Academic literature on the topic 'Bank notes – Switzerland – History'

Abstract In 1911, a twenty-three-year-old Le Corbusier embarked on a six-month journey from Dresden to Istanbul, and back to his native Switzerland through Greece and Italy. Upon his return, the young architect unsuccessfully attempted to publish his travel notes as a book in 1912 and again in 1914. Only in 1965, forty days before his death, did Le Corbusier conduct the final revision of his 1914 typescript for publication. The next year, Le Voyage d’Orient was published posthumously. Previous scholarship on this book has overlooked the importance of Le Corbusier’s 1965 edits, consequently approaching the work as an authentic testament of the author’s youthful spirit. Based on a new and contextualized reading of the 1914 typescript hand-annotated by Le Corbusier in 1965, this article demonstrates how the late edits constitute a re-writing of a segment of Le Corbusier’s own history, especially in relation to his ideas of modernity, tradition, inspiration, and attachment to Mediterranean architecture.

Abstract According to McCulloch, Longfield and Loyd, a free banking system is always prone to overissues of bank notes. Their view is supported by the free banking era in Switzerland (1826-1907), where, due to competitive pressures within the banking community and the absence of note-brand loyalty on the part of the general public, overissues (causing a rise in the foreign exchange rates above the upper gold and silver points) finally became permanent. Free competition, therefore, had to give way to collusive action and, in 1907 (with the open consent of the issuing banks), to the establishment of the Swiss National Bank.

