Alfred Oberli (1916–2005) [1]

Oberli, who was born in Dicken (SG), began an apprenticeship as an engraver at the Swiss Federal Topography in 1933, where he subsequently devoted himself to reproducing the Siegfried maps. When copperplate engraving was replaced by layer engraving there in 1953, he continued to do it as a hobby. He also produced ink and watercolor drawings. From 1949, he drew around 500 route sketches for the tour guides of the Swiss Alpine Club. He received various prizes for his artistic work. At an early stage, he began to build up a map collection, which eventually encompassed a volume of about 20,000 maps and is now kept at the Federal Office of Topography.

[1] This article bases on Mair, Toni. Grieder, Susanne. Das Landschaftsrelief – Symbiose von Wissenschaft und Kunsthandwerk. Mit Schweizer Reliefkatalog. Verlag hier+jetzt. Baden, Schweiz. 2006. S.165.