Markus Stein (publisher)

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Markus Stein around 1895

Markus Stein (born November 3, 1845 in Gabrielsdorf near Kamenitz an der Linde / Bohemia , † May 29, 1935 in Vienna ) was an Austrian teacher , textbook author and publisher of Jewish origin. His children were the publisher Richard (1871–1932), the theosophist Paula married Kemperling (1878–1952), the publisher Emma married von Sax (1882–1969), the painter Helene married Winger (1884–1945) and the Composer and music theorist Erwin (1885–1958). The two daughters Rosa (* 1874) and Anna (* 1876) died in their first year of life.

Life

Teacher in Moravia

Markus Stein was born the fifth of six children to the Jewish farmer Isaak Selig Stein (1808–1884) and his wife Anna Lustig (1811–1848). He took up the job of elementary school teacher in the small Moravian town of Proßnitz and also wrote as an author for Willomitzer's language theory, a German textbook that was very popular and valued at the time. The work was published by the Leipzig publisher Julius Klinkhardt .

Authorized signatory at Manz in Vienna

Klinkhardt appreciated the expertise of his author and consulted him on founding a Vienna branch. In 1876 the Klinkhardt branch opened in Vienna's Hegelgasse, and on June 1, 1877 , Markus Stein was appointed its authorized representative. Stein advises Klinkhardt to acquire the Manz'schen publishing and university bookstore founded in 1849 by Friedrich Manz , which takes place in 1883 - with Markus Stein as a partner. The promotion of the legal publishing division also goes back to Markus Stein.

Conversion and Assimilation

On September 24, 1885, Markus Stein joined the Evangelical Church of HB together with his daughter Paula . His son Richard preceded him, his wife Nanette (née Reik, 1845–1930) and his children Emma, ​​Helene and Erwin converted about a year later. In doing so, the Stein family followed a paradigmatic pattern of assimilation : in 1867 , the year of the “Compromise” , the emancipation of the Jews had begun; In principle they now had the same civil, political and religious rights as all other citizens of the monarchy. In the course of the newly acquired freedom of settlement , many Jews moved to the big cities, especially Vienna. "Urbanization is the crux of the demographic change in the Jewish population of the dual monarchy at the end of the nineteenth century." A quarter of Viennese Jews were born in Bohemia and Moravia, 70% of Bohemian Jews came - like Markus Stein - from southern Bohemia. The Jews of this first wave of immigration, which took place in the 1850s to 1870s, were - in contrast to the later "Eastern Jews" from Poland, Galicia and Bukowina - as "Germanized" and very much oriented towards German cultural assets. They were more often than average in the education and media sector as well as in the liberal professions (doctors, lawyers, etc.) and often achieved wealth and influence. In many cases, the conversion enabled final assimilation by marrying a non-Jewish spouse (Richard Stein, Markus' son, for example, married the Protestant Leipzig-born Frieda Klinkhardt).

Acquisition and expansion of the Manz company

In the following years Markus Stein emancipated himself more and more from the Leipzig parent company; In 1902 , his son Richard also joined the company as head of the printing works built in the same year. The differences between the two companies ended in 1910 when the Klinkhardt company left the Viennese publishing house. Two years later, Markus Stein commissioned the then by no means undisputed architect Adolf Loos to build a representative portal for the company headquarters at Kohlmarkt 20 in Vienna (now 16), which was built in 1892/93 . Markus Stein, who is described as extremely well-educated, art-loving and thoughtful (see below), also produced the Manz motto - probably influenced by Schopenhauer or the Schopenhauerian Carl Peters (1856–1918) - "All strength is will". Under the joint management of Markus and Richard Stein, Manz developed into the leading legal publisher of the monarchy and later the republic. "Manz's collection of Austrian laws is perhaps the only one in the world. The handy black volumes are the constant companions of all lawyers and administrative officials and have superseded the official legal editions almost everywhere."

Grave of Markus Stein and his family in the Döblinger Friedhof

The last few years

In the course of his exemplary and remarkable career, Markus Stein received numerous awards, including the Order of the Iron Crown III. Class and the Franz Joseph Order . In 1932 - three years before his own - he saw the death of his son Richard. In the case of Markus Stein's death, one could read in the section of the publishing house employee: “We are losing our senior boss who has led the fortunes of our company with restless energy and dedication for more than half a century. His tirelessly striving work will always be a model for us in the continuation of his life's work. "The trade journal wrote:" The deceased was one of the most important booksellers in Austria, an adornment of his class; he enjoyed the admiration of all who became acquainted with him. ”Markus Stein was buried in the family grave at the Döblinger Friedhof in Vienna. After his death, his grandson Robert Stein (1899–1970) took over the business. The Manz publishing house is still owned by the Stein family today - now in the fifth generation.

