1946, 1947, 1948: The missing years of the most beautiful Swiss books

Since 1943, when Jan Tschichold proposed to honour the most beautiful Swiss books with an annual award, the competition has become ever more popular. Less well known is that the competition did not take place in 1946, 1947 and 1948. 

This gap in activity, following a successful first couple of years, provided the background for a research project, leading to three exhibitions, a series of lectures and print and online publications. This research allowed space for speculation, connecting the period in the late ’40s with the present day by examining the formal, technological and educational context of book production then and now. 

Corina Neuenschwander in collaboration with Roland Früh and Jenny Eneqvist. Exhibition design in collaboration with Fredrik Paulsen. 

Exhibitions in Zurich, Locarno and Geneva served as a platform to share research with the wider public and to present a growing number of books that might have been awarded in 1946, 1947 and 1948. The selections were made by invited experts, each of whom made subjective choices based on specific criteria or personal interests.

A series of film screenings, workshops and discussions were organised during each exhibition to contextualise the expert’s selections. All of the events were documented and summarised in a series of posters and audio recordings, displayed in the days after, allowing visitors to learn about the conclusions and proposals reached during these discussions.

The workshops, lectures and roundtable discussions included contributions by Rory McGrath (OK-RM), Hans Burkhardt, Erich Keiser, Severin Rüegg, Gloor&Jandl, Jonas Vögeli, Peter Bichsel, Jonas Wandeler, Linda van Deursen, Linus Bill, Mirjam Fischer, Ulrike Meyer Stump, Ingeborg Lüscher, Andreas Schwab, Roland Stieger, François Rappo, Niels Wehrspann, Régis Tosetti, Corina Neuenschwander, Nicolas Eigenheer, Jonas Berthod and Mauro Tittoto.

The workshops and roundtables generated rich and focused discussion about book design, printing and other aspects of book production, and served as starting point for an editorial project and printed publication.

The editorial concept included some of the initial research, the presentations of all book selections and edited documentation of the events. Additionally, a group of critics were invited to reflect and comment on the unexpected and most discussed aspects of design and production seen in the exhibited books.

An online archive then accompanied the printed publication, presenting audio resources and more images of the selected books.

Edited by Roland Früh and Corina Neuenschwander. Photography by Rasmus Norlander and Charles Nègre.

Contributions by Julia Born, Klaus Born, Hans Burkhardt, Nicolas Eigenheer, Mirjam Fischer, Davide Fornari, Hans Rudolf Gabathuler, Jost und Ursula Hochuli, Philippe Kaenel, François Rappo, Christoph Schifferli, Andreas Schwab, Fabio Soldini, Nicole Uldry.

Essays by Yann Chateigné Tytelman, Patrick Gosatti and Noah Stolz, Robin Kinross, Philipp Messner, Ulrike Meyer Stump, Christina Reble, Severin Rüegg, Felix Wiedler. Web development by Christoph Knoth.