When postcards are too good to be true

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Bern, Bear pits Manipulation: The bears were moved and repositioned Burgerbibliothek Bern, FI Franco-Suisse

Le Mouret / Fribourg sometime before 1943 Manipulation: The church remains untouched but telephone cables were removed, and a few clouds were added in the background. Burgerbibliothek Bern, FI Franco-Suisse

Bern, Terrace behind the federal palace Manipulation: The palms were darkened and clouds were added to the sky. Burgerbibliothek Bern, FI Franco-Suisse

New Year’s card, Bern - a sea of fog viewed from the top of the Gurten hill Manipulation: The trees in this postcard were covered with a light dusting of snow. Burgerbibliothek Bern, FI Franco-Suisse

Thun and the Alps Manipulation: The Alps were dropped into the scene to produce a more pleasing overall picture. The house on the left was considerably brightened. Burgerbibliothek Bern, FI Franco-Suisse

La Roche / Fribourg, 750m above sea level, Hotel-Restaurant Boucherie aux Montagnards, sometime before 1944 Manipulation: The picture was cropped to get rid of a house standing to the left of the hotel, which was built in a contrasting style. The façade under the roof was brightened so that the name of the hotel was more legible. Burgerbibliothek Bern, FI Franco-Suisse

Thun Manipulation: The church in the background was brightened and two additional swans were added. Burgerbibliothek Bern, FI Franco-Suisse

Heimberg and the Alps, 1939 Manipulation: A copy of the negative was created, a church was added on the right edge of the photo, and a new version of the card was produced. Burgerbibliothek Bern, FI Franco-Suisse

Bauma, Zurich, sometime before 1941 Manipulation: Two pedestrians were removed from the middle of the photo. Burgerbibliothek Bern, FI Franco-Suisse

Cure hotel Blumenberg-Bad, 1100m above sea level, Sigriswil, Schwanden Manipulation: The flag in the original hung limply; now it stands erect in the wind. Burgerbibliothek Bern, FI Franco-Suisse

Rapperswil sometime before 1945 Manipulation: The mountains were strongly emphasised and the church was brightened. Burgerbibliothek Bern, FI Franco-Suisse

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Photo archives of the publishing company Franco-Suisse show how some historic picture postcards scenes weren't perfect enough, and had to be adjusted. The archives were recently made available to the public online. 

The pictures hail from the period 1920 to 1970, and depict a Switzerland that in many respects no longer exists. 

Many of the postcards include touristy subjects that still figure in postcards today. But there’s more. There are pictures of less well-known villages in the Jura mountains and other outlying areas. Where today there are suburbs, we see intact landscapes with little traffic, and in winter, snow even at low altitudes.    

The Franco-Suisse archives also make it possible to follow the evolution of postcards from the initial picture to the final product. We can see how pictures were manipulated and retouched much before the advent of Photoshop. Unattractive telephone wires and unwanted people were removed, trees were covered with snow, and inappropriate backgrounds were replaced by panoramic views of the Alps. 

(Text: Gaby Ochsenbein/swissinfo.ch, photo editing: Ester Unterfinger/swissinfo.ch)