Alexander Friedrich Wilhelm Duncker (February 18, 1813 – August 23, 1879) was a German publisher and bookseller.

Life and family

He was descended from a successful Berlin family of booksellers, born in Berlin, the son of Carl Friedrich Wilhelm Duncker (1781–1869) and Fanny Duncker (née Wolff). His brothers included historian and politician Maximilian Duncker (1811–1886), and publisher and pundit

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(1822–1888), founder of a trade union with labor economist

Max Hirsch Maximilian Justice "Max" Hirsch (July 12, 1880 - April 3, 1969) was an American Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse trainer. Born in Fredericksburg, Texas, and raised Roman Catholic, Hirsch became one of the most successful trainers in Thorou ...

(1832–1905). Another brother, Hermann Carl Rudolf Duncker (1817–1892) was a member of the

Prussian National Assembly The Prussian National Assembly (German: ''Preußische Nationalversammlung''), came into being after the revolution of 1848 and was tasked with drawing up a constitution for Prussia. It first met in the building of the '' Sing-Akademie zu Berlin ...

and a mayor of Berlin. Duncker's father had founded the publishing firm in 1809, running it alone after business partner Peter Humblot died in 1828. Alexander Duncker started his education in 1829. After apprenticeships with

Friedrich Christoph Perthes Friedrich Christoph Perthes (21 April 1772 – 18 May 1843) was a German publisher. He was the nephew of Johan Georg Perthes. Life Perthes was born at Rudolstadt, Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt. At the age of fifteen he became an apprentice in the servic ...

and Johann Besser in Hamburg, Duncker founded his own firm, "Verlag Alexander Duncker." His firm specialized in

Belles lettres is a category of writing, originally meaning beautiful or fine writing. In the modern narrow sense, it is a label for literary works that do not fall into the major categories such as fiction, poetry, or drama. The phrase is sometimes used pejora ...

(German: Belletristik) and visual arts. Among the authors he published were Thekla von Gumpert, Ida Hahn-Hahn,

Paul Heyse Paul Johann Ludwig von Heyse (; 15 March 1830 – 2 April 1914) was a distinguished German writer and translator. A member of two important literary societies, the '' Tunnel über der Spree'' in Berlin and ''Die Krokodile'' in Munich, he wrote n ...

, Karl von Holtei,

August Kopisch August Kopisch (26 May 1799 – 6 February 1853) was a German poet and painter. Biography Kopisch was born on 26 May 1799 in Breslau, Prussia (now Wrocław, Poland). In 1815 he began studying painting at the Prague academy, but an injury t ...

Fanny Lewald Fanny Lewald (21 March 1811 – 5 August 1889) was a German novelist and essayist and a women's rights activist. Life and career Fanny Lewald was born at Königsberg in East Prussia in 1811 to a bourgeois, Jewish family. She was taken out of sc ...

Elise Polko Elise Vogel Polko (31 January 1823 in Leipzig – 15 May 1899 in Munich) was a German novelist. Biography She was a sister of Eduard Vogel Eduard Vogel (7 March 1829February 1856) was a German explorer in Central Africa. Early career Vog ...

, Christian Friedrich Scherenberg,

Hermann von Pückler-Muskau Hermann or Herrmann may refer to: * Hermann (name), list of people with this name * Arminius, chieftain of the Germanic Cherusci tribe in the 1st century, known as Hermann in the German language * Éditions Hermann, French publisher * Hermann, Miss ...

, and Friedrich von Uechtriz. He was instrumental in promoting new authors, and some of them

Emanuel Geibel Emanuel von Geibel (17 October 18156 April 1884) was a German poet and playwright. Life Geibel was born at Lübeck, the son of a pastor. He was originally intended for his father's profession and studied at Bonn and Berlin, but his real interests ...

Wilhelm Jensen Wilhelm Hermann Jensen (15 February 183724 November 1911) was a German writer and poet. Biography Wilhelm Jensen was born at Heiligenhafen in the Duchy of Holstein (now Germany), the illegitimate son of Swenn Hans Jensen (1795–1855), the May ...

, Marie Petersen, Gustav zu Putlitz, and

Theodor Storm Hans Theodor Woldsen Storm (; 14 September 18174 July 1888), commonly known as Theodor Storm, was a German writer. He is considered to be one of the most important figures of German realism. Life Storm was born in the small town of Husum, on the ...

found their first recognition through Duncker's efforts. Duncker had far-reaching political connections and regularly corresponded with King

Friedrich Wilhelm IV Frederick William IV (german: Friedrich Wilhelm IV.; 15 October 17952 January 1861), the eldest son and successor of Frederick William III of Prussia, reigned as King of Prussia from 7 June 1840 to his death on 2 January 1861. Also referred to ...

