A mosaic of post-war life

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Building a motorway at Schönbuhl near Bern, 1960. (ETHZ library picture archives/Comet Photo AG/Eric Lindroos, Hans Krebs) ETH-Bibliothek Zrich, Bildarchiv / Fotograf: Lindroos, Bjrn Eric; Krebs, Hans / Com_M09-0163-0001 / CC BY-SA 4.0

Expo 64 in Lausanne: members of the civilian protection force represent "well-fortified Switzerland" in the pavilion for the Swiss army. ETH-Bibliothek Zrich, Bildarchiv / Fotograf: Comet Photo AG (Zrich) / Com_M12-0346-0011-0002 / CC BY-SA 4.0

From a report on the issue of youth, 1976. (ETHZ library picture archives/Comet Photo AG/Hans Baumann) ETH-Bibliothek Zrich, Bildarchiv / Fotograf: Baumann, Hans (Comet) / Com_L16-0626-0323 / CC BY-SA 4.0

The first Swiss skyscrapers being built in Zurich, 1952. ETH-Bibliothek Zrich, Bildarchiv / Fotograf: Comet Photo AG (Zrich) / Com_M01-0827-0002 / CC BY-SA 4.0

The opening of the Heitersberg train line, 1975. (ETHZ library picture archives/Comet Photo AG/Jules Vogt) ETH-Bibliothek Zrich, Bildarchiv / Fotograf: Vogt, Jules / Com_C24-020-001 / CC BY-SA 4.0

An advertisement for Swiss tourism featuring the daughters of Haitian president "Papa Doc" Duvalier, 1958. (ETHZ library picture archives/Comet Photo AG/Björn Eric Lindroos) ETH-Bibliothek Zrich, Bildarchiv / Fotograf: Lindroos, Bjrn Eric / Com_C07-019-002 / CC BY-SA 4.0

Ten Yugoslavs and one Turk pick cabbages in Bachenbülach, canton Zurich, August 1973. (ETHZ library picture archives/Comet Photo AG/Jules Vogt) ETH-Bibliothek Zrich, Bildarchiv / Fotograf: Vogt, Jules / Com_M22-0138-0004 / CC BY-SA 4.0

The cherry harvest in Oberhasli, canton Zurich, 1992. (ETHZ library picture archives/Comet Photo AG/Jules Vogt) ETH-Bibliothek Zrich, Bildarchiv / Fotograf: Vogt, Jules / Com_C19-062-002-002 / CC BY-SA 4.0

Market day in Zurich-Oerlikon, March 1963. (ETHZ library picture archives/Comet Photo AG/Kurt Salvisberg) ETH-Bibliothek Zrich, Bildarchiv / Fotograf: Salvisberg, Kurt / Com_M12-0104-0001-0011 / CC BY-SA 4.0

Migros self-service store, 1952. ETH-Bibliothek Zrich, Bildarchiv / Fotograf: Comet Photo AG (Zrich) / Com_M01-0936-0002 / CC BY-SA 4.0

Man in kitchen shock! 1962 ETH-Bibliothek Zrich, Bildarchiv / Fotograf: Comet Photo AG (Zrich) / Com_M11-0337-0002-0003 / CC BY-SA 4.0

Computers in use at the Elektrowatt company, June 1983. (ETHZ library picture archives/Comet Photo AG/Jules Vogt) ETH-Bibliothek Zrich, Bildarchiv / Fotograf: Vogt, Jules / Com_M32-0008-0001-0003 / CC BY-SA 4.0

A mobile phone at the Geneva car show, March 1987. (ETHZ library picture archives/Comet Photo AG/Dieter Enz) ETH-Bibliothek Zrich, Bildarchiv / Fotograf: Enz, Dieter / Com_M36-0021-0001-0002 / CC BY-SA 4.0

An exhibition of lunar rock at the federal technology institute Zurich, May 1970. (ETHZ library picture archives/Comet Photo AG/Hans Krebs) ETH-Bibliothek Zrich, Bildarchiv / Fotograf: Krebs, Hans / Com_L19-0276-0110 / CC BY-SA 4.0

Breaking ground for a nuclear reactor in Würenlingen, canton Aargau, undated. (ETHZ library picture archives/Comet Photo AG/Candid Lang) ETH-Bibliothek Zrich, Bildarchiv / Fotograf: Lang, Candid / Com_M05-0153-0003 / CC BY-SA 4.0

A peddler in Emmental, canton Bern, 1956. ETH-Bibliothek Zrich, Bildarchiv / Fotograf: le / Com_C05-132-001 / CC BY-SA 4.0

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“Photo Mosaic Switzerland” is a mirror of social change which tells in fragments the history of Switzerland. The book comprises images from the archives of the now defunct Zurich press photo agency Comet. 

The first skyscrapers, building a motorway, young people in the 1970s, Yugoslav salad pickers, the first computer – around 200 photos from the second half of the 20^th century were chosen by the renowned Swiss historian Georg Kreis from some 900,000 press photographs and 10,000 aerial images. They bear witness to changing places, landscapes and everyday life in Switzerland. 

This pictorial treasure trove comes from Comet Photo AG, founded in 1952. The “Comets”, as the press photographers called themselves, rapidly developed a reputation for high-quality photographs which were used by high-circulation newspapers and magazines. 

The mid-1980s saw the beginning of the company’s slow decline, ending in bankruptcy in 1999. Like other agencies, Comet failed to adapt to digital. Its legacy, however, remains and can now be found in the picture archives of the library of the federal technology institute ETHZ. 

(Images: Federal Technology Institute ETHZ library picture archives/Comet Photo AG, Text: Gaby Ochsenbein, swissinfo.ch)