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The Fortune Teller of Guggisberg is a genre picture. It shows a fortune teller in everyday costume reading the palm of a smartly dressed city woman, who wants to know if her wealthy male companion can make her lucky in love. The next customer can be seen in the background: a farmer with his cow which, perhaps, is not giving enough milk.

What does the future hold?

The history of female fortune tellers extends from the sibyls and Biblical prophetesses of Antiquity to the cartomancers of 19th-century Switzerland.

The engraving shows Werner and Gertrud Stauffacher with their children on the veranda in front of their house. Werner, a troubled look on his face, is sitting on a chair while his wife stands upright, her index finger raised, remonstrating with him. One child clings to her skirt, while to the right the other plays with a crossbow.

Where the heart is – or isn’t

In 1984/85 the Lesbian Front, a working group of the Zurich Homosexual Women’s Group, renamed its magazine “Frau ohne Herz” (Woman without a Heart).

Women sorting laundry for the troops on tables in a windowless room.

From substitutes for men to activists: Swiss women and the Great War

The mobilisation of Switzerland in 1914 altered the place of women in society, speeding up female emancipation and gender equality.

How to speed up a snail

The founding fathers of the Switzerland of 1848 and their sons lived for many years with a contradiction: women were denied “citizens’ rights” up until 1971.

The road to women’s suffrage: delving into the press archive

The road to women’s suffrage: a look back through the press archive at the mood of the time.

The black and white cartoon shows a quaint farmhouse set against a picturesque Alpine backdrop. In front of the farmhouse, a farmwoman is standing next to a table on which there are large slabs of butter. In her left hand, the woman is holding a boot and in her right hand she is pressing a spoon into the butter, which she will presumably use to grease the boot. Under the cartoon the text reads: ‘The maiden calmly spreads butter on the boot’ while as the song goes ‘There’s no sin on the Alpine pastures!’.

Fighting for food and a political voice

Food security can be closely linked to political participation. This link is illustrated on the basis of Switzerland’s food crisis during the First World War.

The black and white photo shows two women working in the fields, with a lake and open countryside in the background. The older woman on the left of the photo is bending forward and vigorously hoeing. The woman on the right appears to have just completed her movement and is standing up straight holding a hoe. Both women are fully focused on the task at hand.

Mina Hofstetter – farmer and feminist

Mina Hofstetter was a pioneer of animal-free agriculture and a champion of women’s interests in the early 20th century.

The photograph shows an assortment of different coloured federal ration stamps (1939–48). Each one displays the quantity of food that can be obtained in exchange for the stamp (meat, pulses, oats, barley, pasta).

Rationing and making do

How do you cook when food is scarce or rationed? The Swiss National Library looks at the relationship between diet and rationing.

The photograph shows a small, artistically decorated, three-pronged silver fork. The left and right prongs are both curved slightly outwards. The fork shaft is somewhat broader towards the end and has ornament-like decorations.

Fillet steak or veggie burger? Food is about more than just nutrition

Filet mignon or sausage salad? Meat or vegetarian menu? The Swiss National Library asks what our eating habits say about our lifestyle.

In addition to the book title “Das billigste Kochbuch” and further details from the title page, the advertisement informs readers that the new publication is available from the Schablitz’sche Buchhaltung bookshop in Zurich, price 75 centimes. It also reproduces the full table of contents.

Nose to Tail

Using every part of an animal is a modern trend; but in fact it dates back to traditional practices of efficient resource management and the enjoyment of good food.

The hall of Zurich’s Herdern slaughterhouse resembles a cathedral. This photograph shows the central nave. The hall has a barrel-vaulted ceiling. Its clerestory is punctuated by arched lattice windows which make the space light and elegant. Construction machinery, a skip and other building tools stand around on the floor. The photograph dates from the years 1985–87, during which the hall was renovated and transformed.

Zurich’s slaughterhouses and the changing face of meat production

The changing face of meat production: the Swiss National Library looks back at the development of slaughterhouses in the city of Zurich.

The Birchermüesli advertising poster by Hans Rausser shows a pot of yoghurt against a yellow background, with a lemon to one side and a banana, hazelnuts, prunes and fresh apricots in front. Lettering above the yoghurt pot advertises a product from the company “fini fix”.

Birchermüesli – a Swiss dish goes global

In around 1900, a vegetarian dish from Switzerland became a worldwide success story. Discover the story of Birchermüesli.

The colored drawing shows a family at a festively set dining table. An employee is bringing a steaming and decorated roast into the room.

Festive flab – a “meaty” problem

Why do we eat so much meat over the festive season? The Swiss National Library investigates why we pile on the pounds during the winter break.

Man wearing armour on his legs and feet, with a giant pillow tied to his back. He carries a cannon and sabre in his right hand, and a mattress serving as a shield in his left. A giant snail sits on his head, and his nose is extended into a kind of trumpet designed to detect anarchists

Flashback 125 NL – The beginnings of anarchism in Switzerland

The emergence of an anarchist movement in Switzerland within the First International, with the creation of the Jura Federation at Sonvilier in 1871.

In the front row, 4th, 5th and 6th from right: Edmond Privat, René de Saussure and Hector Hodler.

Flashback 125 NL – Esperanto in Switzerland

The “Esperanto” project for a universal, humanist language was flourishing in 1895, the year in which the NL was founded.

The picture shows the stony monument of the Universal Postal Union on the “Kleine Schanze” in Bern. In the upper left corner you can see the symbol of the Universal Postal Union, which shows different people transmitting letter mail around the globe. On the right side of the picture is a stone figure, which benevolently looks at the hustle and bustle in the upper right corner of the picture. In front of the stone monument a small pond can be seen.

Flashback 125 NL – Internationalism and Switzerland

Around 1895, the year in which the Swiss National Library was founded, numerous international organizations based in Switzerland were also established. Why?

The picture shows three men working in the Bernese Telegraph Office in 1900. On a raised wooden table stand the telegraph apparatuses, around which the three men sit on raised chairs.

Flashback 125 NL – Swiss Telegraphic Agency

The NL was founded 125 years ago. What was Switzerland like back then, what were the issues on people’s minds, and what were the trends and fashions of the day? Where did Switzerland get its news from? Like the Library, the Swiss Telegraphic Agency started work 125 years ago, in 1895.

The picture shows a calendar page for 1 August, with “Swiss National Day” inscribed across the bottom. The left-hand edge of the page is partly burnt away, and a hint of flame can be seen flickering from it and into the black background. The legend “Handle fireworks with care” is at bottom left.

Flashback 125 NL – The first Swiss National Day

The Swiss National Library (NL) was founded 125 years ago. What was Switzerland like back then? What were the issues on people’s minds? What were the trends and fashions of the day? In 2020, we’re taking a look back, this month at the first Swiss National Day on 1 August 1891.

Flashback 125 NL – Monte Verità

The NL was founded 125 years ago. What was Switzerland like back then? What were the issues on people’s minds? What were the trends and fashions of the day? In 2020, we’re taking a look back, and this month’s subject is Monte Verità.

Flashback 125 NL – Riots at the Käfigturm

The NL was founded 125 years ago. What was Switzerland like back then? What were the issues on people’s minds? What were the prevailing trends? Our topic for June is the deep divides between the social classes and the explosive atmosphere among the labour force in around 1895.

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