Switzerland's exceptional scenic beauty of valleys, lakes, and mountains, its central location on international trade routes, and its world famous banking system are just a few elements that have contributed to its rise in the global market. This relatively small nation is actively engaged in the maintenance of peace among nations and at the forefront of technological research. Consisting of twenty-six member states, called cantons, the history of the Swiss Confederation is as rich and varied as its culture and people. The Historical Dictionary of Switzerland features the nation's multicultural and democratic traditions and institutions, its complex history, and its people's involvement in past and present world affairs. This is done through a list of abbreviations and acronyms, a chronology, an introduction, appendixes, maps, a bibliography, and hundreds of cross-referenced dictionary entries on important persons, places, events, and institutions, as well as significant political, economic, social, and cultural aspects. This informative, concise, and accurate reference corrects the numerous false impressions of this important country.

The history of printing, books, and libraries, is confined only to a limited extent within the boundaries of individual countries. There are, indeed, few historical developments which have played a more universal role, in reaction against all kinds of particularism, than type design, printing, book production, publishing, illustration, binding, librarianship, journal ism, and related subjects. Their history should be assessed and studied primarily in an international, not in a local, context. The bibliographical resources, however, which the historian of these sub jects has at his disposal correspond hardly at all to the essentially inter national character of the object of his studies. Since the appearance of the retrospective bibliography of BIG MORE and WYMAN, covering the subject comprehensively up to r88o, the only current bibliography has been the lnternationale Bibliographie des Buck-und Bi bliothekswesens. Covering a representative part of newly published liter ature, it appeared from rgz8, but did not survive the Second World War. More recently, several useful, but limited, bibliographies have appeared.

This twelfth volume of ABHB (Annual bibliography of the history of the printed book and libraries) contains 3333 records, selected from some 2000 periodicals, the list of which follows this introduction. They have been compiled by the National Committees of the following countries: Italy Australia Austria Luxembourg Belgium The Netherlands Poland Bulgaria Canada Portugal Denmark Rumania Finland South Africa France Spain German Democratic Republic Switzerland German Federal Republic USA Great Britain USSR Hungary Yugoslavia Ireland (Republic of) Spain and Latin America have partially been covered through the good of fices of an American colleague. Benevolent readers are requested to signal the names of bibliographers and historians from countries not mentioned above, who would be willing to co-operate to this scheme of international bibliographic collaboration. The editor will greatly appreciate any communication on this matter. Subject As has been said in the introduction to the previous volumes, this bibliography aims at recording all books and articles of scholarly value which relate to the history of the printed book, to the history of the arts, crafts, techniques and equipment, and of the economic, social and cultural VIII INTRODUCTION environment, involved in its production, distribution, conservation, and description. Of course, the ideal of a complete coverage is nearly impossible to attain. However, it is the policy of this publication to include missing items as much as possible in the forthcoming volumes. The same applies to countries newly added to the bibliography.

The Annual Bibliography of the History of the Printed Book and Libraries records articles of scholarly value that relate to the history of the printed book, to the history of arts, crafts, techniques and equipment, and of the economic, social and cultural environment involved in their production, distribution, conservation and description.