May 19, 2020 07:00:00

What is the 'Betman Archive' that has more than 10 million photos sleeping deep underground?

About 11 million photographs and negative films called the

Bettmann Archive are housed in a piece of underground storage that reuses a closed limestone quarry about 67 meters underground. The Betman Archive, which is tightly maintained in Pennsylvania, USA, was collected by Otto Betman , an avid collector of pictures and photos.

This Vast Photo Archive Is Hidden Inside a Cold, Heavily Guarded Limestone Mine-Atlas Obscura
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/hidden-photo-archive-mine

In 1935, Bettmann, who lived in Germany, fled from Germany to the United States after being fired by a curator because he was 'Jewish' on the eve of Hitler's power. Bettman rode a steamship and arrived in New York with two large trunks, but it wasn't clothes or money, photos and negatives that were tightly packed in the trunk. A large number of photographs were taken with cameras of books and materials in libraries and museums that Betman had traveled throughout Europe. The following picture is Betman himself taken in 1947.

In the 1930s, magazines such as '

LIFE ' and ' Time ' began to gain citizenship in the United States. Betman read the needs of publishers and started a business of cataloging collected photos and selling licenses for posting photos. In addition to Bettmann's own shooting, he also expanded the range of his collection by posting advertisements for photos in magazines.

Bob Ahern, director of Getty Images , who manages the Betman archives in 2020, said, 'Betman's business has grown year by year and he became known as' Pictureman '. Betman was paying attention to the curiosity of readers who wanted to see various worlds, as the number of magazines that publish was increasing explosively. '

Betman, or an affiliated cameraman, was shooting on-site at every possible location, including in conflict areas, large-scale rock concerts, booming and bustling streets, and presidential elections. Bettman said he was writing down the schedule of events that might be pictures on a calendar for shooting. There are many well-known photographs in the Betman archives that are still well known in 2020, such as

Albert Einstein's tongue out and Marilyn Monroe 's skirt flapping the wind from the subway vents. It is

In 1995, when Bill Gates purchased Betman's nearly 11 million photographs and Betman Archives, Betman said, 'Gates owns all history.'

The Betman Archive was originally stored in New York. However, in New York, where the temperatures of the four seasons change drastically and the summer was hot and humid, making it unsuitable for storing photos, the Betman Archive was moved to an underground storage for about six months. At the same time as moving underground, the digitization of photographs has also started.

In 2016, the Betman Archive was acquired by Getty Images, but the storage location remains the same in 2020. In addition to the government's confidential records and other personal information, the underground storage is also carefully stored by armed guards. The storage can be visited by only 20 to 30 people per year. To enter the store, not only a permit but also warm clothes are required because the inside is extremely cold at 20 degrees below zero. In addition, since the storage is deep underground, it is a condition to enter without being claustrophobic.