Locations of events.

Boccaccio dedicated the 99th chapter of his book about the famous women to “Popess” Joan. But did she really exist? And if not, why has this figure survived to this day?

Imagine spending your childhood in the countryside. You can run around barefoot and play as much as you want, without any grown-ups telling you what to do. Sounds like a dream, right? Rousseau thought so too. Some of his contemporaries weren’t convinced and burned his books.

Zurich didn’t have a standing army, instead, the city had a citizen militia that mastered the difficult discipline of artillery. The so-called “Gesellschaft der Constaffleren und Feuerwerker” (Society of Constables and Ordnance Technicians) was responsible for the militia and issued wonderful single-leaf prints on the occasion of the New Year. These prints tell us what you needed to know in early modern times to be a successful artilleryman.

The first World’s Fair was the first international exhibition showcasing industry and commerce, and a promotional event for international free trade. The German Customs Union commissioned a report on the event covering 2,522 pages.

The figure of Carmen known from the opera is not an invention by Georges Bizet, but Prosper Mérimée. In 1947 the female artist Frey-Surbeck created the illustrations for our luxury edition of his work and shows us how the role of the woman changed in the 100 years since Mérimée.