ-30.145.0002), the third is probably showing the couple Lutterodt from the early photo studio Lutterodt in Accra.

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Institutions

mission 21 is a fusion of four protestant missionary societies whose roots are in German-speaking Switzerland:

• Basel Mission
• Swiss Herrnhut Mission (Moravians)
• Protestant Mission in Kwango (S.W. Congo)
• Swiss South Africa Mission (linked nowadays to the Communauté evangélique d'Action Apostolique, CEVAA)

mission 21, founded in 2001, is made up of four previously independent missionary societies among which the Basel Mission is the largest. The main areas of activity of the Basel Mission, from its inception in 1815 until the mid-twentieth century, were Ghana (from 1828), India (from 1834), China (from 1847), Cameroon (from 1886) and Kalimantan (from 1922). Today mission 21 is active in 17 countries with 57 partner churches and organizations. Around the world mission 21 assists in hundreds of projects, fighting against poverty, promoting health, improving the position of women, resolving conflicts peacefully and educating people in theology and the church. In Switzerland mission 21 organizes meetings, exchange programs and research in the sensitive field of missionary work and development cooperation.

The Basel Mission remains owner of its archive, but its archival staff is appointed by mission 21, and operationally, the Basel Mission archive is now part of the section of mission 21 responsible for adult education, research, and short-term exchange programs with overseas partners.

mission 21 / Basel Mission has worked in collaboration with the Christoph Merian Foundation and HyperStudio to make possible the free release of the 28,400 photos of the Basel Mission on the World Wide Web. This collaborative production started in 1999 and lasted three years.

The USC Libraries actively support the discovery, creation, and preservation of knowledge. The organization develops collections and services that foster and encourage the academic endeavors of faculty, students, and staff; build a community of critical consumers of information; and help develop engaged world citizens. Through these means, the USC Libraries contribute to the continued success of the University of Southern California and actively collaborate with museums, historical societies, and academic institutions on a local, national, and international level.

The Center for Religion and Civic Culture (www.usc.edu/crcc) is a research unit of the College of Letters, Arts & Sciences at the University of Southern California. CRCC is a catalyst for interdisciplinary research and visual archive development. CRCC investigates the civic role of religion and collaborates with scholars, funders, congregations, and faith-based organizations to develop innovative partnerships at USC, in Los Angeles, and around the globe.

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Staff

mission 21 / Basel Mission

Dr. Guy Thomas, Head of Archives and Library of mission 21 / Basel Mission
Barbara Frey Näf, M.A., Curator of the Collection of Historical Photographs of mission 21 / Basel Mission
Janine Moroni, M.A., Cataloguer of the Addendum 2008

University of Southern California

Jon Miller, Project Sponsor, Center for Religion and Civic Culture
Matt Gainer, Head of USC Digitization Lab
Wayne Shoaf, Director, Technical Services Acting Head, ILS
Bhagi Subrahmanyam, Metadata Analyst & Head of Cataloging
Tim Stanton, Project Manager
Zahid Rafique, Head, Programming Group
Wendel Fleming, Lead Developer
Joyce Ouchida, Senior Web Developer
Chris Mendez, Web Applications Developer
Artem Aleksenko, Programmer Analyst
Nadiia Kysil, Programmer Analyst
Li Pan, Application Developer
Jamshed Nawaz, Web Developer

Technical service providers

Herrmann & Kraemer GmbH, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Digitalisation
Thomas Arnold, Informatikatelier, Riehen, Switzerland, Original database cataloging
DropNet AG, Münchenstein, Switzerland, former host of bmpix.org

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Project History

Download a detailed explanation of the history of the project and press-related materials.

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Copyright Information

All the images (photographic and non-photographic) made available on this web site are the property of the Basel Mission and are managed by mission 21.

Very few images presented on this web site are still in family property and have been given as a loan for inclusion into this web site (their reference nos. always is QL-30). Some images in the possession of the Museum of Cultures are included in the Cameroon part of this web site (their reference nos. always is QV-30).

mission 21 / Basel Mission claim copyright on the images in their possession and require those publishing any of the images - both individuals and organisations - to pay a user's/copyright fee.

Repository:

mission 21
Missionsstrasse 21
CH-4003 Basel
Switzerland

Tel. (+4161 260 23 09)
Fax (+4161 260 22 68)

Ordering:
Contact the Archives of mission 21 at the address mentioned above or fill out this form.

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Contact Information

mission 21
Missionsstrasse 21
CH-4003 Basel
Tel +41 (0)61 260 21 20
Fax +41 (0)61 260 22 68
Contact form
www.mission-21.org