The divisions

The Museum of Walloon Life Collection.

The Library

The Library contains works of reference, rare works, almanacs (including the Shepherds’ Almanac or the Mathieu Laensbergh Almanac from 1638 to 1983), old newspapers, weeklies and magazines. The collections in the museum’s library are often expanded thanks to frequent exchanges with other agencies throughout the world.

The archives

The Museum of Walloon Life’s large collection of general archives comprises all kinds of items in hard copy format or similar (written or printed materials) other than books (but countless brochures and several issues of periodicals), “loose”, framed or brought together in folders. This includes posters, lithographies, bills, postcards, prospectuses and other ephemeria and archives. They are arranged in seven rooms covering three floors in the Chamart house as well as in the Ans Museum reserves, and classified according to eight different formats. The collection is available to researchers via the Documentation Centre, whose staff are the only ones authorised to use the paper files...

Multimedia service

The Museum of Walloon Life Collection:
Over 100,000 negatives from the late 19th century until the present day. Glass plates (50%), paper films, celluloid, compact discs. Reference should be made to the Gustave Marissiaux collection of photographs on the theme of work in and around the mining environment and the “Surveys of the Museum of Walloon Life”. Starting in the 1920s, and conducted on miscellaneous subjects, these surveys (filmed or photographic) were sometimes accompanied by detailed publications, with the first one appearing in 1924. Films: 356 copies. News stories/pictures: 70 series about ethnography subjects and 43 videocassettes. Miscellaneous sound reports: songs and interviews in dialect…

Province of Liege Collection:
Desarcy-Robyns collection: several million pictures about all facets of Liege life from the 1950s until the late 1970s. Studio 9 collection: several thousand pictures commissioned from this studio, particularly for advertising purposes for companies in the Liege region.

The objects

Roughly 100,000 items illustrating a whole variety of subjects, such as craftsmanship and tools, toys, clothes and fashion accessories, industrial objects, ornaments and pieces of furniture, objects illustrating Walloon folklore (events, brotherhoods and various societies), business, crockery, household equipment, beliefs, teaching, recreation and travel... nearly all the fields of activity in Wallonia are covered! Deserving special attention are the collection of Max Elskamp and his gnomonic-related objects, the collection of vehicles, signs, farming items and medals.

Special mention should be made of the Museum of Walloon Life’s puppet theatre, a folklore venue that continues to be vibrant within the museum. A collection of nigh-one 600 puppets, one or two sets and accessories – all of these represent an amazing heritage.

The History of the Walloon Movement Collection (FHMW)

The History of the Walloon Movement Collection was set up in 1949 and became accessible to the public in 1956. All researchers agree that this is the “most relevant collection for investigating the Walloon Movement”.

The History of the Walloon Movement Collection has developed in line with the state reform process and the increasing prominence of the regions and national issues in the European arena. As a result of its rich variety, the History of the Walloon Movement Collection is a valuable tool not only for historians but also for art historians, verbal, visual and audiovisual experts, sociologists, economists, political scientists and legal experts.

The History of the Walloon Movement Collection offers:

• a library with over 16,000 books and brochures on various dimensions of the Walloon issue as well as questions about nationalities,
• a set of unique archives originating with Walloon activists, business organisations, cultural associations and public agencies,
• posters,
• multimedia documents,
• electoral campaign documents ,
•  over 1,000 newspaper and magazine titles, a hundred or so clandestine newspaper titles from the 1940-1945 war,
• a press review,
• miscellaneous objects.

Contact: 
Address: Cour des Mineurs 4000 Liege
Tel.: 04/237 28 50
Fax: 04/237 90 89
Documentation centre open to the public: Mondays Tuesdays and Wednesday from 9 am to 5 pm. Thursday by appointment only. Friday closed.
Tel.: 04/237 90 94
Person in charge: Fabrice Meurant-Pailhe
E-mail: fhmw@viewallonne.be

The Library of Dialects in Wallonia (BDW)

A combination of the Walloon Dialect Collection and the collection of books and archives belonging to the Walloon Language and Literature Society, the Library of Dialects in Wallonia offers readers specialist works and periodicals about language and dialectical literature, plus documentary records about Walloon writers, musicians and literary movements.
The City of Liege and the Province of Liege signed a framework agreement on 17 February 2005 to underscore the decision that Province should own the Library of Dialects in Wallonia and the related documentation. Long associated with the Walloon Language and Literature Society’s library of books and archives, the Library of Dialects had to be kept and  be accessible within the same institution.

The Library of Dialects in Wallonia offers:

• a library featuring over 35,000 books or special reproductions. Dictionaries, glossaries, works on toponymy, etymology, grammar, encyclopaedias about Wallonia or Belgium, anthologies and studies about Walloon literature, books about local history and dialectical literature (prose, theatre or poetry).
• a large series of periodicals involving nearly 460 titles (almanacs, reviews, newspapers).
• Documentation from theme-specific archives (press cuttings, photos, correspondence, pages from various authors, associations, …).
• multimedia documents: videocassettes, audio cassettes, magnetic tapes, vinyl records and CD-ROMs.
• roughly 550 posters and miscellaneous objects: frames, portraits, medals, cups, flags, …all listed and catalogued.

Contact: 
Address: Cour des Mineurs 4000 Liège
Tel.: 04/237 28 50
Fax: 04/237 90 89
Documentation centre open to the public:
Wednesday from 9 am to 12 noon and by appointment from Monday to Friday, from 9 am to 12 noon.
Tel.: 04/237 90 94
Person in charge: Annelore Eloy
E-mail: bdw@viewallonne.be