Joseph Meyer (publisher)

Carl Joseph Meyer ( born May 9, 1796 in Gotha, † June 27, 1856 in Hildburghausen ) was a German publisher and founder of the Bibliographical Institute.

Origin and childhood

The ancestors of Joseph Meyers paternal have been full-time workers: Büttner, carpenters and shoemakers. The father, Johann Nicolaus Meyer, born 1759 in Rügheim, sought in 1780 a field of action than Shoe Repair in Gotha and expanded his business into an industrial manufacturing. The mother of Joseph Meyers, Maria Juliane, born Leinhos, was the daughter of a hosier in Gotha.

Joseph spent his childhood along with his four- years-younger brother August in a small house in the center of Gotha, where his father on the ground floor pursued his shoemaker's workshop. He grew up in modest but not poor backgrounds. The father wanted to send two sons to the Grammar School, the elder would later take over the business, and which allows the younger a theological study. In high school, Joseph fell on by his impetuosity. When he wanted to avenge his younger brother, he added the counterparty a broken arm in and expelled from school - with the assessment: "Out of the boys is nothing all his life. "

The parents sent the now eleven year olds in the small community Weilar in the Rhön (then Duchy of Saxe -Weimar ) to the pastor and school inspector Solomon Grobe, who led a Schulpensionat by philanthropic principles there. Here Joseph was educated in the humanist, progressive and liberal values.

The Early Years

Training in business

Not yet fourteen years of age, started for Joseph Meyer in 1809 the teaching to the merchant. He took the training with a business friend of father's in a grocery store in Frankfurt am Main. The hard work week of sometimes more than eighty hours are not stopped him to use on the weekends for his education. Here, showed early his ambition and the irrepressible desire to learn and work on yourself.

The training was completed in 1813 and Meyer returned to Gotha. He witnessed the withdrawal of Napoleon's troops and expected like many other German Congress of Vienna positive results for the people of Europe. In Gotha father had meanwhile increased its business significantly. But Meyers youthful zest was satisfied with the work in his father's business in any way.

Stay in London

At seventeen finally Ernst Wilhelm Arnoldi 's attention, which later became the " Gotha Fire Insurance Company " and the " Gotha life insurance bank" founded. Arnoldi Meyer promoted in its efforts to gain an office job in a large trading house. By Arnoldis mediation Meyer was presented to the Duke Augustus of Saxe -Gotha. He gained the sympathy of the Prince, who was interested in the plans of the young man. Meyer was a volunteer job at the London import and export business of " Eybe and Schmäck " and was commissioned by the Duke to buy from auctions of the East India Company for its rare Oriental cabinet. In the summer of 1817, he began his career in London.

In London he was treading the path of capitalist businessman. His work was focused mainly on speculation. In his best time Meyer had about 100,000 dollars, but lost everything in a coffee speculation and drove his company into bankruptcy. Completely ruined he fled in 1820 from London to escape the guilt tower. Herzog August was also experiencing financial distress, not least by the failure Meyers in London. The Duke pulled a wealth of Meyer's father, he died in 1823, without ever having seen his son again.

The young entrepreneur

Joseph Meyer went again in 1820 after Weilar to Solomon Grobe, where he gave instruction in the modern languages ​​. Here awakened his love for the 16- year-old daughter of the pastor and friend, Hermione, " Minna " Grobe. In the fall of 1820, the engagement was celebrated. Solomon Gross was appointed in the same year in the parish Maßbach. Meyer remained in Weilar and friends with Christoph Freiherr von Boyneburg - Stadtlengsfeld, with whom he 1821 " Freiherllich of Boyneburgische tradesmen and Hülfsanstalt " founded. Boyneburg held out the money and gave Meyer the company management. Meyer promoted the local Garnbleiche and dyeing industrial structures and tried to introduce here. But again, he became embroiled in speculation and drove a large losses. In addition, the majority of the workers in 1822 suffering from the chemicals used. Boyneburg intervened and allowed Meyer the continuation of the company until the redemption of debt. When this was done in 1824, Boyneburg disbanded the factory.

Meyer returned for the second time failed in 1824 back to Gotha. He decided to pursue the profession of letters. Even before his writing skills were shown. Made famous were especially his economic study about paper money (1823 ), in which he intervened in the debate on the introduction of paper money in the duchy of Saxe-Weimar, as their main opponent Johann Wolfgang von Goethe had occurred. In Henning 's bookstore in Gotha, he was eventually hired and tasked with the publication of a correspondence sheet for merchants, which was published weekly from May 1, 1824 was a great success due to his entrepreneurial experience and knowledge of English. The publication of Shakespeare editions, however, caused difficulties, since Meyer's translations were criticized.

Family

The activity at Hennings finally allowed him marriage with Hermione Grobe, who he married in Maßbach on 25 May 1825. With her he moved to Gotha, where he acquired a plot of land in the former Erfurt suburb. On April 4, 1826 the couple a son was born, who was named Hermann Julius. Six years later, on February 1, 1832, the daughter of Meta was born in Hildburghausen. Hermann Julius and Meta were the only children of the marriage.

