Heinrich August Pierer
Groundbreaking lexicographer of the 19th century 1794-1850Heinrich August Pierer, a graduate of Landesschule Pforta (“Schulpforta”), was the son of a doctor and publisher. As a young man he was in the Lützow Free Corps, was wounded in 1813 in the Battle of Leipzig and took part in the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. Beginning in1820, he worked in his father's printing company.
Plinius the Elder
The writing natural scientist23/24-79 CEThe Roman career officer and scholar Gaius Plinius Secundus maior, or Pliny the Elder, was one of the most well-read and well-travelled men of his era. His appetite for reading and passion for writing have left behind a compendium of 160 book rolls inscribed on both sides – more than two kilometres of text.
Carl Ernst Poeschel
A pioneer of the book art movement1874-1944Carl Ernst Poeschel studied book printing between 1892 and 1896 in his father’s Leipzig printing press, Poeschel & Trepte. After working as a typesetter and printer in Halle, Zwickau and Munich, and conducting a study trip to the USA, he became general manager and finally director of his father’s company.
Neil Postman
The media as machinery of mass stupidity1931-2003In the 1980s the American Neil Postman, who became Professor of Communications Science at the University of New York in 1959, started a wide public debate on the uses and dangers of the medium of television with the provocative title of his book Amusing Ourselves to Death (1985).
Sima Qian
A Chinese Herodotusc. 145-86 BCEAs the court astrologist of the Chinese imperial family, Sima Qian – over the course of many long journeys and largely thanks to his access to royal archives – was able to gather source material for the compilation of a history of China.
Wilhelm Raabe
School dropout and successful author1831-1910After the publication of his novel Die Chronik der Sperlingsgasse (1856 or 1857), Wilhelm Raabe achieved considerable success as a professional author within a very short period who was able to live exclusively from the money he earned from his publications. It may be a comfort to many young people to know that Wilhelm Raabe dropped out of school in Wolfenbüttel, prematurely ended his training as a book trader in Magdeburg and was only a guest student at Berlin’s university.
Anton Philipp Reclam
Publisher ofworld literature at affordable prices1805-1896The publisher’s son Anton Philipp Reclam had been versed in all aspects of book printing since his apprenticeship. Neither type founding nor book printing were unfamiliar to him.
Paul Renner
Clarity and simplicity in book designing1878-1956Paul Renner first completed studies in architecture and painting before taking up employment as a book designer for the Georg Müller publishing house in Munich in 1907.
Arthur Schnitzler
Author of a self-censored erotic scandal piece 1862-1931With his stage piece Reigen, completed in 1997 and first published in 1903, the renowned Viennese doctor and writer Arthur Schnitzler provoked a literary scandal, which assumed tumultuously large proportions in particular after its first public performances in Germany and Austria in 1920/21.
Ansgar Schoppmeyer
The last illuminator1857-1922To copy the works of medieval illumination, you have to be not just an artist, but also a scientist, with a precise understanding of the colours used and the specifics of the workshops. Ansgar Schoppmeyer was both of these things. After completing training as an artisan as well as studies in palaeography and art history, he qualified as a professor in 1892 with his work on the history of script and illumination.
