Lisa Tetzner:  The Black Brothers

A Novel in Pictures

The young boys called spazzacaminos, who sweep the chimneys of Milan in the 19th century, are rather slaves than workers. Although Giorgio’s father suspects what awaits his son there, his poverty leaves him no choice but to let him go. In Locarno, the man with the scar gathers the boys from the Ticinese mountain villages and takes them to Milan. Once they get there, the boys not only face hardship and disease, but are also threatened by gang fights and chased by the police. However, Giorgio also experiences friendship and solidarity within the secret society of the ‘Black Brothers’. Lisa Tetzner started from a newspaper article and began to investigate. Hannes Binder followed her approach and spent several years in the Ticino and in Milan, sketching and collecting historical material for his figures. The result is not an illustrated classic, but a novel in pictures.