Christian Bernhard Tauchnitz
Christian Bernhard Tauchnitz , from 1860 Freiherr von Tauchnitz , (born August 25, 1816 in Schleinitz , today the village of Unterkaka ; † August 13, 1895 in Trattlau ( Amtshauptmannschaft Zittau ), today Kostrzyna in Gmina Zgorzelec ) was a German publisher and is considered a pioneer of the modern paperback .
origin
Christian Bernhard's uncle, Carl Christoph Traugott Tauchnitz (1761–1836) had opened a printing press in Leipzig in 1796 and two years later expanded it to include a publishing house . a. Greek and Latin classics published in inexpensive stereotype editions. Christian Bernhard's cousin Carl Christian Philipp Tauchnitz (1798–1884), the son of Carl Christoph Traugott Tauchnitz, initially continued to run the publishing house and then gradually sold it from 1844 onwards.
Life
At the age of six to twelve, Tauchnitz attended the "renowned educational institution for boys from the higher classes' Wackerbarths Ruh '( Lang's boys' school )" in Lößnitz near Dresden. Then he completed an apprenticeship as a bookseller in Leipzig in the Kayser bookstore and joined his uncle Carl's company. One year after his death in 1836, at the age of 21, Tauchnitz founded his own company, a printing company with a publishing house under the company name Bernhard Tauchnitz , in which he initially devoted himself to the publication of legal works. His business idea, implemented in 1841, to produce inexpensive book editions of English and American literature, proved to be extremely successful. In 1848 Tauchnitz acquired Kleinzschocher Castle near Leipzig, which he had rebuilt in 1865 as the owner of the manor. In 1860 he was raised to the baron status by Duke Ernst II of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha , and in 1877 he was appointed for life as a member of the First Chamber of the Saxon State Parliament by King Albert of Saxony . From 1866 until his death he was British Consul General for the Kingdom of Saxony and the surrounding principalities. After Tauchnitz's death in 1895, his son Christian Karl Bernhard von Tauchnitz took over the publishing house.
The Tauchnitz Editions
From 1841, Tauchnitz published a Collection of British and American Authors , which was intended primarily to appeal to schoolchildren, students and travelers from English-speaking countries. The inexpensive editions, which were available in different bindings and price ranges, are considered the first modern paperback books . In 1868 he expanded the series to include an English-language Collection of German Authors , which was followed in 1886 by the Students' Tauchnitz Editions .
The series of Tauchnitz Editions , which eventually comprised over 5,300 volumes by over 700 authors, is also remarkable in that Tauchnitz concluded direct exclusive contracts with the authors for the first time and paid them a fee, which was rare before the copyright agreements were signed. Tauchnitz often succeeded in having European first editions appear at the same time as the British first edition. That is why the Tauchnitz Editions are still considered interesting collectibles and research objects in terms of text.
One of the most extensive collections of Tauchnitz editions, the Todd-Bowden Collection of Tauchnitz Editions with approx. 6,700 volumes, was acquired by the British Library in 1992 , among other things with the support of the Kulturstiftung der Länder . Another extensive collection with over 5000 volumes is in the Coburg State Library . The archive material of the publisher is still in the Saxon State Archives , Leipzig State Archives Department .
literature
- Ann Bowden, William B. Todd: Tauchnitz international editions in English, 1841–1955: a bibliographical history . New Castle, Del .: Oak Knoll Press; London: British Library 2003, ISBN 1-58456-116-5 (USA) / ISBN 0-7123-4825-5 (UK)
- Melanie Mienert, Thomas Keiderling, Stefan Welz and Dietmar Böhnke: Baron of the English Books. The Leipziger Verlag Bernhard Tauchnitz 1837-1973 . Sax-Verlag, Markkleeberg 2017, ISBN 978-3-86729-201-6
- Karl Friedrich Pfau : Tauchnitz, Bernhard Freiherr von . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 37, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1894, p. 672 f.
- Lothar Poethe: Tauchnitz, Bernhard Freiherr von. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 25, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 2013, ISBN 978-3-428-11206-7 , p. 805 f. ( Digitized version ).
Web links
- Todd-Bowden Collection of Tauchnitz Editions of the British Library
- Complete list of the Tauchnitz editions from July 1, 1910 in the Arno Schmidt reference library (PDF file; 1.54 MB)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Walther Killy: Deutsche Biographische Enzyklopädie , Volume 9, P. 663f. and Erich Dittrich: Sächsische Lebensbilder , 1930, Volume 1, p. 370. According to other sources, Leipzig is given as the place of death, for example: R. Kent Rasmussen: Critical Companion to Mark Twain: A Literary Reference to His Life and Work , New York 2007, p. 908.
- ↑ Tauchnitz, Christian Bernhard Freiherr von (Saxon-Coburg-Gotha nobility and baron 1860, Saxon and Prussian nobility recognition 1861 and 1865, respectively).
- ^ Josef Matzerath : Aspects of the history of the Saxon state parliament - presidents and members of parliament from 1833 to 1952 , Dresden 2001, p. 51
- ^ Information ( memento of February 21, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) from the Coburg State Library on the Tauchnitz collection
- ^ Matthias Günther: Archives in Saxony - inventory overview. Retrieved November 3, 2017 .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Tauchnitz, Christian Bernhard |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Tauchnitz, Christian Bernhard Freiherr von; Tauchnitz, Bernhard Freiherr von |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German publisher |
| DATE OF BIRTH | August 25, 1816 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Schleinitz (today: Unterkaka , Saxony-Anhalt ) |
| DATE OF DEATH | August 13, 1895 |
| Place of death | Trattlau |