Seide, Sand, Papier

In the mid-18th century, the Basel silk ribbon manufacturer Achilles Leissler (1723-1784) had an impressive summer house built on Riehenstrasse, which became known as Sandgrube. The building is part of the considerable number of richly decorated residences that lined the street from Kleinbasel to Riehen. With their remarkable gardens full of exotic plants, they not only represented the economic elites of a wealthy city but were also located in direct proximity to the production facilities that refined cotton and silk through special dyeing and printing processes, thus serving a global market.

The publication explores the listed Sandgrube and its internationally active residents. This opens a perspective on Basel's early participation in a global market and the impacts that the production and trade of global goods had on the community of the city and its self-understanding.