Using the archive
Consulting archived materials in the Reading Room
The archive is available for research purposes. Please notify us of your planned visit to the archive well ahead of time. You must place orders for archived materials in advance by sending us an email. Please consult us for this purpose ► www.bmarchives.org. Archived materials can only be consulted in the Reading Room; they cannot be borrowed. An annual fee is charged for use of the archive.
► Regulations governing the use of the archives (PDF)
► Special protective measures due to Covid-19
Advisory service
The archive staff are on hand to advise users and they are available to answer individual enquiries. A charge will be made for more complex or extensive advice, as per the schedule of fees.
Written enquiries
If you send us a written enquiry, you will receive a short reply: for example, we will tell you whether or not documents are available on a specific subject. A charge is payable for search orders (see the List of fees above). As a general rule, we are only able to carry out short searches.
Online archive: bmarchives
You can search our stock online at the bmarchives website. You will also find more than 30,000 images dating from the 1850-1945 period, and over 6,000 maps and plans from the archive, all in digital form.
Reproductions
Please contact the archive (info@) for reproductions of archived materials (images, written materials, photographs of archived items which you yourself take in the Reading Room). Images that date back before 1900, and images that originate after 1900 and of which Mission 21 is holding the copyright can be delivered in digital form and high resolution. The fee is 60 Swiss Francs per image or 150 Swiss Francs in case redigitalisation is required. bmarchives. org
To order images in high resolution, please download our ► Order form
Criteria for the use of images
Images must not be used for commercial purposes. The use of images in a racist or sexist context is strictly prohibited. No authorisations will be issued for use of high resolution images on websites or blogs. Images must not be changed. If only a section (detail) of the image is to be used, this must be stated. Correct citation of the images is required. Additional restrictions apply in connection with copyright.
"Friends of the Archives" Patronage Club
Become a member of the Friends of the Archives Patronage Club and support the conservation and restoration of the stock of this unique research archive. As individual member, you can join for an annual contribution of as little as CHF 100! For CHF 300 our premium membership is available.
As a member you will receive a newsletter with news from the archives once a year. As a premium member we invite you to an event in the archives once a year. On this occasion we will show you exclusive treasures from the archives’ holdings. If you are paying an annual donation of CHF 1,000 or more, you can request an exclusive guided tour once a year.
For more information, go to:
► Friends of the Archives flyer (PDF)
► Register for membership of the Friends of the Archives (PDF)
Support from the Christoph Merian Foundation
The Christoph Merian Foundation supports the archive of
Mission 21 and contributes to the indexing of the documents of the Basel trading companies. Securing these important documents, dating back to 1859, is also a contribution to strengthening Basel as a research centre.
One image - one story
"One image – one story" is the title for a series of presentations in our auftrag periodical, each featuring a particularly meaningful image relating to a topic covered in that issue of the periodical. These articles offer excellent insights into the diverse content of our archive. Articles published to date:
- Ausgabe 4/2020: Oase in der Stadt Basel - gestern und heute ►download PDF (German)
- Ausgabe 3/2020: Bildvorlage mit Botschaft ► download PDF (German)
- Ausgabe 2/2020: Höhenluft als Lebenselexier ► download PDF (German)
- Ausgabe 1/2020: Meer und Mensch ► download PDF (German)
- Ausgabe 4/2019: Feuerbrigaden Hongkong ► download PDF (German)
- Ausgabe 3/2019: Dank Fahrrad unabhängig und flexibel ► download PDF (German)
- Ausgabe 2/2019: Die Gründung der Dayyakkirche ► download PDF (German)
- Ausgabe 1/2019: Musik aus Europa ► download PDF (German)
- Ausgabe 4/2018: Frauenleben ausserhalb gängigen Rollenerwartungen ►download PDF (German)
- Ausgabe 3/2018: Warten auf den Frieden ► download PDF (German)
- Ausgabe 2/2018: Zwei Tage nach der Revolution ► download PDF (German)
- Ausgabe 1/2018: Eine Landschaft aus Bibeln ► download PDF (German)
- Ausgabe 4/2017: Der Mann mit der Glocke ► download PDF (German)
- Ausgabe 3/2017: Afrikanischer Kakao mit Basler Wurzeln ► download PDF (German)
- Ausgabe 2/2017: Sechzehn Jahre Inselhüpfen in der Südsee ► download PDF (German)
- Ausgabe 1/2017: Ein Missionsfest unter Palmblättern ► download PDF (German)