Revs Institute opens up Van Bever photo archive

The Florida-based Revs Institute has acquired the rights to the Van Bever collection. With that, a trove of racing images from the European scene in the fifties and sixties becomes available to a wider audience.

Around 29,000 images by the Belgian photographer André Van Bever have moved to Naples, Florida, joining the collection of the Revs Institute. “Throughout his career, André Van Bever chronicled motor racing history, from Juan Manuel Fangio in 1949 to Niki Lauda in 1975, making him one of the most renowned visual witnesses of post-war motorsport,” said Scott George, Curator of Collections, Revs Institute, Inc.

Following Frère

André Van Bever covered his first race, a motor cycle race in the Brussels Bois de la Cambre park, in 1946, aged just 18 at the time. For the next four decades, Van Bever would travel across Europe following the trail of famous Belgian racers such as Olivier Gendebien, Paul Frère and Jacky Ickx of course. Van Bever followed racing and rallying as a freelance photographer for the Belgian newspaper Les Sports, Moniteur Automobile, Autosport, Auto, Motor & Sport and many other titles.

Massive collection

Typically, Van Bever would be accompanied by his wife Nicole on long trips across Europe. It was his wife who made sure André Van Bever’s archive was safeguarded, after he passed away. By transferring the collection to Revs Institute, the Van Bever archive becomes more accessible to motorsport researchers and fans through the digital library. Revs Institute currently is the home to over 120 photography and documents collections.

“As a custodian of automotive history, I am delighted to see André Van Bever’s iconic photography find its home at Revs Institute,” says Miles Collier, founder of Revs Institute. “Through his lens, Van Bever’s work has immortalized the rich history of motorsport, and its inclusion in the Revs Digital Library ensures that it will continue to inspire and inform generations of automotive researchers, enthusiasts, and historians.”