Localsearch launches digital archive of Swiss economic history
Localsearch has launched historic.localsearch.ch, a platform digitizing Swiss phone directories from 1880-1950. The service provides researchers and historians access to data on Switzerland's economic development.
Digital service provider localsearch has launched historic.localsearch.ch in collaboration with the PTT archive and the University of Bern. The platform offers digital access to Swiss telephone directories dating from 1880 to 1950, providing researchers, historians, journalists, and businesses with insights into Switzerland's economic development and the role of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) during this period.
The project stems from a collaboration between the PTT archive and the Digital Humanities department at the University of Bern. Its aim is to make historical data, previously difficult to access, available to the public. Users can study the evolution of economic centers and rediscover professions that have fallen into obscurity by analyzing these historical documents.
The first telephone directory was published in Zurich in November 1880. This initial edition listed 99 businesses and professions, not primarily private individuals due to the rarity of telephone ownership at the time. Several companies listed in this early directory, such as Neue Zürcher Zeitung and Orell Füssli, remain active today.
The platform also allows for the analysis of how professions and sectors have evolved over the decades. Between 1900 and 1925, butchers and hoteliers were prominent, while by 1950, roles in postal services, municipalities, and agriculture were more common. Localsearch highlights this initiative as part of its commitment to digital advancement and support for Swiss SMEs.