Theodor Merzdorf

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Johann Friedrich Ludwig Theodor Merzdorf (born August 25, 1812 in Leipzig , † March 21, 1877 in Oldenburg ) was a German Freemason and librarian in the service of the Grand Duchy of Oldenburg .

Life

Education and early years

Merzdorf was the son of the upholsterer Johann Christoph Merzdorf (1780–1843) and his wife Johanna Friederike Rosine geb. Wendland (* 1784). Through the participation of his uncle Friedrich Wilhelm Sturz (1762-1832), the rector of the Princely School Grimma , he received a high school education in Grimma and Leipzig, although this led beyond the elementary school education that was actually given by his social background at the time. From 1834 Merzdorf studied philology at the University of Leipzig . His studies were accompanied and interrupted by activities such as organizing and listing private libraries and internships in the Leipzig University Library and the Royal Library in Dresden . On May 6, 1839, Merzdorf obtained a doctorate in philosophy without an exam for the edition of the Zeushymnus Hymnum in Iovem by the ancient Greek philosopher Kleanthes and the submission of the printed book catalogs he created during his internships . In 1839 Merzdorf went to the private school in Elsfleth as head and sole teacher through the mediation of the Oldenburg general superintendent Ernst Gottfried Adolf Böckel . From there, in April 1841, he received a temporary position as a temporary worker at the Grand Ducal Public Library in Oldenburg, initially for one year .

Activity in Oldenburg

His task at the Grand Ducal Library was to revise and reorganize the holdings of around 48,000 volumes at that time. The sub-collections, which have grown since 1792 and are listed in six alphabetical and systematic sub-catalogs, were to be grouped into a uniform, systematic listing and listed in a location catalog corresponding to the listing system and in a uniform alphabetical catalog. In 1842 Merzdorf's temporary employment was converted into a permanent position with the appointment of library secretary . Merzdorf was able to complete the new cataloging of the old holdings by 1844. The planning for the new Am Damm building , which had been ongoing since 1840 , was meanwhile with his colleague, the deputy librarian Christian Friedrich Strackerjan . However, Merzdorf created the concept for the internal order and administration of the library with the aphorisms for library regulations from July 1841. He also procured the equipment for the new building, which was released for use in 1847, and organized the move to the new building. From January 8, 1847, thanks to his tireless efforts, Merzdorf was employed as a sub-librarian, while the actually non-specialist Oberamtmann Strackerjan remained in his previous position as deputy library manager. The post of senior librarian had remained vacant since Ludwig von Halem's death in 1839. It was only after Strackerjan's death in 1848 that Merzdorf initially moved to the management position on an interim basis. In 1849 he also became a member of the library commission, which until then had consisted of two members, and which was the actual library directorate. Merzdorf, who had acquired an excellent knowledge of the book inventory with his reorganization and cataloging, had also been in charge of lending since 1845 and promoted use by giving visitors in-depth advice. To open the library as a scientific institution to the educated classes and to strengthen it as one of the representative cultural institutions of the royal seat of Oldenburg were Merzdorf's primary goals.

In support of these goals, Merzdorf also worked extensively as a journalist. In particular, he edited the voluminous volumes of the library conversations (1844-1850) and the directory of the incunabula of the Oldenburg library (published in the Serapeum , vol. 1850-1853 and 1861-1862).

As a numismatist , in 1860 he wrote a historical-critical catalog of Oldenburg's coins and medals, which is not yet outdated. The Grand Ducal Coin Cabinet, which was used as the basis for this, was soon followed by a catalog of the coins and medals of Jeverland . His attempts to build up extensive Masonic special collections, however, were thwarted by sales, the last one after the collector's death. After all, the catalog, Die Denkmünzen der Freemasonic Brotherhood from 1851 to the present day, which grew out of this activity, is the basis of the relevant literature.

From 1875 Merzdorf was officially appointed senior librarian, already from 1865 with the corresponding salary. In 1877 Merzdorf suffered a sudden cardiac death.

Activity in Freemasonry

In addition to his work on German literature and contributions to the General German Biography, Merzdorf published particularly extensively on the history and problems of Freemasonry. Through his father's mediation, he became a member of the Apollo Lodge in Leipzig in 1834 . In 1842 he had joined the Zum golden Hirsch lodge in Oldenburg, when in 1852 he wrote a history of the Masonic lodges in the Grand Duchy of Oldenburg as its secretary and archivist. Allegedly Merzdorf was a member of a total of twelve Masonic lodges, from which the importance of Freemasonry for him and his respected position in Freemasonry becomes clear. His writings on this matter comprise more than half of his total oeuvre consisting of 167 titles. In addition, Merzdorf was co-editor for ten volumes of the Masonic magazine Latomia between 1860 and 1873 . He wrote his most weighty statements on the admission of non-Christians, in practice that is, of Jews, where he repeatedly and persistently took the position that members of all religions should have the opportunity to be admitted to a lodge.

Honors

Merzdorf also took an active part in civil society in the royal seat of Oldenburg. From 1850 as a member of the Literary Society , the Art Association and the Association for Research and Conservation of Local Monuments of Antiquity, he had a respected position, which was externally underlined by awards with several medals:

family

On June 6, 1848, Merzdorf married Bertha Mathilde, b. Siemers (1825–1902), the daughter of the Hamburg doctor and philanthropist Friedrich Siemers (1792–1863). The couple had six children. The eldest son Bernhard (* 1849) first went to Brazil as a merchant and later lived in San Nicolas near Buenos Aires . The son Reinhold (1854–1877) became a Sanskrit researcher and died in Pisa on April 27, 1877, a few weeks after the father. The youngest daughter Karoline (1865–1886) married the chamber musician Friedrich Wilhelm Kufferath (1853–1936) on October 19, 1886 .

literature

Web links


personal data
SURNAME Merzdorf, Theodor
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Merzdorf, Johann Friedrich Ludwig Theodor (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German librarian and freemason
DATE OF BIRTH August 25, 1812
PLACE OF BIRTH Leipzig
DATE OF DEATH March 21, 1877
Place of death Oldenburg