konvolut

Konvolut is a term used in German-speaking archives, libraries, and museums to describe a bundle or collection of documents or objects kept together as a single unit because they share a common provenance or subject relation. A Konvolut is not necessarily a formally organized archival series; it is often a heterogeneous assemblage assembled by a creator or by later custodians. The unit may consist of materials that originated with a single person, institution, or event, but individual items within it may differ in type, date, and function.

In archival description a Konvolut is described with scope and contents, provenance, dates, and physical condition. It is typically housed in a single container, such as a box or folder, but the contents are not always arranged to reflect a formal series. Accessions may be split from a larger fonds when appropriate, and later cataloging may propose a more formal arrangement or reclassification.

Contents and characteristics vary widely, but a Konvolut often includes letters, notes, invoices, drawings, photographs, clippings, and miscellaneous papers or personal items. The material is usually kept together to preserve contextual relationships, though it may be reorganized for access or conservation. The term is also used outside strict archival practice, for example in auctions or philately, where it denotes a lot of items sold or grouped together rather than a single, formally organized collection.

Etymology: Konvolut derives from Latin convolutus, meaning rolled together or wound up, via German usage.