TO THINK CHRISTIANLY: A History of L'Abri, Regent College, and the Christian Study Center Movement by Charles E. Cotherman. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2020. 320 pages. Hardcover; $35.00. ISBN: 9780830852826. *How do Christians studying at secular universities, where religion is either ignored or attacked, achieve an integral Christian perspective on their areas of study and future careers? Charles Cotherman presents a first-rate history of one way that Christians have sought to answer this question, namely, in establishing Christian study centers on or adjacent to university campuses. *The Christian study center movement (CSCM) in North America arose to teach and guide Christians in how to think and behave Christianly in all areas and professions of life, by drawing upon the insights of biblical and theological studies. Cotherman defines such a study center as "a local Christian community dedicated to spiritual, intellectual and relational flourishing via the cultivation of deep spirituality, intellectual and artistic engagement, and cultivation of hospitable presence" (p. 8). He rightly contends that the roots of the CSCM movement are found in two institutions: L'Abri Fellowship in Switzerland (founded 1955) and Regent College in Vancouver (founded 1968). In Part 1, Innovation, he presents the history of these two institutions. *In chapter one, Cotherman gives an account of the birth and development of L'Abri under the leadership of Francis and Edith Schaeffer. As missionaries to an increasingly secular Europe, their encounter with its culture, art, and philosophical ideas led Francis to contextualize the gospel--as an evangelical Presbyterian minister rooted in the Reformed faith--in an intellectually honest fashion to people influenced by this culture. L'Abri's ministry was so effective because of two other equally important features: the practice of a deep spirituality amidst the rhythms of everyday life, and the practice of relationships in a hospitable community, both of which Francis and Edith were instrumental in shaping. As more people visited L'Abri and were helped in their faith or accepted the gospel, it became known in the wider evangelical Christian world. This gave rise to branches of L'Abri being established in other nations, and to Christians seeking to establish communities on university campuses that embodied L'Abri's intellectual, spiritual, and relational strengths. *In chapter two, Cotherman presents the history of the rise of Regent College and its progress toward financial and academic stability at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. The first principal, James Houston, played a key role in attracting good faculty and in shaping the curriculum to educate laypeople in the Christian worldview for their secular careers. It provided students with a strong sense of community and vital spirituality. Regent also sought to be a witness to and partner with the university by purchasing property on the campus and by obtaining university affiliation. With the decline in enrollment for lay theological education in the 1970s, Regent survived by offering the MDiv degree (1978), attracting new students preparing for pastoral ministry. When other attempts at establishing Christian colleges and Christian study centers were initiated at other universities, Houston served to encourage and guide such ventures by drawing upon Regent's experience. *Inspired by the vision and community of L'Abri and by the success of Regent College, Christians ministering at other university campuses sought to establish "evangelical living and learning centers" on or near the campuses of state universities (p. 91). Part 2, Replication, gives an account of three such CSCM ventures: (1) the C. S. Lewis Institute (initially at the University of Maryland, later in downtown Washington, DC); (2) New College, Berkeley; and (3) the Center for Christian Study at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville. Cotherman also includes in this section a chapter on the history and progress of Ligonier Ministries under the leadership and teaching gifts of R. C. Sproul (initially in Pennsylvania, then in Orlando, Florida). Although originally modelled after L'Abri as a lay-teaching retreat center in a rural setting, Ligonier's move to Orlando marked a shift to a ministry focused on Sproul's teaching gifts in (Reformed) theological education that concentrated on video and print materials. The history of Ligonier is clearly the outlier here. Perhaps Cotherman includes it because it began as a retreat center for students, but it gradually became focused on general lay theological education, especially after its move to Orlando. *The three Christian university learning centers all began with grand visions of providing university-level education to aid students, studying at the large universities, in formulating a worldview to enable them to integrate their Christian faith with their academic and professional education. Although these three sought to become free-standing colleges with high-quality faculty, to teach courses during the academic year, and in summer study institutes, the challenges of raising funds, attracting full-time faculty, and finding permanent facilities resulted in all of them having to scale back their plans. The Lewis Institute turned its attention to relational learning, eventually establishing regional centers in eighteen cities; New College, Berkeley, became an affiliate, nondegree granting institution of the Graduate Theological Union, being the evangelical voice there; and the Center for Christian Study shifted its focus to being an inviting and hospitable place for study, formation, and relationships in its building on the edge of the campus. All three found that replicating a Regent College was a much more difficult project than they had originally thought. *Cotherman notes that all four attempts of the CSCM, in the late 1980s and early 1990s, ran into the new reality: American Christians were not willing to take a year off their careers to study for a nonaccredited diploma. Students were more interested in getting degrees that had financial payoffs. The most successful venture was the Center for Christian Study, which used the building it purchased as a hub for various Christian ministries at the university, and as a center for hospitality to Christian and non-Christian students. The Charlottesville Center became a catalyst for the formation of the Consortium of Christian Study Centers across North America. This included not only the three university centers mentioned above, but also numerous others that had arisen on university campuses. Many of the centers became convinced that "the path forward was more a matter of faithful presence through deeply rooted, engaged and hospitable relationships and institutions than it was about the apologetics or cultural bluster that had defined some aspects of the movement in its early days" (p. 252). *Cotherman's concluding chapter notes that the CSCM has largely focused on ministries of faithful presence and generous hospitality, with the goal of holistic flourishing at the universities that they serve. Such flourishing includes helping Christian students to cultivate the ability to think Christianly about current issues and their vocations as they engage the pluralistic ideologies, cultural practices, and neo-pagan practices on university campuses. Cotherman rightly observes that, while both L'Abri and Regent College inspired many to establish such centers, it was Regent that had played the prominent role as a model for those aiming to guide students and to interact with modern secular universities. L'Abri was focused around the unique community that the Schaeffers created and the giftedness of Francis and Edith, but L'Abri failed to interact with the wider academic world. In striving to be a Christian presence on campus, Regent was the appropriate model for the CSCM. *The details of the historical accounts in the book serve to remind the reader that, while grandiose visions and goals drove many in the movement, their reduced aspirations led to the CSCM being better suited to effective witnessing, appropriate educating, and faithful service to students and lay-people today. Any who would start such a Christian study center or who wonder how an existing one can survive should read this book and learn the lessons from the history of the ventures presented. Humility in one's plans and small beginnings are appropriate for any such ministry to avoid the mistakes of the centers presented. *While Cotherman touches on the rising antagonism to Christianity and Christians on university campuses, he fails to provide significant treatment of this new challenge that the CSCM faces. I think we can imply from this fine book that, as the CSCM movement adapted to the new realities in the latter part of the twentieth century, it can also adapt to the intensified attacks on the Christian faith in the twenty-first century. While the challenges ahead are great for Christian university ministries, Christian witness has the resources of the word of God, the wisdom of the Spirit, and the motivation of the gospel which continue to guide biblical discipleship and faithful witness. This historical survey by Cotherman can serve as an encouragement to campus ministry for our increasingly secularized western culture. *Reviewed by Guenther ("Gene") Haas, Professor Emeritus, Religion and Theology Department, Redeemer University, Ancaster, ON L9K 1J4.

