Photographs: overview

Selection of historical photos from the PDD of the NL — © NL

The Prints and Drawings Department of the National Library holds an extensive collection of photographs of Switzerland documenting the nation’s cultural heritage in pictorial form.

Content and scope

• Photographic works and documents with a link to Switzerland, from the earliest days of photography to the present day
• Artistic, documentary, applied and private photography
• Analogue photographs, paper prints, negatives, glass negatives, daguerreotypes, agency photographs
• Author photographs and photographers’ archives that fall within the collection remit

Collection principles

• Photographs are collected as a complement to prints, documenting the visual memory of past and present.
• Focus on photographs of places and landscapes, portrait photography

Research and access

• Many of the photographs are available in the HelveticArchives database.
• Some photo collections can be found on Wikimedia Commons.
• Original photographs can be viewed on site. Please contact us to arrange an appointment.

• HelveticArchives

• Partners

  • Spectrum – Photography in Switzerland