From the Bible to the Banknote

in 1519. Cortés and the conquest of Mexico and Magellan began his Erdumseglung. It is Henry VIII in England, Francis I. of France and Karl V. soon on a realm where the sun never went under-governed. In Zurich, preached Huldrych Zwingli, and Christoph Froschauer, a printer in the Bavarian town of Altötting, received the civil rights. This is considered the founding date of a company that is still half a Millennium already.

There are not many older in Switzerland, and there is none, the everyday life of the Swiss so how Orell Füssli . Also, for those that never set foot in one of their 34 the book of acts. Because if you whip out your wallet, you will pay with notes, which has made this company, the Department of safety and security. And who flies in the holiday, shows up at the airport proud of his red passport. Also comes from Orell Füssli.

Zwingli's ally

Of the two could have guessed Christoph froschauer nothing. Since his time, has expanded the company and re-streamlined, converted and skinned, has bought and sold, has developed new activities and old bury. The fashionable economic term "structural change", Orell Füssli practiced it for 500 years. But the red thread in this enterprise strand has always remained the pressure. "500 years" is the title of the Print, therefore, of the splendid jubilee band, the Swiss national Bank Orell Füssli Holding, with 33 percent, the largest shareholder, you, as a birthday gift.

Froschauer was the Zurich Reformation, the Hand that took the head Zwingli. Not only with the legendary sausage to eat for almost the time he brought forward the motion. What is thought to Zwingli and said, made his printer to the public. Froschauer pharmacy printed sermons and treatises, the figure of a hermaphrodite (as was guessed by the gender asterisk means nothing), but especially and always the Holy Scriptures. In 1530, for the first time, the whole Bible, four years before Luther, a year later, a Deluxe edition with woodcuts by Hans Holbein.

Bible of 1524-1529. Photo: EG,

According to Froschauer the death of the nephew, also a Christopher, the company, then it wandered through the most prestigious Zurich-based families – including Bodmer, Escher, Heidegger, Rahn; with the Bodmer's a woman was for some years on the pusher. In the 18th century.Century got together three scouts: Salomon Gessner, Hans Conrad von Orelli and Johann Heinrich Füssli. Gessner founded in 1780, the "Zürcher Zeitung", which means since 1821 "Neue Zürcher Zeitung" and until 1868 the company remained.

In the following two centuries, there was another owner and name change. Today, after the last restructuring, the company, Orell Füssli Holding, a joint-stock company (the second-largest shareholder, according to the SNB, the musician Dieter Meier) and the divisions safety pressure, bookshops and publishing house, is operating with 15 per cent, by the way. With approximately 700 employees, 34 shops and a turnover of 250 million Swiss francs, it operates in a not-so-easy environment: The book trade has been shrinking for years, and the security printing needs, if the 9. Series of the Swiss banknotes completely new lucrative contracts is issued.

The printing press changed the General Public in a radical and demanded Innovation.

How to Orell Füssli has managed, for five hundred years? By responded with technological innovations to meet the needs of the whole of society. Example Pressure. The was to Froschauer times a young invention. Changing it to the Public in a radical and demanded independent Innovation. From the high-pressure over low-pressure, Flat and offset printing, photo set of technological quantum leaps had to be completed, so that templates always perfect, faster, more mass could be reproduced. Between the wood-cuts in Konrad Gessner's "Historia animalium" and the ten-colour printing of the photochromic-technology worlds.

photo chrome pictures of the world painted in color, before the color photography. In 1888, Orell Füssli registered a Patent on the pressure nachkolorierter black-and-white photographs, and founded the Photoglob. Artist-sided views of Switzerland, but also of the United States or China, with the intense taste of the time corresponding to "romantic" colors. After a complex process, pictures were taken, such as the world had not yet seen. The post card trade climbed to new heights and plummeted after the First world war, in the General crisis dramatically. So the Photoglob belonged to the many Companies of the Orell Füssli for reasons of Profitability abstiess; but it continues to exist. Film Director Wes Anderson for "Grand Budapest Hotel" from this color aesthetic inspiration.

forger trick

Also posters OF no longer prints. As part of the 1992 sold commercial printing of this long and successful line of business graced with the artist's name as Walter Herdeg, Otto Baum Burger, Hans Erni and Herbert Leupin. For decades also came the posters for the Zurich Opera house Orell Füssli; for many years the company is operating a separate art gallery.

In the area of maps was Orell Füssli also once a top; the Tradition goes back to the founder: Froschauer printed in 1525, a map of the Holy land. Later, there were atlases and school maps, city plans and wall maps. In 1993, the area was divided. Similarly, from the company's portfolio of magazines and credit cards are gone.

exhibition poster. Photo: Akg

the Largest of the company's sales today is the so-called safety pressure. To the securities (as to his share was still in the private vault), today especially in Bank notes for Switzerland and a number of foreign national banks belonged to. Orell Füssli has, "always a step ahead of the counterfeiters" (so long-term safety designer Martin Eichenberger), constantly developed new techniques to ensure the safety of its products – and the top spot of the own company. As about color, appeared the printer and the deceptively similar copies were able to deliver, had to come up with new safety elements – today you are working with a latent image effects, Kinegrams, micro-perforation, metal strip, iris, rose and analyzing the colors and "wandering" motifs.

Will also be part of the Banknote, once to those products which are overwhelmed by the development and sorted out? The leadership doesn't believe that. Although currencies you observed to the attention of new phenomena, such as the Crypto, has also run a project with the ETH, but is careful and cautious. With 500 years of experience, you can afford the maybe. The people, says the CEO, Martin Buyle, will not solve so quickly from the cash. Only with him can be true anonymity and privacy.

With the books it began, and the books remained at Orell Füssli faithful. Although the publishing house has its Golden times are in the past – which were, spiritually, in the 18th century. Century, as in Zurich, Wieland's "Agathon" and his Shakespeare Translations were published. Later, the novels of John Knittel ("Via Mala"), or the books of Jean Rudolf von Salis high requirements achieved. Today appear in the publishing division, Orell Füssli non-fiction books, children's books ("Globi", "Ursli" and "Papa Moll" are still good), a legal and educational media.

Eight million

And the book of acts to expand even; OF is about of Zurich, in other cities at the best locations present; with the site, which has eight million titles, even everywhere. For this, the company had to respond to the upheaval in the industry – first, the major German retailers Hugendubel, with 49 per cent, in 2013 they teamed up with Thalia. And if you compare today's business with the alleged "good old time" in Froschauer's founder, years ago hardly anyone could read, and a Bible master, at a cost of three week's wages for a Craft that is not also doubt the future of the book. The management at Orell Füssli not going to do it. Whatever comes: you are used to, even with radical changes to deal.

Festschrift Print: 500 years. Orell Füssli: Tradition and Innovation-since 1519. 256 p., numerous Ill., approx. 125 Fr. The jubilee action "favorite books" starts in may.

(editing Tamedia)

Created: 15.04.2019, 18:32 PM