Friedrich Imhoof-Blumer

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Friedrich Imhoof-Blumer

Friedrich Imhoof-Blumer (born May 11, 1838 in Winterthur ; † April 26, 1920 there ) was a Swiss numismatist .

Life

Friedrich Imhoof-Blumer was the son of the businessman Friedrich Imhoof and his wife Sophie Hotze. After completing school, he completed a commercial apprenticeship and then started working in his parents' company. Imhoof-Blumer was already interested in coins as a child, and his breakthrough in collecting was in 1866 when, at the age of 28, he was able to acquire his extensive collection of Swiss coins from the heirs of the Bernese government councilor, Carl Friedrich Ludwig Lohner . Together with his own, Imhoof-Blumer gave this collection to the Münzkabinett in his hometown in 1871 , at that time still under the roof of the city ​​library , of which he had been honorary director since 1861. With this donation he made the Münzkabinett the largest collection of its kind in Switzerland.

Through his father's import-export business, he was able to make many contacts in the Middle East. He made several trips, especially to Greece and Turkey , which he of course also used to make successful purchases. Well prepared through language and history lessons with Hermann Hitzig , Imhoof-Blumer was soon able to put his collecting on a scientifically sound basis.

In 1862 he married Elisabeth Blumer in Glarus . With her he had two daughters. On the occasion of this marriage he changed his name "Imhoof" to "Imhoof-Blumer". At the age of 32, Imhoof-Blumer withdrew completely from the family business in 1870 and only looked after his collection for the rest of his life. Imhoof-Blumer bought his first coin in 1862 and when he sold his collection to the Berlin Münzkabinett in 1900 , it comprised around 21,000 exhibits. This purchase came about through the mediation of the historian Theodor Mommsen .

With the proceeds, Imhoof-Blumer set up a foundation which subsequently gave various scholarships to young numismatists, e. B. Kurt Regling and Behrendt Pick awarded. During this time Imhoof-Blumer also started his second collection. After his death this inherited his son-in-law and doctor Oskar Bernhard . In 1927 Kurt Regling was able to acquire around 2000 bronze coins for the Münzkabinett Berlin.

The collection of sealing wax impressions of Greek coins, which Imhoof-Blumer brought back from his travels, also grew almost in passing. His granddaughter Lily Sulzer made around 100,000 plaster casts of these over the years. These are still considered to be an important reference tool today.

Imhoof-Blumer was able to skillfully combine numismatics with related subjects such as Greek mythology, philology and archeology, and new research methods that are still valid today emerged from his collections. This makes him one of the most important connoisseurs of ancient numismatics to this day. Imhoof-Blumer was a corresponding member of the Prussian , Bavarian , Dutch and Austrian Academy of Sciences .

Friedrich Imhoof-Blumer died on April 26, 1920 in his hometown of Winterthur at the age of 82.

Awards

Fonts (selection)

  • On the coinage and palaeography of Boeotia. In: Numismatic Journal. Vol. 3, 1871, ISSN  0250-7838 , pp. 321-387, ( digitized ; also as a separate print: self-published by the author, Vienna 1873).
  • The coins of Akarnania. In: Numismatic Journal. Vol. 10, 1878, pp. 1–180, ( digitized ; also as a separate print: Manz, Vienna 1878).
  • Portrait heads on Roman coins of the Republic and the Imperial Era. For school use. Teubner, Leipzig 1879, ( digitized ; 2nd, improved edition. Ibid. 1892 and more often).
  • Monnaies Grecques. Müller, Amsterdam 1883, ( digitized ).
  • Portrait heads on ancient coins of Hellenic and Hellenized peoples. Teubner, Leipzig 1885, ( digitized version ).
  • with Percy Gardner : A numismatic commentary on Pausanias. 3 parts. London 1885–1887, (reprint of all three parts: sn, London 1887, digitized version );
  • as editor: The ancient coins of North Greece. Under the direction of F. Imhoof-Blumer, published by the Kgl. Academy of Science. Reimer, Berlin 1898 ff. (3 volumes until 1920).

literature

Web links

Wikisource: Friedrich Imhoof-Blumer  - Sources and full texts
personal data
SURNAME Imhoof-Blumer, Friedrich
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss numismatist
DATE OF BIRTH May 11, 1838
PLACE OF BIRTH Winterthur
DATE OF DEATH April 26, 1920
Place of death Winterthur