Albert von Escher collection
Historical military art can also be found at the Library am Guisanplatz (BiG) in the Albert von Escher collection, a series of watercolours of cantonal and federal military uniforms from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries.
Voluntary cavalry, 1803
Voluntary cavalry corps in the field with officer und NCO.
Hunters, 1805
Deployed hunter group with sergeant, captain, lieutenant colonel and assistant major.
Infantry, 1805-1809
Infantry in front of a tower. On a hill in the background a castle ruin with chapel is visible.
Cavalry, 1805-1818
A group of horsemen in front of a house. One of the horsemen standing on his horse is looking over the wall.
Albert von Escher (20 May 1833 – 16 May 1905) was a captain in the Swiss Army and became famous for his watercolours of military subjects. The original paintings of federal and cantonal uniforms were acquired by the Federal Council for the General Staff library and now form one of the special collections of the Library am Guisanplatz (BiG).
The Albert von Escher colletion contains around 900 watercolours; these can also be accessed in digitised form via the Alexandria online research portal.