Bild und Bibliothek

Susanne Bieri, head of the Graphic Collection of the Swiss National Library, guides readers through the tumultuous history of this institution in her book, from its re-establishment in 1895 to the present day. Images have always been regarded as an essential element of Swiss library collections - this is evident in the prehistory of the National Library, which was shaped by its visionary founders Gottlieb Emanuel von Haller and Philipp Albert Stapfer. Both the authentic visual representation of an object or fact and the artistic execution were important criteria for collection. Accordingly, the National Library explicitly collected "Swiss images, portraits, and engravings," as well as "calls, leaflets, and similar printed materials," including all visual media, "with the inclusion of artistic representations.".