Friedrich Wilmans

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Friedrich Wilmans (born October 17, 1764 in Bremen , † February 8, 1830 in Frankfurt am Main ) was a German publisher .

biography

Wilmans - son of the Bremen city commander and colonel Melchior Wilmans (1729–1807) and his wife Sophie Christine born. Thalmann, daughter of a high school student - was the fifth child of 24 children. Outside of Bremen, perhaps in Frankfurt, Wilmans did an apprenticeship as a bookseller.

Bremen time

In 1791 Wilmans returned to Bremen and in 1792 applied for a license to run a bookstore, which he opened in his father's house on Katharinenstrasse. He initially took over the commissions for foreign publishers. He later appeared as a publisher himself. The business became leading in Bremen. In 1793 he married an innkeeper 's daughter from Frankfurt am Main.

The small publishing house primarily published lyrical works and entertainment literature as well as religious works, travelogues, sagas, sheet music and specialist literature. Johann Smidts Hanseatisches Magazin was published by him and the senators Caspar von Lingen and Johann Heineken were represented with reviews and writings. From 1800 a series of paperbacks with copperplate illustrations came out, to which Goethe , Schiller and other classics also contributed. Goethe recognized: "His efforts in literature and art are well known".

Publishing house in Frankfurt

In 1802 he moved his company to Frankfurt am Main. He has now brought out up to 20 different, versatile titles every year. He continued his paperback series. Of course, many writings remained as 1822 without great importance, in addition to important works views of the City of Bremen and its surroundings by Adam Storck provided with 16 engravings. In 1802 he met August Wilhelm Schlegel , whose articles he published in his paperback and in the new magazine Europa (Ed .: Friedrich Schlegel ). He has published other works by Schlegel, Clemens Brentano , Friedrich Hölderlin and ETA Hoffmann . Youth literature such as GutsMuths Spielalmanach für die Jugend , Blasches Technologische Jugendfreund and books by Jacob Glatz have been published.

Wilmanns also turned increasingly to the works of fine art and placed value on good copperplate engravings and graphics in the published works. In 1804 a first booklet of Views of the Rhine by Niclas Vogt was published; others followed. The painter Peter Cornelius lived in the publisher's house from 1809 to 1811; two pictures of Wilmans and his wife were taken. Wilman's private collection attracted Goethe's attention on the occasion of a visit in 1814.

The geographer Carl Ritter also belonged to Wilman's circle of friends during his time in Frankfurt until 1810. Around this time the company had a certain boom. In 1815 his brother Heinrich took a share in the publishing house and the company was now called Gebrüder Wilmans . Already in 1821 they separated again. The general importance of the publishing trade declined. Wilman's business was struggling and now also sold goods such as cigars and knitwear. ETA Hoffmann contributed to the annual paperbacks from 1818 to 1820 and published his last work, the fairy tale Master Flea , with him in 1822 .

His bookstore in Frankfurt am Main was continued by his widow from 1830 to 1839 after Wilman's death.

Published works

A bibliography of the 128 most important books published by Wilmans in Bremen can be found in a contribution by Paul Raabe in the Bremisches Jahrbuch 45, 1957, pp. 153-160, structured according to the areas

  1. Poetry and popular literature
  2. Moral education, religious literature
  3. Travelogues, histories, albums
  4. Various.

literature

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Wilmans, Friedrich
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German publisher
DATE OF BIRTH October 17, 1764
PLACE OF BIRTH Bremen
DATE OF DEATH February 8, 1830
Place of death Frankfurt am Main