The Bibliographic Institute

The birth of his son had inspired to start his own publishing company Meyer. On 1 August 1826 Bibliographic Institute was opened in Gotha. Owner was Hermione Meyer, Joseph Meyer was content with the label manager. His failed speculation had made him cautious and he wanted to make this move his family.

Meyer was one of the fighters who wanted to allow the people a universal education, which looked at the active civil people than that which confronted the feudalstaatlichen barriers and could eliminate them. This refers to were those barriers which prevented the rapid development of the capitalist mode of production. In 1826 he gave the library of the German classics out (150 tapes ) to hitherto hardly achieved with low prices and high sales figures. Shortly after, an equally successful atlases series. As one of the first publishers in Germany Meyer sold his books on the subscription procedure.

Meyer soon realized that the company in Gotha was too small for his wide- sweeping plans. He planned the actual publishing a technical operation with printing and bookbinding to add and looked around for suitable buildings. The merchant Johann Erdmann Scheller from Hildburghausen, who had offered his services as a partner, negotiated with the Duke of Saxe- Meiningen and his government. Meyer wrote to the Meininger Duke (30 October 1828) that his institute, an undertaking may be of international standing with security. Bernhard II was one of the princes faced the progressive tendencies in the cultural and intellectual life open. The government Schenk was finally the contract " Se. Ducal Highness "with" wife Minna Meyer " complete.

The Bibliographic Institute Hildburghausen moved in December 1828 and moved into the then so-called Brunnquellsche Palais. Meyer moved here Cabinettsbibliothek and the miniature library of the German classics. Here also experienced the third edition of the cheapest classic books in the years 1848-1854 a unique edition, whose political significance is not under the influence of the bourgeois- democratic revolution of 1848/49 be dismissed out of hand. This third edition of the cheap series was published under the name Meyers Grosch library ( over 365 lines). The announcement was made under the slogan "Education makes free". This solution was for many decades the motto of the Bibliographic Institute.

Meyers publishing activities impresses with more significant and groundbreaking achievements:

• Introduction of the two-column system - which caused in the publication of Meyer's more substantial lexicons for clarity and keywords were easier to find.
• Rich illustrate - especially in the Meyers universe were used numerous steel and copper engravings, Kenner kept the Bibliographic Institute also for an art publisher
• Introduction of the subscription - the financial advantage that the buyer had to pay for the acquisition of a band like the next secured the manufacturing cost.

The company was extremely successful; Main offices in Amsterdam, New York and Philadelphia were established. Meyers education policy influence is not to be underestimated. His educational and political Aufklärertum captured the mass of the people, his expenses were in large numbers around the world.

Meyers clear partisan attitude is also expressed in the fact that he released all of its employees on the anniversary of the Battle of the Nations, on 18 October 1830. No other business in Saxony -Meiningen had something like that introduced in its operation.

Joseph Meyer's work made ​​the Bibliographic Institute into a major intellectual center in Central Germany. Meyer is without doubt one of the most important publishers in Germany in the first half of the 19th century. Overall its publishing program is one of the progressive cultural exploits of the urgent bourgeoisie to power, has been actively involved in the emergence of a bourgeois oppositional consciousness Meyer. Despite feudalstaatlicher disability Meyer has made a decisive contribution to introduce the people of education and culture.

Meyers Lexicon

The large Conversations - Lexicon for the educated classes, 1839-1855 published in 52 volumes, is one of the most important book phenomena of the 19th century and is a landmark in the history of the encyclopedia. Already appeared similar projects such as the Brockhaus, the Universal Encyclopedia of Science and Arts and the lexicon of Pierer, were necessarily improved by Meyers view. Meyers ambitious objectives were, in addition to economic considerations, the transmission of knowledge with an appropriate education for the public. In Meyers journalism to its progressive philosophical approach proves to world-historical events and the performance of important people and his partisan attitude of the fundamental questions of our time.

The lexicon developed into an instrument of progressive bourgeoisie with the educational work done, but also the attack against the feudal regime was performed. Meyer, who wrote numerous articles in the encyclopedia itself, asked his staff to explain to " vivid, stimulating and instructive manner " that " it into a clear, lively, up to a certain point, complete understanding of the matter " can be obtained. The latest state of matter " on each object is always the most interesting ie wrest the side, from which emerges a scientific meaning or practical importance of the clearest and strongest. " "Even incidental circumstances " are to mention " highlight"; Avoid "dry schemas and Begriffszergliederungen "; Remember all items of the lexicon must be " on the shape and tendency " of the received " peculiar type " of the writer who should be " strong, marked ," " accurate and fresh". He demanded partisanship and inner sympathy to all that happened in the interests of the people and gave to his staff, to deal with the progressive Ideengut all areas of knowledge. The editors worked with 120 authors. The 52 volumes of the encyclopaedia contained over 90 million words.

The political publicist

In 1832, Meyers active involvement began in the German opposition movement. He was to bring out with Philipp Jakob Siebenpfeiffer, one of the later speakers at the Hambach Festival, agreed to provide a magazine under the title The family friend in the Bibliographical Institute. Behind the title distracting the progressive representation of the position and forces in Germany should hide. But after the trial issue, the magazine was banned.

