Our collection houses unique heritage pieces and special sources. Discover some hidden treasures and the fascinating stories behind them here - all digitally available in our catalogue.
Amsab-ISG has built up a great deal of expertise in the digitization of newspapers and archives in recent years. In this section you will also get an insight into a selection of these sources, which are full-text searchable where possible.
Studio Stone brings the versatile oeuvre of the forgotten interbellum photographers Cami and Sasha Stone back into the spotlight.
Achilles De Maertelaere, also known by his pseudonym bentos, made this painting around 1906. Bentos was a socially engaged artist and socialist. The painting was carried in a large national demonstration in Brussels on 15 August 1906 and was probably made especially for that occasion.
The painting '3 x 8' or 'The three eights' was painted, presumably around 1910, by Gustave De Keukelaere, an artist from Ghent. It hung in the large room of Ons Huis on the Vrijdagmarkt in Ghent and today it can be found in Floreal in Blankenberge.
From 1931 until his death in 1939, Frits Van den Berghe, one of the greatest Belgian expressionist/surrealist painters, was the house cartoonist at the newspaper Vooruit.
In 1980 there was a lot of fuss about the expulsion of the residents from the Pand in the Patershol in Ghent. In addition to all the actions against this there was also a single for sale with two songs by the late Jan Emmery and Walter De Buck. The single, a collector's item, is in the collection of Amsab-ISG.
Amsab-ISH preserves approximately 15.000 posters, of which more than 10.000 are online. Some are absolute gems, like the inauguration poster of the Maison du Peuple in Brussels. It is a beautiful lithography, designed by Jules Van Biesbroeck in wonderful Art Nouveau-style, perfectly in line with the Maison de Peuple itself (one of the masterpieces of architect Horta, sadly demolished in 1965).
Amsab-ISG preserves a number of beautiful guilder books from the socialist movement, three of which have been fully digitized.
The Royal Library of Belgium and Amsab-ISG are presenting one of their most important newspaper collections, namely that of the daily newspaper forward, digitally available. The newspaper can be consulted for the period 1884-1950 in the reading room of Amsab-ISG as well as in those of the Royal Library and Ghent University Library. The period 1884-1918 is also offered online on the websites of the Royal Library and Amsab-ISG.
Volksrecht was the weekly of the Belgian Workers' Party (BWP) in the Kortrijk district. It appeared between 1901 and 1934. You can consult the almost complete series digitally.
Le Mouvement Syndical Belge was the official newsletter of the Trade Union Committee (SK) of the BWP in the interbellum. The purpose of the magazine was to publish reports and announcements by and about the SK. The target group was primarily the workers.
The Korrespondentieblad was the official newsletter of the Trade Union Committee (SK) of the BWP until the First World War. The purpose of the magazine was to publish reports and announcements by and about the SK. The target group was primarily workers.
De Belgische Vakbeweging was the official newsletter of the Trade Union Committee (SK) of the BWP in the interbellum. The purpose of the magazine was to publish reports and announcements by and about the SK. The target group was primarily the workers.
The Journal des Correspondances was the official newsletter of the Trade Union Committee (SK) of the BWP until the First World War. The purpose of the magazine was to publish messages and announcements from and about the SK. The target group was the affiliated workers.
Het Werkverbond (1860-1862) was the first press organ of the Ghent workers' movement. The magazine appeared from June 1860 to April 1862.
De Volkswil was the official newsletter of the Belgian Workers' Party (BWP) and after the Second World War of the Belgian Socialist Party (BSP) in the arrondissement of Leuven. Because of the long existence of the newspaper (1893-1951) it is an excellent source for the study of socialism in Leuven and surroundings.
De Verbroedering was the newspaper of the Socialist Party in the district of Oudenaarde-Ronse. It was published in Ronse and first appeared in June 1899.
De Ontwaking was the weekly of the Belgian Workers' Party (BWP) in the district of Roesselare-Tielt. The magazine started on 3 October 1920. Henri Dewaele, A. Van Keersbulck and A. Dierkens were successively the editors-in-chief. The last issue appeared on 28 April 1934. In May 1934 the magazine was included as a regional edition in Voor Allen with the title Nieuws uit Roeselare-Tielt.
De Textielarbeider was the magazine of the Belgian Textile Federation, the socialist trade union for workers from the textile industry.
L'Ouvrier Diamantaire is the newspaper of the French diamond unions from the period 1920-1939. This newspaper systematically reported on the situation in the diamond industry in France but also internationally.
Anyone interested in the history of the Antwerp diamond sector will certainly find original information here. There are 170 issues available online, they are unlocked in full text via our online catalogue.
De Vlasbewerker was the magazine of the Socialist Society of Editors Flax and Flax Edit esters of Ghent. It was first published in 1896 Karel Hannick and Charles Beer Block.
Signpost / En Route is the magazine of the truckers or the Road Transport & Logistics sector of the Belgian Transport Workers' Union (BTB). It has been published since 1988 and can now be consulted online.
The minutes of the governing bodies of the Samenwerkende Maatschappij Vooruit Gent are indispensable for research into the oldest and most important Belgian cooperative and more generally the Belgian and even European cooperative movement.
The creation of the Belgian Workers 'Party in 1885 was one of the first milestones in the Belgian workers' struggle for a better life. The reports of their meetings (1892-1940) provide a lively insight into that battle. Amsab-ISG has digitized this interesting historical source.
The activity reports submitted to the Statutory Congress of the General Belgian Trade Union (ABVV) are an interesting series for the study of the history of the trade union. In essence they show the internally approved vision on their own functioning.
The activity reports of the General Federation of Public Services (ACOD) are an interesting source for the study of the confederation of the General Labour Federation of Belgium (FGTB). They give a very detailed picture of the functioning and structure.
The minutes (1944-1979) and notes to members (1946-1984) of the national office of the General Belgian Trade Union Confederation (ABVV) have been digitised and are available online.
Until WWII, the rule applied within the Belgian Workers Party (BWP) that whoever became a member of the trade union, the health insurance fund or the cooperative (and all culture, sports and youth associations that were part of it), was automatically also a member of the party. . The political functioning was formed by the propaganda committee, the leadership of the party was in the hands of the middle committee, in which a representative of each affiliated organization sat. The reports of the party meetings therefore provide a glimpse into political and social life, in this case of a medium-sized city such as Turnhout was one.
The minutes of the Middencomiteit are one of the most important sources in the archives of the Belgian Workers' Party (BWP) - Ghent branch. They offer a good overview of the functioning of the BWP and of various organisations that were affiliated with the party.
The record books form the core of the (very fragmentary) archives of the Textile Workers Central of Belgium (TACB). They are especially interesting for the study of the acute centralization process within the plant.
Amsab-ISH
Bagattenstraat 174
9000 Ghent
Phone: +32 (0)9 224 00 79
Email: info@amsab.be
Opening hours
Transport