. Later, he maintained contact with Emperor William I. From 1841 he held the title "Royal Court Bookseller." As a reserve officer attaining the rank of

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

, he participated in the wars against

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

(1864), Austria (1866), and France (1870-71).

Works

A high point in his output was a graphic collection of Prussian castles under the title, ''The rural residences, palaces and residences of the Prussian nobility, together with the royal family, vacation home, and garden residences in vivid, artistically executed, colorful illustrations with accompanying text'' appearing from 1857-1883. The series of 320 signatures in 16 volumes included 960 color lithographs measuring 20x15 cm. The collection is especially valuable for its pictorial record of numerous stately buildings from the old eastern German lands, many of which were destroyed during and after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

when these regions were transferred to

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

and the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

. File:Rittergut Sglietz Sammlung Duncker.jpg, Manor of Glietz Brandebourg in 1865 File:Schloss Tamsel.jpg,

Tamsel Schloss Tamsel is a significant historical estate in the Brandenburg Neumark region. The estate is located in what is today the small village of Dąbroszyn, Lubusz Voivodeship, Dąbroszyn, Poland, and consists of a manor house, a church and a par ...

File:Rittergut Fredersdorf Sammlung Duncker.jpg, Fredersdorf Manor File:Schloss Ahrensburg Sammlung Duncker.jpg, Ahrensburg in

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; da, Slesvig-Holsten; nds, Sleswig-Holsteen; frr, Slaswik-Holstiinj) is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Sch ...

File:Burg Loersfeld.jpg, Lörsfeld Hall File:Gut Rosbitek Sammlung Duncker.jpg,

Rozbitek Rozbitek is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Kwilcz, within Międzychód County, Greater Poland Voivodeship, in west-central Poland. It lies approximately east of Międzychód and west of the regional capital Poznań. Rozbitek ...

File:Schloss Stolzenfels Sammlung Duncker.jpg,

Stolzenfels Castle Stolzenfels Castle (german: Schloss Stolzenfels) is a former medieval fortress castle ("Burg") turned into a palace, near Koblenz on the left bank of the Rhine, in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Stolzenfels was a ruined 13th-century ...

File:Tillowitz - Schloss.jpg, Tillowitz (Silesia) Another large project was an edition of the political correspondence of

Frederick the Great Frederick II (german: Friedrich II.; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was King in Prussia from 1740 until 1772, and King of Prussia from 1772 until his death in 1786. His most significant accomplishments include his military successes in the Sil ...

, which by Duncker's death had appeared in 24 volumes – eventually totaling 46 volumes by 1939 when it was interrupted by the second world war. The project resumed with the issue of volume 47 in 2003. Duncker also wrote works including: * 1851 The Patriots: National drama in three acts. * 1867 Through Night to the Light. A time story * 1877 Off the road. Poems of a vagabond * 1886 Angiola Folimarino (novella) * 1891 Her Picture (novella) * 1897 The Swallows. A children's tale.

Bibliography

* Dora Duncker: ''Das Haus Duncker. Ein Buchhändlerroman aus dem Biedermeier''. Berlin 1918 (mainly about Carl Friedrich Wilhelm Duncker) * Peter-Michael Hahn und Hellmut Lorenz (Ed.): ''Herrenhäuser in Brandenburg und der Niederlausitz. Kommentierte Neuausgabe des Ansichtenwerks von Alexander Duncker (1857–1883)''. Nicolai, Berlin 2000, , Volume 1 Introduction, Volume 2 Catalog * * Soetemann, Christel: ''Alexander Dunckers 'Ländliche Wohnsitze, Schlösser und Residenzen der Preußischen Monarchie'. Tausend Veduten zwischen Tilsit und Trier''. from: Lüneburger Beiträge zur Vedutenforschung. Edited Eckhard Jäger. Lüneburg: Verlag Nordostdeutsches Kulturwerk, 1983. pp. 173–210 * Loeck, Gottfried: ''Alexander Dunckers Werk über die ländlichen Wohnsitze der ritterschaftlichen Grundbesitzer Preußens - eine wertvolle Quelle zur pommerschen Geschichte''. from: Baltische Studien - Pommersche Jahrbücher für Landesgeschichte. Edited by Gesellschaft für pommersche Geschichte, Altertumskunde und Kunst e.V ., Vol. 82, pp. 99–119. {{DEFAULTSORT:Duncker, Alexander Friedrich Wilhelm 1813 births 1879 deaths German publishers (people) German booksellers Businesspeople from Berlin Prussian Army personnel