On 9 November 1960, Monaco’s royal couple Prince Rainier III and Grace Kelly visited the Suchard factory in Serrières and added their names to the ‘Livre d’or’ – the company’s guest book.

The Suchard chocolate factory was founded in Neuchâtel in 1826 and has delighted palates all over the world with its pralines, chocolate bars and famous Sugus bonbons ever since. A bona fide Neuchâtel success story, the company was a big part of Switzerland’s industrial past and its influence stretched well beyond the country’s borders. Suchard’s history is also recorded in its unique and symbolic guest book: the ‘Livre d’or’. It includes entries by many famous people who visited the world-renowned production facility, known locally as ‘L’Orientale’.

A fire during the night of 19 October 1957 destroyed forever the first volume of this exquisite witness to factory life and left a large gap in the company’s memories of its past. Suchard was aware of the fragility of keeping records on paper and also quick to recognise the importance of its guest book as a document of historical import. So, the Suchard guest book rose again like a phoenix from the ashes in 1960. The meticulously compiled new volume showed the company’s new-found ambition and will to preserve “the memory and heart of a company” as is written on the first page. The ‘Livre d’or’ still embodies the pride felt within the Neuchâtel area. It is more than just a collection of names; it is no less than a significant historical document.

The first pages of the second Suchard guest book address the fire at the ‘L’Orientale’ factory in 1957 and the destruction of the first volume.

The names recorded for posterity in the guest book include the members of the 1966 Swiss national ski team and members of the Rotary Club, not to mention representatives of royal households, such as the ambassador of Her Majesty the Queen of the United Kingdom. Every name entered tells us something about Suchard and what was happening at that particular time: from industrial alliances to cultural friendships. The pages bring a whole world to life with their formal and less formal dedications and neat calligraphy.

Royal visit

One royal couple attracted considerable attention from the press and locals on 9 November 1960: Prince Rainier III of Monaco and – possibly even more so – his wife, Princess Grace. They came on a state visit to Switzerland from 8 to 11 November 1960, which included an eagerly anticipated stop in Neuchâtel. The royal guests were welcomed in the morning by the president of the Swiss Confederation Max Petitpierre at the Suchard chocolate factory in Serrières. They then went on to Neuchâtel castle, where they were received by the cantonal government before attending an official dinner in Boudry Castle. The day ended with a last stop in Le Locle, where the royals visited the Tissot watch company, another mainstay of industry in the region.

The royal couple from Monaco with the president of the Swiss Confederation Max Petitpierre (in the middle, wearing glasses) visiting the Suchard factory.

The visit to Suchard included a minutely organised official reception during which the royal couple signed the chocolate factory’s guest book, in keeping with tradition. Although it was only a brief visit, it received a very positive reception from the local press. The media gushed over the elegance of the princess, the flawless adherence to protocol and the discernible pride of the hosts. Above and beyond all the pomp and ceremony, the visit briefly placed Switzerland in the international spotlight. The Swiss president at the time was Neuchâtel federal councillor Max Petitpierre. It was doubtless due to him that Suchard, one of Switzerland’s leading companies, was honoured by a state visit from Monaco.

The royal couple from Monaco signing the Suchard guest book.

The royal visit to Neuchâtel was not just a matter of official protocol: it entailed a host of political, cultural and media challenges. The former Principality of Neuchâtel was playing host to a modern-day, dynamic principality represented by a couple radiating charm and prestige. Grace Kelly, the muse of film director and script writer Alfred Hitchcock, added fresh appeal to Monaco: the darling of the silver screen who had become a princess added glamour and modernity to a monarchy, which had long been seen as old-fashioned. The event even competed with the election of John F. Kennedy as President of the United States for front-page space in several newspapers. The royal couple, like the president and first lady, were icons known all over the world.

The Kennedy family and the royal couple from Monaco share the front page of the newspaper ‘Feuille d’Avis de Neuchâtel’ on 10 November 1960.

However, the euphoria surrounding the visit by Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier III was not universal. The newspaper Feuille d’Avis de Neuchâtel wrote on 9 November 1960: “Could there be a political motive behind this visit? The respected Neue Zürcher Zeitung newspaper recently noted that Switzerland doesn’t share a border with Monaco. The significance of this visit lies in the friendship between one of the world’s smallest sovereign states and a canton which still jealously guards the limited sovereignty granted to it under the Federal Constitution.” The point was made that memories of the 100-year anniversary of the abolition of the monarchy in Neuchâtel were still fresh in 1960 and allegations of royalism could easily have escalated.

The Suchard chocolate factory guestbook preserves the memory of the royal visit from Monaco, as well as that of hundreds of other more or less famous visitors. It is a good example of the symbolic wealth that a simple list of names can hold. All too often dismissed as an anecdotal source, the guest book provides a unique insight into shared stories and snapshots of intimacy. Whether a signature, a small drawing or a few sentences, they are all valuable social, cultural and political mementoes of a bygone era.

The ‘Livres d’or’ exhibition at the Neuchâtel City Archives contains many guest books from different milieus and institutions featuring signatures from the likes of the Japanese Emperor and J.R.R. Tolkien.

Mégane Cavin

The Suchard chocolate factory and its ‘golden book’