During the middle and later decades of the nineteenth century successive generations of Ottoman statesmen made a sustained effort to transform the traditional-style Islamic empire, responsibility for which they had inherited, into a modern state. The difficulties they faced were enormous and, as is well known, ultimately proved insurmountable, so that what was left of the their territories finally disintegrated in the decade following the revolution of 1908. However, if there was one problem above all others to which could be ascribed the failure in turn of the Tanzimat, Hamidian, and Young Turk reformers, it was the financial weakness of the central government. Partly because of the inadequate tax base provided by an overwhelmingly agricultural economy, partly because of an inadequate administrative machine (especially in respect of tax collection and the control of expenditure), and partly because of the high level of military expenditure necessitated by constant external and internal threats to its integrity, the nineteenth century Ottoman state never had enough money, and from this one overwhelming fact derived a host of other woes.

This study explores parliamentary reforms related to the financial accountability of banks following the 1825–6 and 1836–7 financial crises in England. An appraisal of nineteenth-century parliamentary Hansard transcripts reveals early banking legislative pursuits. The study observes the laissez-faire and interventionist approaches towards the banking enactments of 1826, 1833 and 1844 that underpin the transformation of financial accountability during this era. The Bank Notes Act 1826 imposed financial accountability on the Bank of England by requiring the mandatory disclosure of notes issued. The Bank Notes Act 1833 extended this requirement to all other banks. The Bank Charter Act 1833 increased the financial accountability of the Bank of England by requiring it to provide an account of bullion and securities belonging to the governor and company, as well as deposits held by the bank. Thereafter, the Joint Stock Banks Act 1844 pioneered the regular publication of assets and liabilities and communication of the balance sheet and profit and loss account to shareholders. State intervention in the financial accountability of banks during the period from 1825 to 1845 appears to have been cumulative.

Two kinds of bank note issued by YanTai XiGongShun, the Republic of China, are collected by Laboratory of Printing History, School of Printing and Packaging Engineering, Beijing Institute of Graphic Communication. The colors on these bank notes are bright and the patterns and signs can be easily recognized. All bank notes are of the elongated shape, and are printed with bank name, par value, circulation area, anti-counterfeiting characters and decorative pictures in the front of the bank notes. The two colors on these bank notes were analyzed using laser Raman microscopy, and the results showed that the red, blue and green pigments are cinnabar, Lapis lazuli, respectively.

The article gives a comparative study of the main elements of Swiss system of business — transnational corporations and small and medium companies (SMEs). Using the methods of statistical analysis, systematic and comparative approaches the author analyzes their role in country economy, modification of activities and changes of their positions in innovative spheres. The author examines the factors of attractiveness and preferences which have influenced the location of TNC headquarters in Switzerland and its new trends. Multinationals are a driving force for Switzerland`s economy development. Swiss multinationals are also leaders in foreign direct investments. The study shows special significance of small and medium enterprises for Swiss economy and exports, their contribution to innovations and R&D. Foreign trade provides the greatest impetus for SMEs growth. The author analyzes the process of internationalization of small and medium companies in specific conditions of small country and their support by different instruments in the framework of three-tier system of interaction (federal center — cantons — municipalities) including financial support and preferential taxation. The federal government supports SMEs in obtaining bank loans by funding loan guarantee cooperatives. As a result it was envisaged that transnational companies and SMEs cooperated in creating a competitive and innovative economy and cluster model in Switzerland. The author notes the negative influence of pandemia on Swiss economy and MNC and SME, but at the same time there are some signs of its recovery.

