Fidelis Butsch

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Fidelis Butsch (born April 8, 1805 in Wurmlingen , † June 29, 1879 in Augsburg ) was a bookseller and bibliophile expert well known far beyond Augsburg in the 19th century .

Life

Butsch came to Augsburg in 1835 and entered the 1825 founded Antiquarian of Wilhelm Birett one. He acted as managing director and became the owner of the company in 1839. With its specialization in valuable old printing works, the business developed into a well-known address in Europe.

The fact that the antiquarian Butsch, who was familiar with the matter, was commissioned to sift through the royal court and state library in Munich for duplicates of older books that the Wittelsbach family wanted to sell for financial reasons with the highest possible proceeds contributed significantly to this. With his specialist knowledge, Butsch also took on an auction in Augsburg for this purpose. The multi-day auction began on May 3, 1858. 720 individual items were offered to the highest bidder, including a Gutenberg Bible , many parchment prints and incunabula .

This sale made political waves in Munich afterwards, because a member of parliament suspected a waste of wealth. But no misconduct could be detected at Butsch, since pieces found new owners at the auction both below and - clearly predominantly - above the estimated price.

Companies

In 1863 his company passed into the hands of Butsch's son Albert Fidelis (* April 23, 1839, † May 19, 1917). Nine years later Arnold Kuczynski became the new owner. He moved the renowned company to the German capital in 1894. Butsch's son made a name for himself as an author of bibliophiles and as a publisher. The collection of ornaments from his father's possession was purchased in 1887 for the library of the German Booksellers' Association .

aftermath

The sales catalogs of the Butschische bookshops are still valued today and are in turn traded as antiquarian items.

literature

  • Entry Fidelis Butsch in the Augsburger Stadtlexikon . Augsburg 1998, ISBN 3-922769-28-4 .
  • E. Carlsohn: Fidelis Butsch & Sohn - The antiquarians of Augsburg. In: Börsenblatt des Deutschen Buchhandels , Frankfurt edition. 15. 1959, pp. 1938-1940.
  • Bettina Wagner : ways and aberrations of Bavarian incunabula. In: Wolfenbüttel notes on book history. 18/19. Wiesbaden 1994, p. 100f.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Julius Petzholdt: Neuer Anzeiger für Bibliographie und Bibliothekwissenschaft, page 163. Dresden 1859 , queried on February 6, 2009
  2. ↑ Explanations of the negotiations of the Bavarian Chamber of Deputies on January 10, 1859, page 30 ff. , Queried on February 6, 2009
  3. ↑ Zentralblatt für Bibliothekswesen, supplements (1893?) , Accessed on August 14, 2017.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Butsch, Fidelis
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German bookseller and bibliophile
DATE OF BIRTH April 8, 1805
PLACE OF BIRTH Wormlings
DATE OF DEATH June 29, 1879
Place of death augsburg