Martin Gerlach senior

Martin Gerlach senior (Martin Peter Gerlach * March 13, 1846 in Hanau ; † April 9, 1918 in Vienna ) was a German-Austrian chaser and engraver , photographer and founder of the publishing house .

Martin Gerlach sen. (1905)

Life

Martin Gerlach, son of Georg and Katharina, née Schwarz, first learned the craft of chaser and engraver at the royal drawing academy in Hanau. In 1868 he moved to Berlin and opened a gold and jewelry store together with A. Schwarz. Although he had up to 50 employees at times, the business had to be liquidated in 1870.

In Berlin he became increasingly involved with photography , sometimes drawing from photographs and publishing on the gold and jewelery industry. In 1872 he founded the publishing bookstore Martin Gerlach , the focus of which was the publication of his photographic work in the fields of architecture , ornamentation and plant studies. The arts and crafts magazine Die Perle also appeared in his publishing house . His photographs were also reprinted in many other German magazines.

In 1874 Gerlach moved to Vienna and also relocated the headquarters of his publishing house there. As a result of his collaboration with Ferdinand Schenk , the publishing house now traded under the name of Martin G. & Co , and from 1882 under the name of Gerlach & Schenk . Martin Gerlach continued his work as a photographer and was particularly interested in folklore motifs, for which he traveled to the countries of the monarchy.

Thanks to the excellent technical equipment of the books, the publisher soon became known at home and abroad. When Schenk founded his own publishing house in 1901 and left the company, Albert Wiedling (1859–1923), who had been an employee of Gerlach since 1882 and authorized signatory of the publishing house from 1895, became a partner in the company, which was renamed Gerlach & Wiedling in 1904 .

Martin Gerlach, whom the art writer Joseph August Lux described as a “leader of the modern age”, discovered numerous talents and was able to win over well-known artists to work with his publishing house, such as Anton Seder , Carl Otto Czeschka , the brothers Ernst and Gustav Klimt , Heinrich Lefler or Ferdinand Schmutzer . After 1901 the publishing program was expanded. On the one hand, the 34-volume children's book series Gerlachs Jugendbücherei , known for its Art Nouveau illustrations , was published; on the other hand, numerous publications on Viennese topics were published as a commission publisher for the municipality of Vienna, including the collection of Viennese songs and dances by Eduard Kremser and a large Franz Grillparzer edition.

Martin Gerlach senior was married to Laura Eßbach in 1869, and to Maria Meinel in 1874. His grave is in the Döbling cemetery (grave location 35-25-10). His son Martin Gerlach junior (1879–1944) continued the publishing house with Albert Wiedling in the tradition he had taken over, perfected his work and in turn passed it on to his son Kurt Gerlach (1919–2003).

