Swiss private collection of filmmaking materials and original posters — archives European cinema 1920–1960. Research and restoration database.
Anyone working on early European film posters in Switzerland or researching materials on film history between the World Wars will inevitably come across this collection. It houses one of the most extensive archives of original graphic prints and documentary materials on cinema culture from the 1920s to the 1960s—a resource that restorers, archivists, and filmmakers consult regularly to verify contexts or secure visual references for period pieces.
The collection documents less the filmmakers themselves (like a director's estate) and more the material culture of cinema—that is, how films were presented to the audience. Posters are primary sources in this regard: they reveal the typographic conventions of an era, color palette trends, how studios marketed their stars, and which titles were successful in which markets. A Sauerländer poster from 1935 immediately tells you whether a film was marketed as a drama, comedy, or adventure—solely through font size, image composition, and printing process.
This is particularly valuable for restorers: when reconstructing a damaged film or needing to lay out new intertitles, original posters help to authentically capture the visual codes of the era. You can see which fonts were standard, what contrast and color actually looked like—not how they appear today through faded duplicate negatives. The archive also documents program brochures, newspaper announcements, and photographic material, creating additional layers of context.
Access is through classic archival channels: inquiry, appointment, physical inspection, or digitization requests. The collection remains Swiss private property but is open for legitimate research and production purposes—with the usual conditions regarding reproduction rights. It thus serves as a counterpoint to the large institutional film museums: more specialized, more accessible for specific questions, but also not centrally curated like the film archives in Paris or Berlin. Anyone engaged in European film history or design archaeology should have it on their research list.