About Markus Stein

Markus Stein's grandson Robert Stein wrote on the occasion of the company's 100th anniversary: ​​“Having emerged from the teaching position, he had a wide range of knowledge. Grillparzer was his favorite poet. (...) The spirit that speaks to us from Grillparzer's poetry was the spirit that Markus Stein had absorbed in his decisive years of education. (...) I believe that a sense of beauty and serious striving on the one hand, rejection of any light-hearted devotion to impulses of the moment were characteristic traits of his being even then. Not a friend of many words, he knew all the better to listen to others when they had important things to say to him. It goes without saying that he was a born publisher, full of ideas, but also gifted with the ability to judge publishing possibilities for their practical feasibility. "

Thomas Brezinka writes about Markus Stein that he was “not only an entrepreneur, but also an esthete, which was expressed, for example, in the fact that he supported the musical ambitions of his son, was a founding member of the Wiener Konzerthausgesellschaft and, certainly on Erwin's initiative, often paid for Arnold Schönberg donated [...]. Part of the country's intellectual elite - especially economists and lawyers - went in and out of the [Stein] house. "

literature

  • J. Mentschl:  Stein Markus. In: Austrian Biographical Lexicon 1815–1950 (ÖBL). Volume 13, Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Vienna 2007–2010, ISBN 978-3-7001-6963-5 , p. 153 f. (Direct links on p. 153 , p. 154 ).
  • Christopher Dietz: Alexander Lernet-Holenia and Maria Charlotte Sweceny. Letters 1938-1945. Böhlau, Vienna 2013, pp. 335–399.
  • Christopher Dietz: Absolutely nothing crazy .... The Manz portal created by Adolf Loos on Vienna's Kohlmarkt will be one hundred years old this year. About the project and its clients. Der Standard (album), August 18, 2012 ( http://derstandard.at/1345164450862/Absolut-nichts-Verruecktes ).
  • Murray G. Hall (Ed.): Carl Junker. About the book industry in Austria. Collected writings (1896–1927) (= book research. Contributions to the book industry in Austria. Volume 2). Edition Praesens , Vienna 2001, pp. 54, 56 and 231 ( PDF on fwf.ac.at).
  • Catherine Mumelter: The history of the publishing house Manz. Dissertation, Innsbruck 2001.

Web links

Commons : Markus Stein  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ TM HB City 09/07/1885 and 01/19/1886 TM HB City, zit. after Staudacher, Anna: Jewish-Protestant converts in Vienna 1782–1914. Part 1. Frankfurt am Main u. a .: Peter Lang 2004, p. 96 FN 172
  2. ↑ Rozenblit, Marsha L .: The Jews of Vienna 1867 - 1914. Assimilation and identity. Vienna - Cologne - Graz: Böhlau Verlag 1989 (= research on the history of the Danube region, volume 11, p. 23)
  3. ↑ Rozenblit, Marsha L .: The Jews of Vienna 1867 - 1914. Assimilation and identity. Vienna - Cologne - Graz: Böhlau Verlag 1989 (= research on the history of the Danube region, volume 11, p. 28)
  4. ↑ on Peters see Eisler, Rudolf: Philosophen-Lexikon. Berlin: Ernst Siegfried Mittler and Son 1912, pp. 535-536, where it says: "Influenced by Darwin, Kant, Schopenhauer and E. v. Hartmann. The real is representational will, all force is will, everywhere, in the inorganic as there is striving in the organic. "
  5. ^ Carl Junker: World Exhibition Paris 1900. Catalog of the Austrian department. Edited by the kk Österr. General Commissariats. Book 1, group I + III. Teaching - Tools of Art and Science. Vienna 1900, pp. 37–59 (republished in: Carl Junker. Zum Buchwesen in Österreich. Gesammelte Schriften 1896–1927. Ed. By Murray G. Hall. Edition Praesens, Vienna 2001, pp. 142–150)
  6. ↑ Anzeiger für den Buch-, Kunst- und Musikalienhandel, 76th vol., No. 14, June 1st, p. 73.
  7. ^ Stein, Robert: Speech on the occasion of the company celebration for the 100th company anniversary of the Manzschen publishing and university bookstore on May 25, 1949, In: Speeches on the occasion of the company celebrations for the 100th and 125th company anniversary of the Manzschen Verlag and university bookstore. Vienna: Manz o. J. [1974?], Pp. 1-20.
  8. ↑ Brezinka, Thomas: Erwin Stein. A musician in Vienna and London. Vienna - Cologne - Weimar: Böhlau 2005, p. 16f.
personal data
SURNAME Stein, Markus
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian teacher, textbook author and publisher
DATE OF BIRTH November 3, 1845
PLACE OF BIRTH Gabrielsdorf near Kamenitz an der Linde , Bohemia
DATE OF DEATH May 29, 1935
Place of death Vienna