Jannuzzi Smith Editions has published A curious colony, Leicester Square and the Swiss by Peter Barber. The book marks the restoration of the Swiss ‘Glockenspiel’ in London’s Leicester Square, which was reinstated at a ceremony in the presence of the former President of Switzerland, Adolf Ogi; the Lord Mayor of Westminster, Councillor Susie Burbridge; the Swiss Ambassador Anton Thalmann; and the Executive Vice-President of Switzerland Tourism, Urs Eberhard.

Contrary to popular assumption, the Swiss association with Leicester Square in London did not commence in the 1960s with the building of the Swiss Centre; rather this was the latest manifestation of a relationship that dates back to the early eighteenth century. Since that time, the Swiss presence has grown from a few individuals and families to, by the late nineteenth century, a community so large as to be commented on by observers such as Charles Dickens.

Peter Barber (b. 1948) is Head of Cartographic and Topographic Materials at the British Library where he has been working since 1975. A council member of the London Topographic Society, he curated the ‘Switzerland 700’ exhibition and the British Library’s ‘A life in a map’ exhibition.

The book is published by Jannuzzi Smith Editions on behalf of Presence Switzerland, the Swiss Embassy to the United Kingdom and Switzerland Tourism.

ISBN 0-9534038-7-4