Kasthofer - Kultur der Küh-Alpen - 1818

THE VACHES OF THE ALPS: ECONOMY, GRAZING, AND SURVIVAL IN 1818 SWITZERLAND
ABSTRACT
A rare testimony to the birth of the modern Alpine economy, devoted to the management of Küh-Alpen, the high pastures mainly used for cattle breeding. Karl Kasthofer analyzes pastures, fodder, manuring, the relationship between livestock farming and forests, and the economic conditions of mountain communities. The text originates from the lecture delivered in Lausanne on July 28, 1818 before the Swiss Natural Sciences Society. A significant document in the history of Swiss agriculture and rural economy at the beginning of the nineteenth century. First edition, preserved in a simple blue-softcover edition.

WHY TO BUY
ALPINE ECONOMY – A primary 1818 source on the economic organization of Swiss alps, with concrete observations on livestock, pastures, fodder, and productivity.
CATTLE RANCHING – Of particular interest are the considerations devoted to the management of Küh-Alpen, the alpine pastures for cattle, and the economic role of livestock in the agriculture of the Swiss Alps.
FORESTS AND SUSTAINABILITY – Kasthofer was one of the early scholars who explored the delicate balance between grazing, animal husbandry, forest exploitation, and the conservation of the montane environment; modern historiography continues to use his writings as a source on traditional Alpine management.
FIRST EDITION IN SOFTCOVER – The original Bern edition of 1818 is now relatively rare on the market, especially when it preserves the fragile original soft cover. A copy of the same edition is documented on the international antiquarian market.

MARKET VALUE
Considering the presence of the original soft cover, but also the small signs of wear and some detached leaves, this copy falls within a price range of €150–220.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION AND CONDITION
Copy preserved in the original soft-blue-gray cover, with visible spine sewing. Wide margins; slight creases at corners, small marginal defects, and modest signs of use to the cover, consistent with the fragility of the edition. A small numbered label is affixed to the back cover. Some sheets detached from the rest of the volume. In old books with a long history, a few imperfections may be present, not always noted in the description. This listing contains AI Visuals. Refer to the original photographs to verify the item’s actual condition. Images are an integral part of the description. Pp. 36.

FULL TITLE AND AUTHOR
Vorlesung über die Kultur der Küh-Alpen.
Bern, by J. J. Burgdorfer, Bookseller, 1818.
Karl Kasthofer.

CONTEXT AND SIGNIFICANCE
The volume belongs to the early phase of modern scientific reflection on Alpine economy. Kasthofer treats grazing not as a mere landscape element, but as a productive system in which livestock farming, forage availability, soil fertility, forests, and the social conditions of the mountain population are closely intertwined. The pragmatic character of the work is particularly noteworthy. Kasthofer considers the concrete conditions under which shepherds and farmers operate in the Swiss mountains and proposes improvements in resource management. Modern studies on the history of Alpine agriculture remember Kasthofer as one of the first authors to collect and compare observations on the use of the Alps and their productivity. The work also shows an early sensitivity to the conflict between economic exploitation and the conservation of the montane environment. Kasthofer had observed, for example, the economic importance of animal husbandry for Alpine populations as well as the damage that overgrazing could cause to montane forests.

BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR
Karl Albrecht Kasthofer (1777–1853) was one of the leading figures of early Swiss forestry science. A forester, scholar, and Bernese public figure, he produced numerous works on forests, mountain agriculture, and the economy of the alps. He served as Oberförster of the Bernese Oberland and later as Forstmeister of the Canton of Bern. His studies combine naturalistic observation, forestry, agronomy, and rural economics. His body of work includes important writings on the forests of the Bernese Oberland and several travel accounts in which landscape observation is systematically paired with the study of the economic activities of mountain populations.

PRINTING HISTORY AND CIRCULATION
Vorlesung über die Kultur der Küh-Alpen was published in Bern by J. J. Burgdorfer in 1818, the same year Kasthofer delivered the lecture before the Schweizerische Gesellschaft für die Naturkunde in Lausanne. Swiss libraries preserve copies of the original edition, including those at the Zentralbibliothek Zürich and the ETH-Bibliothek. The bibliographic record notes 35 pages plus a final errata page, corresponding to the 36 pages of the copy. The work is from the same year as Bemerkungen über die Wälder und Alpen des Bernerischen Hochgebirgs, one of Kasthofer’s major works on the relationship between forests, agriculture, and the economic use of the mountains.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
e-rara / Zentralbibliothek Zürich, Vorlesung über die Kultur der Küh-Alpen, Bern, 1818.
ETH-Bibliothek, Rar 36671, Vorlesung über die Kultur der Küh-Alpen.
Harteveld Rare Books, Catalogue 251, no. 489.
Perret, Guide des livres sur la montagne et l’alpinisme.
Wäber, Landes- und Reisebeschreibungen.
Swiss bibliography relating to Karl Albrecht Kasthofer and the history of Alpine economy.
Catalogues and repertoires of Swiss libraries: e-rara, Zentralbibliothek Zürich, ETH-Bibliothek.