Monday 19 October 2020

Swiss Time


In 1964 Switzerland held a national exposition. The Swiss like expositions - they have one every 25 years; you can almost set your watch by them. This one was was known colloquially as Expo 64 and was hosted by Lausanne, situated on the Lake Geneva shoreline. Amongst the myriad of attractions were the Spiral Tower and the Monorail - which amazingly survive to this day. However, looking at the monorail it was no match for the one at Butlins - both of a similar vintage.

One of the many Kodachrome slides in my collection is this one dated September 1964 - written on the back is LAUSANNE EXPO. 1964. Researching  what was on display at the time I think this photograph may have been taken in the L'art de Vivre (Art of Life) section. It's a personal favourite of mine.

9 comments:

  1. Like the poster for the Expo - Lots of Don Drapers in that one.

    Clever of you to have reseached and found the actual section it was taken in - Good bit of sleuthing there.

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    1. I think it was de rigueur for men to wear hats in 1964; women too, probably; a headscarf at least.

      Did you like the photograph?

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    2. Yes, there's a good balance to it, almost like a triptych. Also much more interesting because the woman has her hand behind her head.

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    3. Wow. Triptych; that's a new one on me. What a lovely word! I shall endeavour to drop this into conversation at the earliest opportunity. Thank you, Alyson.

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  2. Love the slide. She sure seems perplexed by that piece of art, eh?

    That footage of the monorail at Butlins was a smile too. Not many Americans fitting in that one. Here in Seattle, we still have our Monorail from the World's Fair in 1962. It's not much of a jaunt from downtown to the Space Needle, but she will get you there.

    https://www.seattlemonorail.com/about-seattle-monorail/history/

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    1. I remember the monorail from my visit to Seattle, Brian! They look so rickety, don't they?

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  3. Love this. That's a fantastic slide - a piece of modern art in itself (and yes, a triptych!)

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    1. Glad you like it; often you can wade thru hundreds of slides and only one or two jump out at you...

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  4. As a kid I attended the world`s fair in New York, and loved it. Many years later I learned of Expo 64 in Switzerland, and came across a few photos, becoming instantly fascinated by it. I see here there is a DVD concerning Expo 64. I would love to obtain a copy, can anyone help me achieve this?

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