Joseph Meyer, who pondered ways and means to circumvent the prohibitions and censorship, decided in the same year to publish more political writings. He brought his publishing house in May, the friend of the people " out and reported here in detail about the manifestations of Liberals and Democrats on the castle ruins of Maxburg in Hambach. The people's friend quickly became the mouthpiece for the ideas of unity and freedom of the German people and in turn was established in September 1832 by the German Federal Parliament ( Bundestag ) is prohibited.

A year after the ban took Joseph Meyer a new magazine out. He called Meyer's universe. Over the next decades appeared tape to tape and Meyer wrote here all contributions in the form of essays personally. Here he also hidden attacks on the reaction feed, sent he wrote on the border of the provisions of censorship.

In connection with the publication of the magazine there had been in the company for a strike of its workers who were dissatisfied with the low wages at ever increasing workload. It was the first strike by book printers in Germany at all.

Railways and mines

Since 1837, Joseph Meyer had entered a new terrain. He slapped his projects around the building of railways and the opening of mines. He was one of the pioneers of new railway lines from the perspective of German unity projected, who wanted to put one of the foundation stones to build an independent modern German big business. In 1835 it had come to the opening of the railway line between Nuremberg and Fürth, and the " railroad fever " also caught the rulers Duke Bernhard Erich friend who soon moved to build a route into consideration and instructed among other Meyer with the configuration.

Meyer was in 1846 came up with a plan of a "German Central Railway network " to the public, in which he had received seven railway lines. The soon -onset Depression and the revolutionary events were Meyer again depart from this plan. Another North -South connection he planned in 1853. Years of negotiations broke down the resistance of the Kingdom of Hanover.

The data necessary for the railroad iron ore and the construction Related iron and steel works and rolling mills, he also wanted to address. In 1837 he was awarded the concession for the extraction of minerals in the Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen. In other principalities, he promoted also by similar concessions, and step by step he acquired in Germany means a large " mining property ". Another huge company Meyers was the establishment of an estimated two million thalers share capital corporation under the name " German railway rail Compagnie ". The works were created in today's village of Neuhaus in the district of Sonneberg.

At the end of the 1840s Meyer entangled more and more in the predicament of his life that existed in the contradiction that he progressive bourgeois humanists embodied on one side, but the phenomenon of the working class not paid sufficient attention to the other side by his ruthless entrepreneurship had. Thus, the humanistic set publicist got caught in the crossfire of entrepreneurs and workers who had developed in the practice of capitalism.

He continued to fight for the project of the Werra Railway, but the shuttle trains by Neuhaus were removed from the Meiningen government to ruin him economically. Only after his death, the railway was built according to his ideas.

Meyer in the 1848/49 revolution

Under the impact of the February Revolution of 1848 in France, we came up also to the Duke of Saxe- Meiningen with claims and petitions. The most important and comprehensive of all these petitions is Joseph Meyers reform address by March 12, 1848, where he demanded, among other things, for the federal government. Establishing a German national parliament; the creation of the German citizenship; Speech - writing - belief and freedom of assembly; equal weight, measure, money, postal and railway tariff; gratuitous education for the whole people; and Meiningen: the abolition of the concept of subjection; the abolition of the privileges of birth, choice, total reform of the state administration. Meyer organized a broad debate on the reform address and led by a collection of signatures. Very many people so lined up behind the demands Meyers.

One of the first measures of the Duke of Saxe- Meiningen in the bourgeois revolution was the abolition of censorship. More admissions, however, were only temporary, and Meyer then brought the so-called Parliament Chronicle out, in which he observed the events in the Frankfurt Parliament, and again entered for the comprehensive education of the people. In his 1848 article formulated " To my people! " Called Meyer clearly than ever before that the Republican solution had become inevitable with the fall of the feudal aristocracy.

Meyer developed over the course of the revolution consistent revolutionary democrats, what he represents in Meyer's universe to the test. His attacks against the reaction initially lead to refusal of concessions, vergraulten funders and 1851 he was finally imprisoned for lèse majesté for four weeks in prison Hildburghausen, the Fronveste. In 1852 he was again imprisoned for three months. Letters to his son Hermann at the time he wrote " Residence Castle Fronveste to Hildburghausen ." In one of them it is said: " They want to humiliate me, make me to be flexible or brittle. The stupid devil could know that good iron is harder with each stroke but also! "

The last years

In his last years his railway and metallurgical projects were torpedoed by the Meininger government to provoke Meyers bankruptcy. The Werra- rail project received another company as a concession to establish a bank and credit establishment Meyer in 1856 aimed at. The necessary draw a line in the railroad and mining operations moved only his son Hermann Julius by Joseph Meyer's death.

The publisher continued to operate successfully. In 1855, Joseph Meyer Meyers history library for common customer of the cultural and national life. In one of his last essays in the universe, he writes: " Makes the people, to save the country, and with the same saves her freedom. "

Meyer worked tirelessly until the end of the realization of its versatile publishing program. After a stay in his mountain garden he was caught in the rain; he contracted pneumonia, where he eventually died.