Defence date: 13 December 1997
Examining Board: Prof. Urs Altermatt, Université de Fribourg ; Prof. John Brewer, EUI (supervisor) ; Prof. Martin Conway, Balliol College, Oxford (ext. supervisor) ; Prof. Luisa Passerini, EUI
First made available online on 7 January 2020
Portraits of the Nation offers a fascinating insight into the construction and development of national identity in two multilingual countries—Belgium and Switzerland. This book not only shows that multilingualism was no obstacle for the development of national identity—in both countries it was used as a positive means of collective identification —it also demonstrates that other means of identification were much more important. These were found on a national and supra-linguistic level—in Belgium the Royal Family and in Switzerland the Alps—and on a local and sublinguistic level—in Belgium mainly the provinces and in Switzerland the cantons. This study also shows that, contrary to what might be expected, Belgium was often more successful than Switzerland in constructing and adapting its national identity, especially in the inter-war years. Combining written and iconographic sources found in the archives of the national banks, mints and Post Offices in Berne and Brussels this book furthermore fills in an important historiographical gap using stamps, coins and banknotes as historical sources for the first time. Often neglected by historians, Alexis Schwarzenbach successfully argues that these sources have to be seen as important lieux de mernoire and that they are ideally suited for the study of the interrelated topics of memory and identity.
-- 1. Introduction -- 2. Decision-making 1880-1913 -- 3. Portraits 1880-1913 -- 4. The First World War -- 5. Inter-war decision-making -- 6. Portraits 1919-1933/34 -- 7. Portraits 1933/34-1939/40 -- 8. The Second World War

The antebellum era was a time of paper—there were newspapers and magazines to read, advertising bills to recognize, and money in the pocket to evaluate. Both the bank note companies and art unions emphasized the quality of the artists they hired, and publicized these works for their taste and nationalizing sentiments. These groups set out to produce a product that encouraged consumer confidence in paper in exchange for something more lasting, such as a painting in oil or a gold coin. The link between these two ideas and the creators of that ineffable quality that lent confidence to both the bank note and the fine art engraving was the engraver himself. Navigating this modern, paper economy in both realms were engravers such as Alfred Jones (1819-1900), a man who made his way in the financial and art worlds, and whose ambitions and career serve as a case study to explore the rapid changes in the demand for images during the Nineteenth Century. Chapter one situates Jones and his colleagues in their historical era and illuminate how cultural, political, and technological advances created a market where engraving could flourish. Chapter two examines Jones’s role within the art unions of the day, and how those groups advertised the skill of engravers, such as Jones, to bolster notions of value in the prints they issued. Chapter three looks more closely at the images created by engravers, and investigates their role in establishing and reinforcing a national visual lexicon that could unify the idea of the nation even as it was unraveling. Chapter four discusses the confusion surrounding counterfeit engravings during the antebellum period and the efforts bank notes companies undertook to highlight the skill of their engravers to reassure the general public of their worth. The burins of Jones and his cohort, through their work in fine arts organizations and bank note companies created images accessible to the average citizen, images these consumers could recognize and assign a value. They applied their talents to works on paper that illustrated the making of the American self in the years before the Civil War.

AbstractThis chapter introduces the concept and a definition of the “formalization” of banking supervision that is examined in this book and outlines the aim and scope of the book. In addition to providing the reader with an overview of the history of banking supervision in eight developed countries (the US, Japan, Sweden, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, France, and the UK), the book presents information regarding the formalization process itself. That process is assessed based on three criteria—bank regulation, supervisory authority, and supervisory activity. This approach is intended to provide more detail than a simple assessment based on banking acts that is common in financial regulation research. The aim of the analysis undertaken in this book is to identify why the history of banking supervision in various countries shares many similarities and yet also displays many differences. In Sect. 1.5, we provide an overview of the historiography of the formalization of banking supervision with a special emphasis on comparative and internationally oriented literature, while the growing body of literature on each of the national cases is discussed in subsequent chapters.

This chapter discusses the history of central banks, with emphasis on the case of the Bank of England. For a long time after John Law, Frenchmen remained deeply suspicious of banks and bank notes, of any money that was not made of metal. The chapter considers the reforms that occurred in the banking industry, led by the Bank of England, which gradually emerged as the guardian of the money supply as well as of the financial concerns of the government of England during the period 1720–1780. It also examines the 1811 debate on the nature of money and its management, focusing on David Ricardo's arguments about money in relation to the gold standard. Finally, it looks at the Bank of England's role in introducing the use the two historic instruments of central bank policy: open-market operations and the bank rate.