Own publications

• Crown Atlas. Faithful images of all the crowns of the earth . Vienna 1877.
• The commercial monogram . Vienna 1877.
• Allegories and Emblems. Original designs by the most outstanding modern artists, as well as replicas of old guild signs and modern designs of guild coats of arms in the character of the Renaissance . Explanatory text by Albert Ilg . Vienna 1882. Gerlach & Schenk Verlag für Kunst und Gewerbe, 1882, with 176 plates with illustrations, 39.0 × 31.5 cm. Binding with cover image after Franz v. Piece. Volume 1: Allegories, Volume 2: Emblems.
• The plant in art and trade . Vienna 1886.
• Cards and vignettes. Drafts and composition motifs for wine lists, menus, wedding leaves, greeting cards, programs and invitations to music, song or ball festivals, hunting etc .; Festival tickets for ice, racing, velocipede, gymnastics, bowling and other sports along with a cycle of humorous vignettes based on pen drawings by F. Stuck . Vienna 1890.
• Flowers and plants for use in decorative arts and crafts and drawing lessons . Vienna 1892.
• Death shields and gravestones . Vienna 1896.
• The bronze epitaphs of the Nuremberg cemetery . With textual explanations by Hans Boesch. Vienna 1896.
• Forest, tree and foreground studies. 80 collotype plates based on photographs of nature by Martin Gerlach . Vienna around 1900.
• Tree studies. Photographs of nature, 50 sheets of collotype . Vienna around 1900.
• Ornaments of old wrought iron . Preface by Josef Dernjač . Vienna 1900.
• Nuremberg's bay windows, gables and courtyards . With a foreword by Julius Deininger . 2., verb. u. presumably edition Vienna around 1900.
• Festons and decorative groups along with an ornamental alphabet made of plants and animals, hunting, tourist and other equipment . Vienna around 1900.
• Allegories. New episode. 120 sheets. Original designs by well-known modern artists with explanatory text . Vienna around 1900.
• The source - surface decoration by Koloman Moser - Ed. by Martin Gerlach. - 30 sheets for a portfolio - 1901
• The source - All kinds of thoughts in vignette form by CO Czeschka - Ed. by Martin Gerlach. - 30 sheets for a portfolio - 1902
• World of forms from the natural kingdom. Photographs of nature, microscopic enlargements by Martin Gerlach and Hugo Hinterberger . Vienna around 1905.
• Vienna. A selection of cityscapes. Vienne instantanée. Vienna through a camera . Edited by the k. K. Reichshaupt- u. Residence city Vienna. Edited by Karl Mayreder. Nature photographs by Martin Gerlach. 3. Edition. Vienna 1905
• Views of old local structures, country houses and farmhouses, courtyards, gardens, living rooms, household items, etc. Photographed by Martin Gerlach. Foreword by Joseph August Lux. Vienna 1911.
• The Wachau in words and pictures . Photographed and edited. by Martin Gerlach. Text by Josef Wichner. Introductory poem by Hermann Hango. Vienna 1912.

During Gerlach's lifetime, the following appeared in the journal Die Quelle :

• Max Benirschke : Book decorations and surface patterns . Volume 1. 1900.
• Koloman Moser: surface decoration . 1901.
• Carl Otto Czeschka: All sorts of thoughts in vignette form , 1902
• Animal life in Schönbrunn . Volume 4. 1904.
• World of forms from the natural kingdom . Volume 5. 1905.
• Views of old local building forms, country houses and farmhouses, courtyards, gardens, living rooms, household items etc. Volume 6. 1904. 2., probably u. verb. Edition 1911.
• Ethnic jewelry . Volume 7. 1906.
• Old Nuremberg's secular architecture . Volume 8. 1906.
• Forest, tree and foreground studies . Volume 9. 1900.
• Lower Franconia . Volume 10. 1907.
• Ancient tomb art . Volume 11. 1910.
• Austria-Hungary . Volume 12. 1904. 2nd edition 1911.
• The old book and its equipment from the XV. until the XIX. Century . Volume 13. 1918.

Allegories. New episode

Martin Gerlach: Allegory of Life

As a continuation of the two volumes of "Allegorien und Embleme" from 1882, which were influenced by historicism, Martin Gerlach published the "Allegorien Neue Reihe" from 1896 to 1900, again in excellent quality.
He wrote: “I initially chose the theme, which breathes lust and life, 'Wine, love, song, music and dance', to which the figuratively inexhaustible field of the arts and sciences and the happy round of the seasons with the cheerful hustle and bustle of sport will later be addressed should connect. German and Austrian artists grasped my endeavors in their peculiarity and revived the old concepts through thoughtful compositions, through young, cosmopolitan characters with rich modern stylistic accessories. ”In the portfolio with 120 sheets a. a. Alfred Cossmann , Carl Otto Czeschka , Josef Engelhart , Gottlieb Theodor von Hartenkampf-Kempf , Gustav Klimt , Heinrich Lefler , Berthold Löffler and Koloman Moser .
The original templates were acquired by the municipal council for the Historical Museum of the City of Vienna on the occasion of the exhibition in the festival rooms of the Vienna City Hall in 1901.

