3D Hand-made Models of Mountain Reliefs

Eduard Imhof (1895-1986) was professor of cartography at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich from 1925 – 1965. His fame far beyond the Institute of Technology was based on his school maps and atlases. In 1995 it was 100 years since his birthday. On this occasion several exhibitions celebrated his life and work, among others in Zurich, Bern, Bad Ragaz, Küsnacht/ZH, Barcelona, Karlsruhe and Berlin. The last such exhibition took place in summer 1997 in the Graphische Sammlung of the ETH. There it was possible to show a large number of maps and pictures in the original. At the conclusion of the exhibition Imhof’s family bequested his original works to the ETH-Bibliothek Zurich. Mrs. Viola Imhof, the widow of Eduard Imhof, being very much attached to his work, had a major part in making it accessible to the public.

Eduard Imhof not only cartographed and drew the mountains, but also modeled them. The three relief models he made are on permanent display at the Swiss Alpine Museum in Bern, in the Naturwissenschaftlichen Sammlungen of the city of Winterthur and in the ETH-Hönggerberg (HIL-Gebäude). Continue reading »