Key visual of the exhibition "Joggeli, Pitschi, Globi... popular Swiss children's books" it shows a cat trapped in a book in drawn form

Joggeli, Pitschi, Globi… Popular Swiss Picture Books

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Exhibition

Lisa Wenger’s Joggeli, who won’t shake down the pears, the kitten Pitschi, the children from the Maggi songbook or the teddy bear who sets off for Tripiti – these characters from Swiss picture books have captivated countless readers over many generations. Some Swiss artists, such as Ernst Kreidolf, Felix Hoffmann and Hans Fischer, have also become famous beyond Switzerland’s borders thanks to their illustrations. This family exhibition lets children immerse themselves in picture-book worlds and experience them through play. Adults encounter their once favourite characters in a cultural context. The exhibition is accompanied by a whole range of fringe activities to suit all the family.

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Picture book heroes coming to Schwyz

Forum of Swiss History Schwyz | 2.11.2019 - 13.3.2020
published on 31.10.2019

Pitschi, Joggeli, Globi, and Schellen-Ursli: the stars of Switzerland’s most delightful picture book classics have captured the fancy of generations of readers, old and young. The exhibition Joggeli, Pitschi, Globi – Popular Swiss Picture Books at the Forum of Swiss History in Schwyz from 2 November 2019 to 15 March 2020 provides an opportunity to rediscover the famous heroes. 

Who’s not familiar with them: Joggeli, who’s asked to go and pick pears but prefers to take a nap instead, the little cat Pitschi, the children from the Maggi songbook, the teddy bear who sets off for Tripiti, Schellen-Ursli, and, of course, Globi and his many adventures? These are just some of the heroes from famous Swiss picture books that have accompanied us for generations, that are gladly passed on to family and friends, and – like no other genre of book – are enjoyed by grown-ups and kids alike. 

Enthusiasm among young and old 
Now Globi, Schellen-Ursli, Pitschi, and all the others are coming to Schwyz: after the successful show at the Swiss National Museum Zurich, children and adults once more get the chance to immerse themselves in the magical world of Swiss picture books at the Forum of Swiss History in Schwyz from 2 November 2019 to 15 March 2020. 

A visit gives grown-ups the chance to relive their own childhood memories of reading. Background information on the time and circumstances under which the books were written draws attention to the history of education and graphics as well as the life stories of the respective authors and illustrators. Children, on the other hand, get the chance to meet their heroes in a playful way, for instance, listening to audio stories under Joggeli’s pear tree, in Globi’s postbus, in Schellen-Ursli’s alp hut where they can dress up in traditional costumes, or in Pitschi the cat’s large featherbed, an ideal place for browsing books. 

Attractive support programme 
Numerous picture books wait to be discovered in the exhibition’s themed reading islands. In addition, the exhibition comes with a rich support programme: grown-ups can learn more about the background to a wide range of topics concerning Swiss picture book classics in guided tours offered by experts, while children and their carers get to enjoy the fascinating world of Michael Huber’s animated figures, guided family tours, puppet shows, and story afternoons. 

Images

Entrance area of the exhibition

© Swiss National Museum

View on Joggeli’s pear tree and Globi’s postbus

© Swiss National Museum

Display «Die Reise nach Tripiti»

© Swiss National Museum

Schellen-Ursli’s alp hut

© Swiss National Museum

Globi’s postbus

© Swiss National Museum

Pitschi the cat’s large featherbed

© Swiss National Museum

Berne-born Ernst Kreidolf was one of the founders of the modern picture book around 1900. Ernst Kreidolf, Wiesenzwerge: Die Zwerge fahren auf Leiterwagen, pre-1903. Indian ink (quill), watercolour and opaque white. Berne Museum of Fine Arts, Verein Ernst Kreidolf.

© 2019, ProLitteris, Zurich

The first edition of Lisa Wenger’s Joggeli features an executioner, but this was dropped in subsequent editions. Lisa Wenger, Joggeli söll ga Birli schüttle [A Boy Went Out To Gather Pears], A. Francke Verlag, Berne 1908. Swiss National Library, Berne

© Swiss National Museum

Globi appeared in 1932 as a publicity figure on the 25th anniversary of the Globus department store. Robert Lips, poster for youth meeting 1934. Colour lithograph.

© Swiss National Museum

Hans Fischer first illustrated the hugely successful picture book about Pitschi the kitten for his own children. Hans Fischer, Pitschi. Das Kätzchen, das immer etwas anderes wollte, [Pitschi, The Kitten With Dreams] Verlag der Wolfsbergdrucke, Zurich 1948.

© NordSüd Verlag AG Zurich

The figures in Reise nach Tripiti are based on real toys. Theodor the bear was Hans-Ulrich Steger's teddy bear when he was a child. Hans-Ulrich Steger, Reise nach Tripiti [Travelling to Tripiti], Zurich 1967.

© 1967 Diogenes Verlag AG Zurich

Karin Freitag-Masa

Head of Business Administration, Marketing & Communication

Forum of Swiss History, Schwyz +41 41 819 60 18 karin.freitag@nationalmuseum.ch