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kultur
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arts+culture
kultur
|
arts+culture
Vintage picture postcards delight us with their
old-world charm and awaken nostalgic yearn-
ings for the past. But they also provide informa-
tion on family history and document changing
landscapes and landmarks. They are adored by
philatelists, local historians, and numerous
other ardent fans. They may only measure about
15 cm by 10 cm, but picture postcards are remark-
able repositories of the past.
Technica lly speaking, pic ture postcards
are nothing but ephemera. The term, derived
f rom the Greek ephemeros, meaning “ last-
ing on ly one day”, denotes
any transitor y writ ten or
printed mat ter not meant
to be retained or preser ved.
And yet, many ephemera
f rom the past are still around
today, many decades later.
They include let ters, suitcase labels, beer-
mats – and, of course, postcards. As a cursor y
glance at eBay or other sa les sites demon-
strates, postcards make up a large share of
collec tions of ephemera. From 1910 to 1913
a lone, the Swiss posta l ser v ice delivered more
than 100 million postcards to addresses at
home and abroad ever y year. And a lthough
they were of ten meant to be lit tle more than
a brief “wish you were here”, thousands of
these cards were never thrown away. It ’s
easy to understand why people wou ld want
to keep the cards, as they hold a fascination
for many of us. If we come across an old post-
card keeping place in a long-forgot ten book
or unexpec ted ly f ind one in a box in the at tic,
we usua lly peer eagerly at the image and tr y
to decipher the ancient message. And, indeed,
that is how many private collec tions began.
Such private collec tions were the basis
of the illustrated book Engelberg in a lten
Ansichten (Old v iews of Engelberg), which
was published in 1988 to mark the opening
of the Ta l Museum. The book contains im-
ages of 152 historic postcards f rom Engelberg,
with accompany ing comments. The book was
published in a limited edition of 1,000 and
has long been out of stock. Owners va lue their
copies greatly as reference works, and they
of ten form the basis of ex tended discussions
about days gone by, what buildings used to
stand where, and the way things used to be.
The Ta l Museum now houses 2,200
pic ture postcards of Engelberg. This is largely
thanks to the community
organisation’s purchase of
A lf red Steiner’s collec tion
in 2005. But the stock keeps
on growing, and – amazing
as it may seem – it ’s still far
f rom complete. Now, some of
these treasures have been recovered f rom the
archives and are going on show for postcard
fans to admire once more. On 10 December
2016, the Ta l Museum is holding a book launch
par ty for the successor to Engelberg in a lten
Ansichten – the new volume is ca lled Gruss
aus Engelberg (Greetings f rom Engelberg). The
book and exhibition main ly present cards f rom
the late 19th and early 20th centuries – the
“golden age” of the postcard. Thematic focuses
include the histor y of the va lley and tourism
at that time; printing techniques; loca l pho-
tographers and postcard makers; enhanced
graphics and photo montages. And sometimes
at tention is direc ted to the greetings writ ten
on the reverse. Visitors and readers can look
forward to a fascinating journey back in time!
Picture postcards are remarkable
repositories of the past.
Sogenannte Potpourri-Karte,
links drei Ansichten der Sommer-
wirtschaft Schweizerhaus und
der dort installierten Galgenke-
gelspiel-Anlage und rechts ein
Blick über den Talboden; ca. 1900.
A multi-view postcard from
ca. 1900 showing three images
of the Schweizerhaus restau-
rant and its swingball skittles
game on the left, and the view
across the valley on the right
Ausstellungs- und Buchvernissage «Gruss aus Engelberg»: 10. Dezember 2016, 17 Uhr
10./11. und 17./18. Dezember 2016: 14–17 Uhr
27. Dezember 2016 bis 8. Januar 2017: täglich 14–17 Uhr
11. Januar bis 9. April 2017: Mittwoch bis Sonntag, 14–17 Uhr
Führungen durch die Ausstellung «Gruss aus Engelberg»: Mittwoch, 28. Dezember 2016,
Samstag, 7. Januar 2017, Samstag, 25. Februar 2017, Samstag, 11. März 2017, jeweils 17.00 Uhr.
Das Buch «Gruss aus Engelberg» ist ab 10. Dezember im Tal Museum für 35 CHF erhältlich.
Greetings f rom Engelberg exhibition and Gruss aus Engelberg book launch par ty:
10 December 2016, 5 p.m.
10/11 and 17/18 December 2016: 2 to 5 p.m.
27 December 2016 to 8 Januar y 2017: Daily, 2 to 5 p.m.
11 Januar y to 9 April 2017: Wednesday to Sunday, 2 to 5 p.m.
Guided tours of the “Greetings f rom Engelberg” exhibition: At 5 p.m. on Wednesday, 28
December 2016; Saturday, 7 Januar y 2017; Saturday, 25 Februar y 2017; and Saturday, 11
March 2017
The book Gruss aus Engelberg goes on sa le at the Ta l Museum on 10 December (price:
CHF 35; German on ly)