Johann Christoph Arnold

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Johann Christoph Arnold (born March 10, 1763 in Hartmannsdorf ; † August 6, 1847 in Dresden ) was a Saxon publisher , bookseller and local politician .

Live and act

Arnold's grave at the Trinitatisfriedhof in Dresden

Arnold was born the son of an impoverished farmer, his mother was a pastor's daughter. Arnold attended the village school in his home town before he switched to the grammar school in Freiberg for further training . This was followed by studies at the Bergakademie Freiberg , which he had to break off after a year due to lack of money. During his studies Arnold was also employed as a clerk in the raft office.

After giving up his studies, he worked for the Freiberg bookstore Craz, for which he took over the management of the branch in Schneeberg from 1785 . The step into independence followed in 1790 with the establishment of a range bookstore with an antiquarian bookshop and publishing house.

In 1792 Arnoldsche Verlag published its first book. In 1793/95 Arnold published the Erzgebirgische Blätter , which focused on contributions to the commercial and industrial sectors. This also reflected Arnold's scientific and technical education.

In 1795 Arnold opened a lending library in Dresden, in which he later also sold books. However, under pressure from the privileged Dresden booksellers, book sales had to be stopped again. Arnold then opened a new bookstore in Pirna in 1798 and also relocated the headquarters of his publishing house from Schneeberg to the city on the Elbe. The lending library remained at the Dresden location and was expanded into a literary museum. It was not until 1803 that Arnold was recognized as a privileged bookseller in Dresden.

In the hope of arousing the political interest of the Dresden bourgeoisie, Arnold founded a reading museum in 1801, followed a year later by a journal reading circle. The reading museum had a library with around 20,000 volumes and a reading room with around 100 newspapers and magazines, including English and French. However, due to lack of profitability, the museum was closed again in 1805. A revival took place in the years 1825 to 1834.

The Arnoldische Verlag (also known as Arnoldische Verlagsbuchhandlung ) developed successfully and primarily published advice books, economics and entertainment literature. Arnold published works by Samuel Hahnemann , Victor Hugo , Heinrich von Kleist , Walter Scott , Ludwig Tieck and Carl Maria von Weber , among others . His publishing house also published drawings by Carl August Richter and his son Ludwig Richter . In 1823/26 Arnold financed Ludwig Richter’s study visit to Italy. In 1825 the publishing house opened a branch in Leipzig . With the income from the publishing house, Arnold became one of the wealthiest citizens of Dresden.

At the same time, he saw himself as a critical mouthpiece for the opposition bourgeoisie of his time. Between 1802 and 1806 and again between 1827 and 1836 Arnold published the Dresdner Anzeiger . In addition to travel reports and entertaining texts, the newspaper also contained critical reports on grievances in what was then the Kingdom of Saxony . When unrest broke out in Dresden in 1830 as a result of the French July Revolution , Arnold was elected to one of the seven communal representatives ("Representatives to protect the rights of citizens and residents"). In this function he campaigned for a contemporary constitution. The adoption of the first Saxon constitution in 1831 marked the transition of Saxony to a modern constitutional and constitutional state. Between 1839 and 1842 Arnold worked as a member of the Dresden City Council.

Johann Christoph Arnold died in Dresden in 1847. His burial took place in the Trinity cemetery .

Private life

Arnold was with Auguste Gottwerthe, geb. Honestly, widowed Winckler married. The marriage resulted in a son (Julius, 1794-1817).

Merits

In his function as publisher and bookseller, Arnold gave the opposition bourgeoisie a journalistic platform. With the founding of the reading museum and the journal reading circle, Arnold was a pioneer in the dissemination of contemporary education. He was one of the " ... intellectually lively, open-minded societal questions who have rendered outstanding services to education as well as to understanding the interests and social perspective of bourgeois and bourgeois class elements ."

In Dresden- Johannstadt a street was named after him (Arnoldstrasse) .

Works

  • The new Dresden. Ideas for the beautification of this city , Dresden 1809

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Volker Knüpfer: Johann Christoph Arnold (1763–1847) , in: Sächsische Heimatblätter 35 (1989) 1, p. 12
personal data
SURNAME Arnold, Johann Christoph
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Saxon publisher, bookseller and local politician
DATE OF BIRTH March 10, 1763
PLACE OF BIRTH Hartmannsdorf
DATE OF DEATH August 6, 1847
Place of death Dresden