The manuscript collection includes both complete archives and occasional stand-alone documents. The latter have come to the library mostly as parts of donations received through book collections at the founding stage of the Library, and this collection was never deliberately intended to increase. Entire private archives have also been received more recently; however some have also been transferred to other archives, if they have been considered unrelated to the University of Turku in any way.
The collection of occasional manuscripts contains documents from all walks of life: letters, speeches, sermons, memorial albums, lecture notes, school notebooks, store receipts, account books, school certificates, notes made on a wide range of issues, etc.
The main part of the material dates from the late 18th century to the first decades of the 20th century, but there are also a few documents from earlier centuries.
At the time, the collection was not organized by topic, but the material was packed in numbered cases with apparent randomness. The catalogue compiled by Veikko Laakso in 1972 is an essential aid in locating the documents.
The catalogue is divided as follows: political history (7 pages), military history (2 pages), administrative history (7 pages), economic and social history (17 pages), church history (7 pages), cultural history including schools and university (38 pages), personal history (9 pages). The catalogue also includes a name index.
Example: Wasenius Bookstore Archive
The archive contains 28 large bindings with 10556 unnumbered sheets. The contents include invoices, receipts and announcements from 1823 to 1884. Wasenius Bookstore was the leading bookstore in Finland starting from the 1830s. It declared bankruptcy in 1914, and the Academic Bookstore bought the bankruptcy estate. Part of the archive of Wasenius Bookstore (4.5 shelf meters of materials) is in the National Library of Finland. The correspondence of the bookseller Gustaf Otto Wasenius, is kept at the National Library of Finland, whereas the Archives Collection of the University of Turku Library holds no correspondence.
Börje Victor Nyman served as a sea captain and inspection agent at the Finnish marine insurance pool. His archive contains e.g. reports, diaries and circulars. The documents date back to the 1950s.
The archive of President J.K. Paasikivi (1870-1956) was donated together with his library. It includes communications, reports, investigations, memoranda, speeches, etc. Topics such as national economy, Nordic unalliance and Paasikivi's tea parties.
K. N. Rantakari (1877-1948) was one of the most influential Finns of his time. At the tender age of 28, he was appointed as the party secretary of the Old Finnish Party and at the age of 34, he was the editor-in-chief of the most important newspaper in Turku, Uusi Aura. He counted many great men of Finland amongst his friends, e.g. Juho Kusti Paasikivi. When it was decided to establish a Finnish-language university in Turku, Rantakari was a key influence. Many wanted to establish the university in Jyväskylä. The archive includes letters, speeches, memos, typing strips, memoirs and briefings; the topics includes foreign policy, Finnish history, civic movements, language policy, association and private life.
H. G. Renvall (1872-1955) was Docent of Economics and worked e.g. as the editor-in-chief of Helsingin Sanomat. Renvall was married to opera singer Aino Ackté. Renvall's archive includes contracts, cards, notes, etc. The documentary topics include e.g. business and economic affairs (mining activity, Lapland, etc.).
Juho Savio (1929-2007) was a translator of Indian literature, economist and project director of IBM in Finland. “Savio was involved in making programs for Finland's first computer, the IBM 650, which was taken into use by the Postbank in October 1958,” says Wikipedia. His archive contains India-themed manuscripts and Finnish Friends of India's (Suomalaiset Intian Ystävät ry) minutes and letters.
Sigurd Wettenhovi-Aspa (1870-1946) wrote, painted, studied astronomy, and developed linguistic theories. He was particularly enthusiastic about the Fennoman ideology wanted to promote it. Examples of materials: Världarnas ursprung och utveckling (“On the origin and development of the worlds,” manuscript); Oliko näytelmäkirjailija ja runoilija William Shakespeare ja näyttelijä Shakespeare sama henkilö (“Was playwright and poet William Shakespeare and actor Shakespeare the same person,” essay); patent applications. Some of the contents of the archive have not been recorded.
Vilhelmiina (Miina) Wilander (approx. 1870 – approx. 1950) was a native of Luvia and moved to Läntinenkatu in Turku. From Luvia, her relatives sent her letters and postcards. Wilander was a donor to the University of Turku and made her first donation in April 1917.
Helmer Winter (1895-1963) was a language teacher, translator and a researcher of local history. He worked as a teacher in 1919-33 in his hometown of Uusikaupunki and in 1933-58 in Turku. He worked part-time as curator af the Uusikaupunki Museum from 1925-33. He translated the Estonian national epic Kalevipoeg into Finnish.
Veikko Antero Koskenniemi (1885-1962). The archive contains manuscripts and ephemera from the period between the 1920s and 1960s. The poet-professor worked and made an impact at that time in Turku. The library also holds a book collection that he owned.
For more information of private archives, see our Erikoiskokokoelmat guide (in Finnish).
