Alfred Druckermüller

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Alfred Druckermüller (born February 6, 1882 in Stuttgart , † December 18, 1967 there ) was a German publisher . From 1908 to 1964 he headed the Metzler-Verlag , from 1919 to 1964 the publisher CE Poeschel and from 1946 to 1967 the Alfred Druckermüller Verlag.

Life

Alfred Druckermüller was the younger son of the businessman Hermann Druckermüller and attended the Eberhard-Ludwigs-Gymnasium in Stuttgart . After graduating from high school, he trained as a bookseller with Carl Ernst Poeschel (1874–1944) in Stuttgart and then worked as a bookseller in Leipzig and Munich. With the desire to supplement his knowledge with an academic degree, he moved to the University of Leipzig in the winter semester of 1902/1903 and studied economics . In the summer of 1904 he interrupted his studies and worked as a bookseller again for a short time. In the winter semester 1904/1905 he studied at the University of Munich , from summer semester 1905 back in Leipzig, where he on December 5, 1907 at Wilhelm Stieda Dr. phil. received his doctorate . In his doctoral thesis he examined the development of the book trade in Stuttgart since the invention of the printing press .

On January 1, 1908, Alfred Druckermüller and his older brother Eugen (* 1878) joined JB Metzler'sche Verlagbuchhandlung as partner and managing director , which had been converted from a family business into a GmbH at the turn of the year 1907/1908 . The previous owners, the brothers Egon and Arthur Werlitz, left the company management in 1917. At that time, Metzler-Verlag still consisted of two companies, the bookstore and the printing company, which from 1918 formed an open trading company . Alfred Druckermüller managed the bookstore and determined the content profile of the publisher. In 1919 he bought Carl Ernst Poeschel's publishing house, which he continued under the same name.

Metzler-Verlag developed under Druckmüller's direction into a respected literary publisher that also ran major journalistic projects. In 1912, Druckermüller founded the Epochs of German Literature series , which dealt with the history of German literature in the form of a manual; from 1912 to 1918 he published the alphabetical Goethe-Handbuch , revised by Alfred Zastrau ; In 1927, on Druckermüller's initiative, the Greifswald art historians Otto Schmitt and Max Semrau began preparing the Real Lexicon on German Art History , which was published by Metzler Verlag from 1937. One of the most prestigious projects of the Metzler-Verlag, however, was Pauly's Realenzyklopädie der Klassisch Antiquities (RE), the revision of which appeared on the publisher's initiative from 1890 onwards. Druckmüller supported this company as much as possible, including during the economic crisis of the 1920s, during the National Socialist era (when numerous article authors emigrated or were arrested) and during the Second World War , when communication with other countries was almost cut off. Druckermüller was in close contact with the publishers of RE Wilhelm Kroll and Karl Mittelhaus . During the Second World War, the Stuttgart publishing house and the printing plant were destroyed in a bomb attack in autumn 1943. Considerable book stocks were burned, including most of the RE volumes already printed. In addition, all of RE's editorial documents perished in January 1945 after Karl Mittelhaus had to hastily leave his apartment in Breslau.

In this difficult, existence-threatening situation, Druckermüller succeeded in rebuilding the publishing house and continuing its prestigious projects. After Mittelhaus's sudden death (January 19, 1946 in Jena), he made contact with the philologist Konrat Ziegler , whom he won as the new editor of RE. For the reprint of the destroyed RE volumes, Druckermüller and Ziegler obtained a loan from the German Research Foundation . Before that, RE, a very expensive project, had always financed itself through its sales figures. With the appearance of the new RE volumes (after the currency reform in 1948 ), the loan could be repaid in full, even earlier than agreed. Since the Metzler publishing house had not yet been restored, Druckermüller founded a new publishing house, Alfred Druckermüller Verlag, for the publication of Pauly-Wissowa and the Reallexikons on German art history. In the Metzler and Poeschel publishing house, from 1950 onwards ,druckmüller was supported by the managing director Hermann Leins , to whom Druckermüller transferred the entire publishing business in 1964.

In the last years of his life, Alfred Druckermüller devoted himself entirely to his own publishing house. Since the RE appeared relatively slowly (the first series was completed in 1963, the second in 1972, the last supplement volume appeared in 1978), Druckermüller suggested the creation of an updated abridged version of the RE in 1961. This " Kleine Pauly " (five volumes, 1964–1975) was nominally published by Konrat Ziegler, but the editing was carried out by Walther Sontheimer and Hans Gärtner .

Druckmüller has received several awards for his lifetime achievement. On his 75th birthday, the Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen made him an honorary senator. On his 80th birthday (1962) he was presented with a congratulatory certificate, signed by 289 scholars from all over the world. Also in 1962 he received the Great Federal Cross of Merit .

Alfred Druckermüller died on December 18, 1967 at the age of 85. Shortly before, he had sold his publishing house to Artemis & Winkler in Munich.

Fonts (selection)

literature

  • Wilhelm Hoffmann, Franz Mittelbach and Alfred Druckermüller in memory . In: Attempto. News for the friends of the University of Tübingen . 1968, p. 111f.
  • Konrat Ziegler: Alfred Druckermüller † . In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Supplementary volume XI, Stuttgart 1968, intent, pp. 1–7 (with picture)

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Druckmüller, Alfred
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German publisher
DATE OF BIRTH February 6, 1882
PLACE OF BIRTH Stuttgart
DATE OF DEATH 18th December 1967
Place of death Stuttgart