From Froschauer Druckerei (1519) to "Orell, Gessner, Füssli & Cie." (1770)

Titlepage of the Zwinglibibel of Zurich from 1531

At the beginning of the 16th century, the Imperial free city of Zurich became increasingly important as a location holding the Federal Diet of Switzerland. After the position of the Leutpriestertum (people's priest) of the Grossmünster at Zurich became vacant in late 1518, the canons of the foundation in charge of the Grossmünster elected Ulrich Zwingli to become the stipendiary priest and on 27 December 1519 he moved permanently to Zurich from where he subsequently initiated the Swiss Reformation. Around the same time, a book printer Christoph Froschauer relocates from Altötting in Bavaria^[6] to Zurich^[7] to be granted the rights of citizen of Zurich in 1519.^[8] The city commissioned him with the task of setting up a printing press along with further assignments that would result in the establishment and expansion of the printers.^[8] Froschauersche Druckerei received the status of a state printer^[9] and ultimately published the works of Erasmus von Rotterdam, Martin Luther and Zwingli.^[10][11] Subsequently, Froschauer Druckerei expanded its product range to include historical, medical and scientific writings.^[12]

From 1530 to 1585, the Druckerei emerged as one of the most prominent publishers in the German-speaking field^[12] and in the years to follow, the business would change owners within the Zurich wealthy elite. Among the families involved were Escher, Wolf, Bodmer, Heidegger and Rahn with the Druckerei also changing its name after being acquired by one family from another.

In consequence of the progress of Counter-Reformation in Germany, the Druckerei was to scale down its product range to offer mainly theological writings and Sittenmandate.^[12] It is not until 1744, as the Zurich Ratsherr Johann Rudolf Füssli joined the company as a partner and shifted the focus to the areas of theology, natural sciences, history and arts.^[12] In 1766, he becomes the sole owner of the business which from then on is referred to as "Füssli & Cie.".^[12]

Hans Conrad von Orelli and his uncle Johann Jakob Bodmer run "Orell & Cie.", a publishing house with a Druckerei.^[13] The Gessner family who also operated a Druckerei since 1670 and later a bookshop joined "Orell & Cie." in 1761.^[12] Consequently, the business was renamed to "Orell, Gessner & Cie."^[12]

In 1770, both businesses - "Füssli & Cie." and "Orell, Gessner & Cie." - merged to become "Orell, Gessner, Füssli & Cie."^[14][15]

In 1780 the company expanded its product range by entering into the newspaper business with the publication of the "Zürcher Zeitung" that was to become "Neue Zürcher Zeitung" in 1821.^[16] Almost 90 years upon expansion, the newspaper business was spun off in form of a separate Aktiengesellschaft in 1868.^[12]

At the end of the 18th century, it was notable for its bookshop in Zurich. It specialized in disseminating literature of the French Enlightenment by means of written orders through the publishing house Société typographique de Neuchâtel (STN), which was known to print banned books.

From 1793 to 1794, Orell Füssli published Marianne Ehrmann's Die Einsiedlerinn aus den Alpen, the first magazine published by a woman in Switzerland.^[17]

19th century

Upon the end of Napoleonic Wars, the appeal of Zurich as a publishing location sharply diminished.^[12] As the competitive pressure increases on the market in Germany, the publishing program moves back to Switzerland related topics and the focus of the business shifts to printing.^[12][18]

The evidence for the first printing of securities dates back to 1827^[19] and the first share certificates for Escher Wyss are printed in 1839.^[12] In line with the developments of industrialisation in Switzerland, Orell Füssli becomes one of the first printers to introduce high-speed newsprint press^[20] and would use it in production of NZZ which from 1843 on is published daily.^[12]

Zürich 4 and 6 (4 and 6 Rappen), Switzerland's first post stamps printed in 1843

On March 1, 1843, the Canton of Zurich released the Zurich 4 and 6 printed by Orell Füssli, the first postage stamps in Switzerland,^[19] and the second series worldwide,^[20] following the Penny Black issued in the UK in 1840.^[21] Upon the adoption of the Swiss Federal Constitution in 1848, the prerogative for operating postal services passes to the federal government in 1849^[20] and the company did not further pursue this line of business.^[20]

The second half of the century provides Orell Füssli with enormous growth opportunities.

Switzerland's first advertisement office ("Annoncenbüro")^[12] is established which would subsequently turn into ofa Orell Füssli Werbe AG.^[20] Railway advertising starts at a large scale requiring posters of all kinds alongside the emergence of tourist information offices who are looking for mass-printed travel brochures and timetables.^[20] Orell Füssli is able to accommodate for these demands.^[12] Upon introduction of the 10-colour Photochrom process for colour reproductions in 1880,^[12] Orell Füssli further expanded its range of product offerings to include reproductions of all kinds and, in particular, series of maps of foreign territories.^[20] In quick succession, the company opens numerous branches on the European continent and in the USA.^[20]

On 15 February 1870, the "bank of the citizens of Zurich", Zürcher Kantonalbank founded by the Canton of Zurich, opened its first bank counter.^[22] The mandate to print banknotes is assigned to Orell Füssli and the company begins to specialise in this field.^[12]

A descendant company, Orell Füssli Filialen, still exists.^[23]

Board of directors

Orell Füssli AG board of directors

Name	Position	Committees
Dr. Anton Bleikolm[29]	Chairman (2017)	Member of the Board of Directors since 2014
Dr. Beat Lüthi[30]	Vice Chairman	Chairman of the Compensation Committee Member of the Board of Directors since 2017
Dr. Thomas Moser[31]	Member of the Board (2014)	Member of the Compensation Committee
Dr. Caren Genthner-Kappesz[32]	Member of the Board (2016)
Peter Stiefenhofer[33]	Member of the Board (2014)	Member of the Audit Committee
Dieter Widmer[34]	Member of the Board (2011)	Chairman of the Audit Committee

Group executive board

Name	Position
Daniel Link[35]	CEO (2019)
Reto Janser[36]	CFO (2020)
Dr. Daniel Broger[37]	Head of Corporate Development (2017)
Peter Crottogini[38]	Head of Human Resources (2011)

Shareholders

The share capital of the Orell Füssli Holding AG consists of 1'960'000 registered shares with a par value of CHF 1.00 each^[1][39] with shareholdings allocated as follows:^[3][40]

Shareholder	Total shares	Participation,%
Swiss National Bank (SNB), Bern	653'460	33.34
Dieter Meier, Hong Kong (held by Capdem Development SA)[41]	296'900	15.15
Fam. Siegert, Meerbusch	180'000	9.19
Veraison SICAV, Zurich	153'012	7.81
J. Safra Sarasin Investmentfonds, Basel (SaraSelect)	98'250	5.01
Others (minority shareholdings)[n 1]	578'378	29.50

Notes

References