Elias Bilgram

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Elias Bilgram in the biographies of some of Memmingen's men worthy of memory

Elias Bilgram (born June 19, 1724 in Memmingen ; † November 15, 1803 there ) was a German master belt maker , mechanic , artisan , metal artist , mechanic, instrument maker and draftsman .

Live and act

A brass sundial made by Elias Bilgram in the church tower of St. Martin (Memmingen)

Elias' father, the tax clerk Jakob Friedrich Bilgram, died early, which is why he and his eight siblings were raised by their mother. In 1738 he was sent to Augsburg for an apprenticeship as a belt maker . From an early age, Bilgram showed great enthusiasm for mechanics and optics . This brought him together with the respected Augsburg mechanic Georg Friedrich Brander . This instructed him in making instruments. Bilgram continued his training as a mechanic in 1749 and went to Strasbourg and Amsterdam . After 1751 he spent about eight and a half years in London , the then European center for instrument making . He returned to his hometown of Memmingen in 1759 and married Sibylle Mayer. She died early and he married Elisabeth Margarete Hummel, a baker's daughter from Memmingen, a second time. With her he had three sons and two daughters.

Bilgram manufactured mathematical instruments in his workshop in Memmingen and produced mechanical and optical work at the highest level at the time. His works include telescopes, microscopes, drawing tools and engravings. A pencil drawing with the east view of his Upper Swabian hometown Memmingen is exhibited in the city museum. It served as a template for three copper engravings by the so-called handicraft customers for all guilds as well as for the brewers ' guild in 1766 and the white tanners' guild in 1769. All are labeled E. Bilgram.

A brass sundial made by Bilgram was originally located on the outside of the church tower of Martinskirche in Memmingen. Today the cleaned and polished instrument is exhibited inside the church tower and can be viewed as part of the tower climb.

Elias Bilgram died in Memmingen in November 1803 at the age of 79. Pastor Benedikt Schelhorn paid tribute to Bilgram in his 1811 work "Descriptions of the lives of some men of Memmingen worthy of memory" as one of seven memorable personalities in Memmingen by including a portrait drawing of Bilgram and a detailed description of his professional career, his manual skills and his characteristics for the Posterity.

literature

  • Joachim Jahn (Hrsg.): The history of the city of Memmingen, Vol. 1: From the beginning to the end of the imperial city time . Theiss, Stuttgart 1997, ISBN 3-8062-1315-1 , p. 827.
  • Günter Meißner (term.): Saur general artist dictionary / The artists of the world, Volume 11: Bīklār – Bobrov. Saur, Munich et al. 1995, ISBN 3-598-22751-5 , p. 20.
  • Benedikt Schelhorn: Descriptions of the lives of some men of Memmingen worthy of memory , Johannes Rehm printing works, Memmingen 1811, pp. 117–126.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Benedikt Schelhorn: Life descriptions of some of the memorable men of Memmingen. Rehm, 1811, pp. 117–126 ( limited preview in Google book search).
  2. ↑ Klaus Stopp: The craft customers with local views. Descriptive catalog of the work certificates of wandering craft journeyman. Volume 4: Catalog Federal Republic of Germany. Landau - Rottweil. Hiersemann, Stuttgart 1983, ISBN 3-7772-8313-4 , pp. 826, 832, 834 (with illustrations).
personal data
SURNAME Bilgram, Elias
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German master belt maker, mechanic, artisan, metal artist, mechanic, instrument maker and draftsman
DATE OF BIRTH June 19, 1724
PLACE OF BIRTH Memmingen
DATE OF DEATH November 15, 1803
Place of death Memmingen