Koloman Moser: Plate No. 47 "Spring Morning"

Koloman Moser: Panel No. 94 "Head strips"

The plates as color lithographs in the format 35 × 44 cm date from the years 1896–1900:

1 Adolf Liebscher: love, music, wine. 2 Julius Diez : Music. 3 Eduard Unger : Peasant dance. 4 Ferdinand Schmutzer : Dance. Love. 5 Sergius Josef Hruby: Music. 6 Josef Arpád Koppay and H. Kaufmann: Wine. 7 Carl von Marr : love. 8 Josef Arpád Koppay and Koloman Moser : Dance. 9 Jan Preisler : music, singing. (dated 1895) 10 Heinrich Lossow : love, music, wine. 11 Max Švabinský : Wine. 12 Max Švabinský : Woman. (dated 1895) 13 Max Švabinský : Singing. 14 Karel Vítězslav Mašek : love. 15 Josef Arpád Koppay : Music. 16 H. Kaufmann: Wine, love, song, music, dance. 17 Eduard Unger : Peasant Dance. 18 Alexander Rothaug and Eduard Unger: Peasant dance and music. 19 Julius Diez : Music. (dated 1895) 20 Max Švabinský : Love. 21 Julius Diez : Wine. (dated 1895) 22 Adolf Liebscher: Love. 23 Karel Špillar : Wine, Dance. 24 Julius Diez : Music, Dance, Wine (dated 1895) 25 Josef Arpád Koppay : Love. 26 L. Novak: Wine 27 Franz Stuck : Music. Dance. 28 Koloman Moser : song, love, music, dance. 29 G. Greiner, Heinrich Lefler : Wine, love, dance. 30 Koloman Moser : love. (dated 1895) 31 F. Rinner: love, wine, music, song. 32 Heinrich Lefler : song, music, dance, wine. 33 F. Rinner: Wine. 34 G. Greiner: love, music. 35 Koloman Moser : love and wine. 36 Alexander Rothaug : Dance, Music, Love. 37 Koloman Moser : Music. 38 Heinrich Lefler , Carl von Marr , Sergius Josef Hruby: Wine, love, music, song, love. 39 Vitezlav Karl Masek: love. 40 Alexander Rothaug : Music, wine, dance, song, love. 41 Karel Klusacek: Wine, Dance. 42 Heinrich Lefler : Dance. 43 J. Bacher: Music. 44 Koloman Moser : Music. 45 Heinrich Lefler : Music.-Dance. 46 Gustav Klimt : Love. 47 Koloman Moser : Spring morning. 48 Emil Pirchan : The time. 49 Hermann Vogel : Summer. 50 Jan Preisler: Autumn. 51 Koloman Moser : Summer. 52 Wilhelm List : The thirst. 53 Gustav Klimt : June month. 54 Hermann Vogel : Winter. 55 Robert Engels : Spring. 56 Georg Sturm: Spring. 57 Sergius Josef Hruby: Music. 58 Gustav Klimt : Sculpture. 59 Karel Špillar : Art, Music. 60 Georg Sturm: Decorative Art. 61 F. Rehm: painting, sculpture. 62 Karel Špillar : Music. Poetry. Painting. (dated 1898) 63 Carlos Grethe : The storm. 64 Léo Schnug: poetry, prose, farce, drama. 65 Ludwig Karl Strauch: Art, Music, Singing. 66 Gustav Klimt : Tragedy. 67 Josef Daschner: painting, architecture, sculpture. 68 Sergius Josef Hruby: The graphic arts. 69 Léo Schnug: Art, Sport and Science. 70 Carl Ederer : Comedy. 71 Julius Diez : tragedy. (dated 1899) 72 Berthold Löffler : Jurisprudence. (dated 1899) 73 Alfred Cossmann : Industry. 74 Berthold Löffler : Sport and Science. (dated 1899) 75 Koloman Moser : Hunting, fishing, rowing and cycling. 76 Alfred Cossmann : Death. 77 Léo Schnug: Vignettes. 78 Carl Otto Czeschka : Hunt. (dated 1898) 79 Gottlieb Theodor v. Hartenkampf-Kempf: work, time. (dated 1897) 80 Julius Diez : Comedy. (dated 1899) 81 Fritz Rehm: Lawn tennis, rowing, skiing. 82 Hans Schwaiger: Hunt. 83 Carl Otto Czeschka : The Seasons. (dated 1899) 84 William Wauer : Water sports. (dated 1997) 85 Carl Otto Czeschka : Hunt. 86 Karl Ederer : shooting sports, athletics, rowing. 87 Berthold Löffler : Sciences. 88 Leopold Widlizka : The time. 89 Koloman Moser : ex-libris; Spring. 90 Adolf Höfer : Dance. 91 Ignatius Taschner : Science. 92 Hans Meyer-Cassel: Jurisprudence, botany, physics, anatomy, astronomy. 93 Carl Otto Czeschka : Science. 94 Koloman Moser : Head strips. 95 Ignatius Taschner : Electricity. 96 Carl Otto Czeschka : Astronomy, Creation, The Lie. 97 Albert Weisgerber : Vignettes. (dated 1899) 98 Carl Otto Czeschka : Poetry. (dat. 1900) 99 Leopold Widlizka : Electricity. 100 Rudolf Jettmar : Acoustics, Electricity. 101 Gottlieb Theodor v. Hartenkampf-Kempf: Electricity. 102 Hans Schwaiger: Astronomy. 103 Egon Josef Kossuth : Sport. (dat. 1900) 104 Alexander Rothaug : Poetry, spring. 105 Josef Engelhart : Anatomy. 106 Carl Otto Czeschka : Dance and Wine. 107 Albert Weisgerber : Vignettes. 108 Robert Engels : Spring Awakening. 109 St. Bohusz (Stanisław Bohusz-Siestrzeńcewicz): Dance. 110 Gottlieb Theodor v. Hartenkampf-Kempf: Electricity. 111 Heinrich Lefler : Playing cards. 112 Walter Georgi : The work. 113 Ignatius Taschner : Death and Life. 114 Carl Otto Czeschka : Vignettes. 115 Carlos Grethe : day and night. 116 Konrad Petrides and Carl Otto Czeschka : strength, thirst, love. 117 Walter Püttner : The water. 118 Leopold Widlizka : The Doom. (dat. 1900) 119 Arpad Schmidhammer : Humorous vignettes. 120 Gino von Finetti : End. (date 1900)

