Bosco Gurin, das Walserdorf im Tessin, by Tobias Tomamichel. 8vo., 155 pages. Illustrated with 83 pen drawings by Hans Tomamichel, 4 diagrams, and 2 sketch maps. Basel: G. Krebs, 1953. Price, Sw.F. 9.75.

Bosco Gurin, the only German-speaking village of the Ticino, celebrated its 700th year in 1953. The book is written by a native and the artist is his brother, making an authentic document of personal experience. Shortly before 1250, men from the Valais, speaking an Alemannic dialect which has persisted, migrated south of the Alps via the Gries Pass to Pomat and recrossed the Swiss border to found Bosco Gurin in the Val Maggia, north of Locarno. Here is the history of a community of 200 inhabitants that for seven centuries has preserved its linguistic and cultural characteristics. The publication is the ninth in the series “Volkstum der Schweiz,” issued by the Swiss Folklore Society. The illustrations show, among other things, the unique carving of distaffs, loom-shuttles, and cradle-boards.

J. M. T.