August Schwartz

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Portrait of August Schwartz

August Schwartz (born May 29, 1837 in Dortmund ; † May 23, 1904 in Oldenburg (Oldb) ) was a printer, bookseller and is considered the "inventor" of the postcard . He was the first German to print and mail an illustrated postcard . At that time there were already forerunners , but they are not considered postcards.

Inventor of the postcard

The first German illustrated postcard from July 16, 1870

Schwartz sent a printed postcard to his in-laws in Magdeburg on July 16, 1870, a little more than two weeks after the postcard was introduced in the North German Confederation . The card had a small artillery picture as an additional imprint on the address side at the top left. He chose the motif because of the ongoing mobilization for the Franco-German War , and the text also refers to it. Because of the rare rectangular postmark with which the stamp is canceled, it is assumed that the card is not a forgery. In the fall of 1875 he also brought a small edition of 25 postcards to the market, making him one of the very first commercial postcard publishers.

Career

After attending grammar school and breaking off a miner apprenticeship, Schwartz began studying philosophy in Bonn for a short time in 1859 , but had to break off this same year due to the Prussian mobilization during the Sardinian War and was drafted into military service. On the side, however, he continued to attend lectures at Berlin University . In 1861 Schwartz came to Oldenburg when he began an apprenticeship in Carl Ferdinand Schmidt's bookstore at Markt 13.

In Oldenburg he soon established close contacts with the dramaturge and writer Julius Mosen and published his first edition in 1863 thanks to a subscription suggested by Schwartz. In 1863 he married Maria Berndt (1842–1921), the daughter of Johann Wilhelm Berndt (1808–1877), owner of the Schulzsche Buchhandlung business (from 1875 Hof Buchhandlung and Hof Buchdruckerei) in Oldenburg on Schlossplatz. Soon afterwards Schwartz joined his father-in-law's business, which he ran together with his brother-in-law Karl Berndt until 1884, after his death alone and from 1893 with his son Rudolf (1865–1943).

Schwartz endeavored to constantly expand the publishing house, the range and the printing company. As a publisher, but also as a friend, he was close to local Oldenburg authors, such as Hermann Allmers , Arthur Fitger , Heinrich Bulthaupt and Georg Ruseler . Schwartz also published a collection of songs that went through sixteen editions. In 1880 he printed the first Oldenburg address book in his printing house.

The grave of August Schwartz is in the Gertrudenfriedhof (Oldenburg) in Oldenburg.

literature

Web links

Commons : August Schwartz  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Postcard inventor A. Schwartz , accessed on April 25, 2019
  2. ^ H. Wolf: Colored postcard greetings from the Bavarian and Upper Palatinate Forest , Morsak Verlag, Grafenau 1985, ISBN 3-87553-230-9 , pp. 19-20
  3. ↑ A. Left: The authenticity of the legendary Schwartz / Oldenburg card with the gunner can be seen as clear. In: Postcard collector's letter , No. 171 from 2009, p. 10
  4. ↑ a b c directory in Nadorster insight ( memento of the original from July 25, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed July 22, 2014 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.nadorster-einblick.de
  5. ^ First Oldenburg address book , accessed on July 22, 2014
personal data
SURNAME Schwartz, August
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Printer, bookseller and postcard inventor
DATE OF BIRTH May 29, 1837
PLACE OF BIRTH Dortmund
DATE OF DEATH May 23, 1904
Place of death Oldenburg (Oldb)