Gerlach's youth library

Martin Gerlach sen. initiated "Gerlach's youth library", a "treasure trove of books for literary and art education for young people". The "Deutsche Verlag für Jugend und Volk", founded in 1921, continued this project.

from volume no. 2: "Fairy tale collection" Text: L. Bechstein Photos: C. Fahringer

From 1901 to 1924 there were 34 small volumes in the format 15 × 14 cm. Martin Gerlach brought in well-known artists for the illustrations and book design. Volume 22 “The Nibelungs” with colored pictures with gold printing by Carl Otto Czeschka is considered the most valuable work in this collection. That is why it is one of the collections in German and international museums.

Artist for illustrations and book decorations in "Gerlach's youth library"

Carl Fahringer ( 1874-1952 ) - Albert Weisgerber (1874-1960) - Berthold Löffler (1874-1960) - Paul Horst-Schulze ( 1876-1937 ) - Ignaz Taschner (1871-1913) - Otto Tauschek (1881-1971) - Ferdinand Andri (1871-1956) - Carl Otto Czeschka (1878-1960) - Hugo Steiner-Prag (1880-1945) - Rudolf Sieck ( 1877-1957 ) - Otto Bauriedl (1879-1961) - Hans Schwaiger (1854-1912) - Josef J. Loukota (1879-1967) - Franz Wacik ( 1883-1938 ) - Ferdinand Staeger ( 1880-1976 ) - Ernst Kutzer (1880-1965) - Richard Daenert (? -?) (Teacher at KGS Magdeburg and Werkschule Cologne) - Ernst Liebenauer (1884-1970) - Siegmund von Suchodolski (1875-1935) - Norbertine Bresslern-Roth (1891-1978) -

The complete collection contains the following 34 volumes (with the names of the illustrators)

