Georg Heberlein autograph collection
Some signatures really are illegible! And this is certainly true of some of the 1,400 documents in the Georg Heberlein autograph collection, spanning the years 1471 to 1983. Written or at least signed by famous names such as Charles the Bold, Ronald Reagan and Neil Armstrong, the Library am Guisanplatz (BiG) has made these fascinating rarities available online.
Letter from Frederick the Great to Major General von Hülsen, 28 June 1756.
All soldiers on leave since 30 May 1756 must be recalled immediately. Only persons in the vicinity my remain on leave.
Thomas A. Edison (1847-1931), American inventor and entrepreneur.
The signature is undated.
Henri Guisan, Swiss general.
Autograph card showing Guisan’s portrait, signed in Lausanne on 27 September 1946
Neil Armstrong expresses his thanks for the silk scarf that his wife received from Georg Heberlin for Christmas 1969.
This letter from the astronaut dated 9 December 1969 shows the imaginative ways in which Georg Heberlein obtained autographs.
Charles the Bold signs off a payment to his chamberlain.
This letter dated 1471 is the oldest item held at the Library am Guisanplatz.
Karl Maria von Clausewitz, Prussian general and military author
In this document dated 1 May 1819, von Clausewitz confirms that he has paid the money advanced by Colonel von Haake to Lieutenant Colonel von Rauch.
Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell, British general and founder of the Scouts movement
Baden-Powell expresses his thanks for some cuttings sent to him. The recipient of the note dated 21 May 1929 is unknown.
The collector
Heberlein managed to acquire many important documents, not least thanks to his far-reaching international connections. His collection includes simple autograph cards, receipts, congratulations, notes and various official documents, all signed or written by a famous person. This was certainly the fascination that autographs exerted on the collector: a signature proves that the famous personage had held the document in his or her hand.
The bequest
Eleven years after his death in 1995, Heberlein's three daughters, Brigitte Cappis, Verena Hanck and Annette Brauen, paid tribute to their father's passion for collecting by presenting the 1,400 or so autographs to the then President of the Confederation, Kaspar Villiger, to be bequeathed to the Library am Guisanplatz.
Access and use
The bequest was made on the condition that the collection should be accessible to the public. The BiG meets this in a number of ways. Selected originals are displayed in tours and exhibitions, and the collection is described in detail in the library catalogue. All of the documents in Georg Heberlein’s autograph collection can be searched for and downloaded via the Alexandria research portal.