Archive materials on Literature and Cultural History

Our collections include manuscripts and sketches, diaries, letters, responses to surveys, newspaper clippings, documents describing personal lives and community activities, pictures and sound recordings. We are constantly acquiring new material.

The literature and cultural history collections consist of private archives donated by writers, cultural figures, researchers, self-taught writers, and literary societies. In addition to accumulating our collection through donations, we also add surveys, interviews and documentation of literary events. Moreover, the documents associated with the founding of SKS are a part of the literature and cultural history collection.

The materials gathered since the founding of SKS in 1831 shed light on Finnish literary and cultural life in many ways. The earliest texts are from the fourteenth century, but the bulk of the material dates from the nineteenth century to the present day.

The materials in the literature and cultural history collections serve as a significant source for research on literature, art and many other fields of study.

Photo: Tea Åvall, SKS.