Views. In the days of steam navigation on Lake Geneva (1841-1941)
28 April 2013 – 5 January 2014
The Musée du Léman presents a hundred or so exceptional photographs from documentary collections on the steamships of Lake Geneva. This collection is the result of twenty years of research in numerous public and private collections. In addition to a very rich iconography illustrating the golden age of steam navigation on Lake Geneva, this exhibition presents an unprecedented work of expertise using original sources, presented for the first time with detailed indications and precise dating. Thanks to six Lumière films and Claude Bussard's magnificent private collection of photographic and cinematographic equipment, the exhibition comes to life and offers a perspective on these rare images and the technical innovations that made them possible. Finally, each view provides a testimony and an element of knowledge to the history of navigation on Lake Geneva, from 1841, the year in which the Helvétie was launched, to 1941, the last season in which the transport of people was still carried out solely by steam boats. The development of the collection was made possible thanks to the support of Memoriav, the association for the preservation of Swiss audiovisual memory.