Julius Rodenberg (bibliographer)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Julius Friedrich Wilhelm Anton Rodenberg (born May 5, 1884 in Bremerhaven , † January 23, 1970 in Klein-Machnow near Berlin ) was a German bibliographer , librarian and art historian .

Life

Julius Rodenberg attended the Alte Gymnasium in Bremen and graduated from high school in 1905. In the following years he studied theology, oriental languages, history and art history in Strasbourg, Marburg, Berlin and finally Göttingen, where he passed the first theological examination in 1908. After a study trip through Italy, he received his doctorate in 1909 in Heidelberg with Henry Thode with an art history dissertation.

After training as a librarian at the Göttingen University Library from 1911 to 1913, Rodenberg joined the lexicon editors of Brockhaus Verlag in Leipzig. He took part in the First World War as a soldier and was taken prisoner by the French . From 1920 he worked on manuscripts and incunabula in the Leipzig antiquarian bookshop KW Hiersemann . He passed the librarianship examination and from 1921 worked as an assistant librarian in the German library , which promoted him to the library council in 1926. Under the director Heinrich Uhlendahl , Julius Rodenberg founded and led the department for valuable prints. From 1924 onwards, under his aegis, one of the most important book art collections in the country was created, with Rodenberg paying particular attention to modern, outstanding book design, which has not been lacking since the beginning of the book art movement . The collection was incorporated into the German Museum of Books and Writing in Leipzig in 1954 .

From 1952 to 1954, Rodenberg was in charge of setting up the library at the University of Fine and Applied Arts in Berlin-Weißensee . In 1959 he was appointed Professor of Library Science by the Ministry of Higher and Technical Education of the German Democratic Republic .

Julius Rodenberg died in Berlin in 1970.

Merits

In order to develop his collection for valuable prints, Rodenberg introduced cataloging according to design elements into the library system . With the competition “The Most Beautiful Books” he founded in 1929 and with numerous exhibitions, essays, lectures and courses, Rodenberg made a significant contribution to the promotion of artistic book design. He also supported the book trade as a member of bibliophile associations. B. in the Berlin Bibliophile Evening , in the Weimar Society of Bibliophiles , the London First Edition Club , the Gutenberg Society , the Typographische Gesellschaft Leipzig and others. v. m. He achieved international renown as a bibliographer of the book art period. His bibliographies on Deutsche Pressen (1924) and Deutsche Bibliophilie (1931) are used as standard references in antiquarian bookshops and libraries worldwide. In 1964 Julius Rodenberg received the GDR Patriotic Order of Merit in bronze.

Works (selection, chronological)

  • German presses. A bibliography. Zurich, Amalthea-Verlag 1925
  • Oliver Simon / Julius Rodenberg / Aldous Huxley : Printing of To-Day. An Illustrated Survey of Post-war Typography in Europe and the United States. London / New York, Davies / Harper & Brothers 1928
  • Stanley Morison / Julius Rodenberg: German Incunabula in the British Museum . London, Victor Gollancz Ltd. 1928
  • Bibliography Kippenberg. (As of May 22, 1939). Directory of Professor Dr. Anton Kippenberg wrote, edited and translated writings and essays. Leipzig, 1939
  • In the forge of writing. Karl Klingspor and his work. Berlin, Buchmeister-Verlag 1940
  • The art of printing as a mirror of culture in five centuries. Berlin, commercial printing company of the Prussian publishing and printing company GmbH 1942
  • Book printing from 1600 to the present day and the history of illustration from 1800 to today . In: Handbuch der Bibliotheks-Wissenschaft I, Leipzig, Harrassowitz 1952 - 1961
  • Size and Limits of Typography , 1959

Also as editor:

  • German bibliophilia in three decades. Directory of the publications of the German bibliophile societies and the gifts dedicated to them 1898-1930. Leipzig, Society of Friends of the German Library 1931
  • Bibliography of the art papers , supplement to: Börsenblatt des Deutschen Buchhandels . Leipzig, publishing house for books and libraries 1944 - 1952
  • New German Book Art. Examples from the collection of artistic prints in the Deutsche Bücherei. Leipzig, German Library 1960

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Johannes Buder: Rodenberg, Julius Friedrich Wilhelm Anton . In: Neue Deutsche Biographie 21 (2003), p. 695
personal data
SURNAME Rodenberg, Julius
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Rodenberg, Julius Friedrich Wilhelm Anton (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German bibliographer, librarian and art historian
DATE OF BIRTH May 5, 1884
PLACE OF BIRTH Bremerhaven
DATE OF DEATH January 23, 1970
Place of death Klein-Machnow near Berlin