Historisches Museum Basel — Barfüsserkirche
Until September 27

From quill pen to typewriter, from sedan chair to balance bike, from money stocking to crinolines and trousseaus—the array of everyday objects in the Historisches Museum Basel’s new exhibit sheds light on past ways of life. The exhibits expose three centuries of technical and social change. The toiletries reveal evolving notions of hygiene, while the trousseau lists and embroidered kitchen aphorisms tell of changed role models. The muff made of monkey fur and cups for turtle soup attest to today’s more respectful treatment of animals. Exhibited alongside these are the once typical accoutrements of the bourgeois dining table. Through all these objects, the exhibition at the Barfüsserkirche examines how everyday life has changed. Almost all the exhibits are drawn from the Historical Museum’s own holdings. Accompanying the exhibition is a generously illustrated publication published by Christoph Merian Verlag Basel.
As part of the exhibit, the telephone booths on Barfüsserplatz that were probably familiar to most Basel residents will be making a return! Until 2019, they served as a meeting place, landmark and—in increasingly rare cases—for telephone calls. After being dismantled, they were ceremoniously added to the HMB collection a few years ago. In March, they will be set up again in front of the Barfüsserkirche in conjunction with this exhibit. A good meeting place for visiting the exhibition!

hmb.ch/en/news/exhibitions/ausser-gebrauch/

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