The Swiss National Library’s Prints and Drawings Department

In the Prints and Drawings Department, you can find collections of prints, posters, photographs, postcards, artists’ books and archives, as well as documents from the Federal Archives of Historic Monuments relating to historic buildings, archaeological digs and the protection of built heritage and landscapes.

Corona: the current situation

Graphische Sammlung — © NL, Simon Schmid

Mandate

The mandate of the Swiss National Library’s Prints and Drawings Department is to archive Switzerland’s cultural heritage in pictorial form.

Collection principles

The Prints and Drawings Department collects views of landscapes and places, portraits, prints from the 17th to the 21st centuries, Schweizer Kleinmeister, photographs, picture postcards, posters, editions, artists’ books and artists’ archives.

Collections

The Prints and Drawings Department of the National Library holds collections of prints, photographs, picture postcards, posters, editions and artists’ books as well as various artists’ archives from the 19th century to the present day.

Visual treasures

A look through archives of historic monuments, art, photos, prints, drawings and posters often reveals unseen delights. “Visual treasures” shows our best finds.

Using the PDD

Documents from the Prints and Drawings Department can be consulted free of charge.

Exhibitions

The National Library stages exhibitions presenting the Prints and Drawings Department to the public at large.

Events

The Swiss National Library stages periodic events focusing on the Prints and Drawings Department.

Publications

Publications from the National Library’s Prints and Drawings Department.

Research projects

Research work in the National Library’s Prints and Drawings Department focuses on the collections and artists’ archives it holds.

History

The history of the Prints and Drawings Department begins in 1895 with the foundation of the Swiss National Library. From the outset, its remit was to collect not just books but also image documents. Since 2007 they have been complemented by the collections of the Federal Archives of Historic Monuments.

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The Swiss National Library’s Prints and Drawings Department