Boreas (publisher)

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Boreas was the name of the oldest Estonian publisher outside Estonia . It existed from 1939 to 1999.

History of the publisher

The idea of ​​founding a publishing house to make Estonian culture better known abroad came from Tartu intellectual circles on the eve of the Second World War . The joint stock company "Boreas Publishing Company" was registered in London on September 1, 1939 , but should also have branches in Paris , Berlin , Budapest and other cities. Business in London was run by a resident Estonian shipowner, Evald Jakobson (1903–1973), and Hans Mannik, who was head of Loodus Verlag in Tartu, was the director of the publishing house.

The first book was published in 1939, but the following years were overshadowed by the war. Hans Männik was arrested after the Sovietization of Estonia in 1940 and disappeared without a trace. A German translation by August Mälk was able to appear in Leipzig , as well as some English-language titles in London.

In the 1950s, English translations were published by Marie Under and Gustav Suits . The publishing house got new momentum with Einar Sanden , who had been active in the publishing house since 1968 and who took it over as owner in 1975. He mainly published his own books, but also published other, mostly political, books on Estonia. In 1999 the publishing activity was stopped.

Published titles (selection)

A total of 47 books have been published by Boreas, 33 in English, 12 in Estonian and 2 in German. This includes:

  • Ernest Howard Harris: Literature in Estonia. 1943. 76 pp. (Second edition 1947)
  • August Rei : Nazi - Soviet Conspiracy and the Valtic States. 1948. 62 pp.
  • Ernest Howard Harris: Estonian Literature in Exile. 1949. 38 pp.
  • Evald Uustalu: The History of Estonian People. 1952. 272 ​​pp.
  • Aspects of Estonian Culture. 1961 332 pp.
  • Robert Raid: When the Soviets come ... 1983. 670 pp.

Secondary literature

  • Eerik Teder: Vanim väliseesti kirjastus Boreas, in: Raamat on. Tallinn: Tallinna Bibliofiilide Klubi 2000, pp. 129–140 (English summary: The Oldest Estonian Publishing House “Boreas” , pp. 134–135; complete list of published titles, pp. 136–140).

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Eerik Teder: Vanim väliseesti kirjastus Boreas, in: Raamat on. Tallinn: Tallinna Bibliofiilide Klubi 2000, p. 129.
  2. ↑ Anne Valmas: Eestlaste kirjastustegevus välismaal 1944-2000. I. Tallinn: Tallinna Pedagoogikaülikool 2003, pp. 142-145.
  3. ↑ Cornelius Hasselblatt : History of Estonian Literature. From the beginning to the present. Berlin, New York: Walter de Gruyter 2006, p. 516.
  4. ↑ August Mälk: In the face of heaven. Translated by Peter Woldemar v. Pezold. Leipzig: Boreas 1940. 374 pp.
  5. ↑ Complete index in: Eerik Teder: Vanim väliseesti kirjastus Boreas, in: Raamat on. Tallinn: Tallinna Bibliofiilide Klubi 2000, pp. 136-140.
  6. ^ On Harris see: Cornelius Hasselblatt: History of Estonian Literature. From the beginning to the present. Berlin, New York: Walter de Gruyter 2006, p. 48.