Berlin Bibliophile Evening
The Berlin Bibliophile Evening is a regional association of bibliophiles and collectors. The purpose of the association is to cultivate and promote understanding for the good and beautiful book.
history
After the Society of Bibliophiles had been founded on January 1, 1899 and the Leipzig Bibliophile Evening as a local association in 1904 , Fedor von Zobeltitz called a large number of Berlin book lovers to the founding meeting of the Berlin Bibliophile Evening on January 12, 1905. 27 participants were present. A board was elected consisting of Fedor von Zobeltitz as chairman, Gotthilf Weisstein as deputy, Martin Breslauer as treasurer and Ernst Frensdorff as secretary. Monthly meetings were arranged at which the participants presented interesting books and documents, which resulted in lively discussions.
Socializing was an important purpose of the association, personal acquaintances should develop and friendships should develop. Women were not allowed to become members of the association. Multiple applications to admit women were always rejected by a majority. The looseness of these meetings meant that no statutes were drawn up for many years. This did not happen until 1918. The first list of members dates from 1921. In 1913, Flodoard von Biedermann took over the chairmanship, Paul Graupe became treasurer and Ernst Rowohlt became secretary . From 1910 on, the life of the association began to slow down, and fewer and fewer participants came to the events. On November 22, 1913, the board made an urgent appeal to the members to work more actively in the association so that the association would not be forced to disband due to lack of participation.
The years 1931 and 1932 are seen as the high points of club life.
A period of decline began in 1933 and with the transfer of power to the National Socialists . The association was asked whether it wanted to dissolve or separate from its Jewish members. The club chose the latter alternative. From then on, the Jewish bibliophiles gathered in private apartments and called themselves "Bibliophile Friends". On September 28, 1933, the club was the Reichskulturkammer -law under the umbrella of the society of bibliophiles the Reich Chamber incorporated. He continued the series of his events initially under the chairmanship of Lothar von Biedermann and from 1934 under the chairman Richard von Kehler . With the end of the publication of the magazine for book lovers in 1936, reporting on the activities of the association also ended.
New beginning
After the end of the Second World War , Gerd Rosen , Wolf Meinhard von Staa and Maximilian Müller-Jabusch tried to revive the club in Berlin. The association was re-established on April 14, 1954, chaired by Wolf Meinhard von Staa. In addition to monthly meetings with lectures, exhibition and collection visits, there was an annual general meeting every two years.
Wieland Schmidt was chairman from 1960 to 1977 . With his participation, it was decided at the annual general meeting on February 15, 1967 that women can also become members. The old tradition of the annual gifts was continued, there were also numerous private prints that were given to the members as donations. From 1977 Erich Barthelmes acted as chairman, he passed this function on to Werner Schuder.
The Berliner Bibliophilen Abend has been a registered association with charitable goals and purposes since 1980. The association currently has around 50 members, the chairman of the board is the lawyer Dr. Jens Ziegler.
literature
- Julius Rodenberg : German Bibliophilia in Three Decades . Directory of the publications of the German bibliophile societies and the gifts dedicated to them from 1898–1930. Leipzig: Society of Friends of the German Library, Leipzig 1931
- Flodoard von Biedermann: Twenty-five years of the Berlin Bibliophile Evening . Association gift of the Berlin Bibliophile Evening. Berlin 1930
- Wieland Schmidt: On the chronicle of the Berlin Bibliophile Evening . In: Imprimatur . A yearbook for book lovers. NF 8 (1976), pp. 41-59
- Herma Stamm and Werner Schuder : Bibliophilia activa. Publications, gifts and prints by and for the Berlin Bibliophile Evening 1905–1994. Berliner Bibliophilen Abend, Berlin 1995. (Festival 1995 on the occasion of the new centenary.)
- Heinz Gittig: Enjoying books. Minutes, documents, reports of the Berlin Bibliophile Evening 1920-1943 . Berlin Bibliophile Evening, Berlin 1990
- Friedhilde Krause : The Berlin Bibliophile Evening . Notes on its history. In: Marginalien 1991, Heft 2, (No. 122), pp. 60-71
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Flodoard von Biedermann: Twenty-five Years of the Berlin Bibliophile Evening , p. 15
- ^ Wieland Schmidt: On the Chronicle of the Berlin Bibliophile Evening . In: Imprimatur . A yearbook for book lovers. NF 8 (1976), p. 41
- ↑ http://berliner-bibliophilen-abend.de/biblioph_freunde.html
- ^ Fritz Homeyer: German Jews as Librarians and Antiquaries . 2nd ed. Mohr, Tübingen 1966, pp. 73-75
- ^ Lothar von Biedermann: Annual report on the activities of the Berlin Bibliophile Evening . In: Zeitschrift für Bücherfreunde , 39 (volume 3, vol. 4), 1935, p. 47
- ^ Annual report on the activities of the Berlin Bibliophile Evening . In: Zeitschrift für Bücherfreunde , 40 (volume 3, vol. 5), 1936, p. 216f.