Iconopôle: over 3,700 new documents online
Aviator Eric Bradley and city councillor Paul Rosset before their flight over Lausanne, photograph by Eugène Würgler, postcard, circa 1920. Fonds de la Collection iconographique vaudoise.
Over 3,700 heritage documents relating to means of locomotion are now available on the Patrinum database.
Inventoried in batches and fully digitized, this rich collection consists mainly of photographs and postcards. A particular feature of this collection is that its original classification, which has been preserved, orders means of locomotion according to the element in which they operate: land, water or air. The land category thus includes documents on cantonal and national railroads, tramways and funiculars, as well as automobiles, post offices and courier services. The water category mainly includes iconography relating to navigation on Lake Geneva: Latin sailboats, steamships, shipyards in Ouchy and Morges. This division includes, among others, the collection of Édouard Meystre (1891-1979), who was director of the CGN for over 30 years. Finally, the air category includes images from the early days of aviation in the Vaud region, including numerous shots by Lausanne photographer Eugène Würgler.
This thematic collection is part of the Collection iconographique vaudoise (CIV), housed at the Iconopôle. Created in 1896 by pastor and amateur photographer Paul Vionnet, and bequeathed to the State of Vaud in the early 20th century, the CIV comprises tens of thousands of documents relating to the canton’s history.
Four photographs from this set have been humorously revisited to illustrate the BCUL’s greetings card.