1. - Brothers Grimm - Children's and Household Tales I. (Ignaz Taschner)
2. - Ludwig Bechstein - fairy tale collection (Carl Fahringer)
3. - Brothers Grimm - Children's and Household Tales II (Albert Weisgerber)
4. - Des Knaben Wunderhorn (Berthold Löffler)
5. - Brothers Grimm - Children's and Household Tales III (Carl Fahringer)
6. - Till Eulenspiegel (Albert Weisgerber)
7. - Josef Frhr. v. Eichendorff - Poems (Paul Horst-Schulze)
8. - Joh. W. v. Goethe - Reineke Fuchs (Carl Fahringer)
9. - Joh. W. v. Goethe - Reineke Fuchs (Carl Fahringer)
10. - Nikolaus Lenau - Poems (Hugo Steiner-Prague)
11. - JKA Musäus - The Nymph of the Well (Ignaz Taschner) see: http://www.gutenberg.org
12. - Brothers Grimm - Children's and Young People's Tales IV - (Otto Tauschek)
13. - August Kopisch - Selected Poems (Ferdinand Andri)
14. - Johann Peter Hebel - Stories and Schwänke (Carl Otto Czeschka)
15. - H. Chr. Andersen - Fairy Tales I (Hugo Steiner-Prague)
16. - The flower in a song - anthology (Rudolf Sieck)
17. - Adalbert Stifter - Bergkristall (Otto Bauriedl)
18. - KA Musäus - Rübezahl (Hans Schwaiger and Josef J. Loukota)
19. - Münchhausen's Adventure - (Franz Wacik)
20. - Clemens Brentano - Gockel, Hinkel and Gackeleia (Franz Wacik)
21. - German poems with silhouettes - anthology (Ferdinand Staeger)
22. - The Nibelungs - retold by Franz Keim (Carl Otto Czeschka)
23. - ETA Hoffmann - Nutcracker and Mouse King (Otto Bauriedl and Ernst Kutzer)
24. - German lullabies - musical anthology (Richard Daenert)
25. - H. Chr. Andersen - Fairy Tale II (Franz Wacik)
26. - Die Schildbürger - Volksbuch (Ernst Liebenauer)
27. - Ludwig Uhland - Poems (Ferdinand Staeger)
28. - Wilhelm Hauff - Fairy Tales (Carl Fahringer)
29. - Wilhelm Hauff - Fairy Tales (Carl Fahringer)
30. - Brothers Grimm - German legends (Ernst Liebenauer)
31. - German Schwänke (Siegmund v. Suchodolsky)
32. - D. Defoe - Robinson Crusoe (Ernst Liebenauer)
33. - Chr. Schmid - Easter eggs (Ferdinand Staeger)
34. - H. Chr. Andersen - Fairy Tale III (Norbertine Roth)

literature

• Otto Hochreiter (ed.): History of photography in Austria . Exhibition catalog. Two volumes. Museum of the Twentieth Century. Association for the development of the history of photography in Austria. Vienna 1983.
• Wolfgang Mayer: Vienna in the mirror of the Gerlach photo archive. Cityscape and building activity 1925–1972 . Wiener Stadt- und Landesarchiv, Vienna 1990 (Publications of the Wiener Stadt- und Landesarchiv, Series B: Exhibition Catalogs, Issue 28), pp. 3–6.
• Felix Czeike : Historical Lexicon Vienna. Volume 2: De-Gy. Kremayr & Scheriau, Vienna 1993, ISBN 3-218-00544-2 , p. 508.
• Timm Starl: Lexicon on Photography in Austria 1839 to 1945 . Album-Verlag für Photographie, Vienna 2005, ISBN 3-85164-150-7 .

Images of his photographs:

• Markus Kristan: Adolf Loos. Villas . Album Verlag, Vienna 2001, ISBN 3-85164-100-0 , pp. 10-12.
• Markus Kristan: Adolf Loos. Apartments . Album Verlag, Vienna 2001, ISBN 3-85164-101-9 , pp. 10-12.

Web links

• Literature by and about Martin Gerlach senior in the catalog of the German National Library
• Martin Gerlach senior biography bibliography on photography in Austria
• Entry on Martin Gerlach senior in the Austria Forum  (in the AEIOU Austria Lexicon )
• The Nibelungs (Röhsska museets samlingar)