Borgen, Gustav. 1901

The collection is built up in collaboration with the Centre for Ibsen Studies at the University of Oslo. The printed material is searchable in The International Ibsen Bibliography, which the Centre of Ibsen Studies is responsible for in terms of content, while The National Library is in charge of the technical- and library-related platform.

The collection has the following components:

Books: Ibsen’s plays and poems, single works, selected and collected works in Norwegian editions and in translations into more than 79 languages, biographies, dissertations and other critical works about Ibsen, adaptations and parodies. Support literature such as general literary history, drama theory, literary analysis, theatre history, etc.

Theatre Material: Theatre programs, directors’ and stage-managers’ books, and photos from productions from Ibsen’s time until today. The collection of theatre history volumes also contains single archives from individuals and institutions within Norwegian theatre. In several of these you can find material which is tied to productions of Ibsen’s plays (on-stage photos and actors’ portraits, set designs, manuscripts, directors’ books and prompters’ scripts, posters, programs, etc.) In addition there is a smaller collection called "Ibsenania", with material that has been used in Ibsen exhibitions and similar events.

Sound Recordings and Audio Visual Material: Films of Ibsen’s plays on VHS and DVD. Television theatre and radio theatre productions in various kinds of media. VHS or DVD recordings of theatre productions. Sound recordings and audio-visual material from conferences and other Ibsen arrangements.

Handwritten Material: The collection of handwritten material, Ibsen’s manuscripts and letters, is extensive and varied. Much of it arrived as a gift to the library from Suzannah Ibsen in 1906, shortly after the writer’s death. This has since been supplemented by purchases and gifts from the family and others.
The collection contains notes, drafts, final copies of the plays, manuscripts of poems and prose pieces, drawings, private accounts, a large collection of original letters, especially from, but also to, Ibsen, in addition to copies of Ibsen letters owned by other people.

Picture Material: The photo collection has just over 500 photos linked to Ibsen. At least 200 of these are portraits or photographs where Ibsen himself is the main subject. There are also photos of the closest family, places where Ibsen lived, and the like. The pictures are in the form of photographs in original formats such as calling cards and cabinet cards, postcards, or recreated by various printing techniques. The pictorial collection has, in addition, quite a few reproductions of Ibsen paintings owned by other people.

Use of the Collections / Services: Contact The National Library’s Advisory Service, or the Special Reading Room for hand-written manuscripts and archival material. Staff members answer questions concerning all references and help with searching the collections, catalogues and databases. Photocopies may be ordered, unless clauses or copyright prevent it. The collections’ staff decide if and how material can be photocopied. The National Library has 16 research places in all. One of the rooms, the Ibsen/Bjørnson Research Room, is set up for researchers who have a need to study Ibsen material. The places can be assigned for shorter and longer periods of time. For further information, see www.nb.no/fag/forskerplasser.

Catalogues: The Ibsen material is registered in The International Ibsen Bibliography. Books and journals are, moreover, registered in Bibsys.

The material in the collection of handwritten material is catalogued in the collection’s usual catalogues, but eventually, everything will be catalogued in the electronic catalogue Hanske: www.nb.no/hanske.
All Ibsen’s manuscripts and a series of the letters are accessible as digital facsimiles, see "Manuskripter og brev" ("Manuscripts and letters") on www.dokpro.uio.no/litteratur/ibsen/ms

Most of the material in the Theatre History Collection is catalogued and can be found in the catalogues of the respective single archives.

Digitalt Digitally Accessible Material: More and more of the Ibsen Collection becomes accessible in NB Digital. Search in digital content, net pages and catalogues via ‘Search’ at the National Library’s home page.