The ''Pfennig-Magazin'' (Penny Magazine), produced jointly with the "Society for disseminating shared practical knowledge" (''"Gesellschaft zur Verbreitung gemeinnütziger Kenntnisse"'') was the first weekly German-language journal for sharing popular scientific and other knowledge by combining text with images. This was made possible by the development of

Wood engraving Wood engraving is a printmaking technique, in which an artist works an image or ''matrix'' of images into a block of wood. Functionally a variety of woodcut, it uses relief printing, where the artist applies ink to the face of the block and ...

technology which was better suited for reproducing images in large numbers than the copper plate

engraving Engraving is the practice of incising a design onto a hard, usually flat surface by cutting grooves into it with a burin. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or glass are engraved, or may provide an in ...

technology used hitherto. The ''Pfennig-Magazin'' appeared each week, starting on 4 May 1833 and continuing to appear till 1855. Circulation peaked at around 100,000 copies in 1847. The paper had a fixed eight page format, incorporating up to six images in each edition. Editorial control was under the book dealer (later also a publisher) who after 1843 set up the ''

Illustrirte Zeitung ''Illustrirte Zeitung'' was Germany's first illustrated magazine that existed between 1843 and 1944. It was also known as ''Leipziger illustrirte Zeitung''. The magazine described itself as the Germany's illustrated magazine with the internationa ...

'' which took forward several of the ideas pioneered with the ''Pfennig-Magazin''.Bernd Weise: Aktuelle Nachrichtenbilder „Nach Photographien“, in: Charles Grivel u.a. (Hrsg.): Die Eroberung der Bilder. Photographie in Buch und Presse 1816–1914, München 2003, pp.63 - 66

Context

The ''Pfennig-Magazin'' was part of a wider trend across much of Europe. The first magazine combining text and images in this way was probably the ''

Penny Magazine ''The Penny Magazine'' was an illustrated British magazine aimed at the working class, published every Saturday from 31 March 1832 to 31 October 1845. Charles Knight created it for the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge in response to ...

'' which appeared in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in 1832, courtesy of the

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

-based

Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge The Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge (SDUK) was founded in London in 1826, mainly at the instigation of Whig MP Henry Brougham, with the object of publishing information to people who were unable to obtain formal teaching or who pr ...

, intended for the working class and the middle class, "as an antidote to the more radical output of the pauper presses". The French publisher, Martin Bossange, whose son ran a publishing business in London, and whose own business had recently filed for bankruptcy in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

, was able to help Weber to produce the Pfennig-Magazin, a German language equivalent, in

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...

. After a few years the publishing house F.A. Brockhaus AG took over the ''Pfennig-Magazin'' from Weber who now set himself up as a publisher on his own account. Journalism in the

German Confederation The German Confederation (german: Deutscher Bund, ) was an association of 39 predominantly German-speaking sovereign states in Central Europe. It was created by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 as a replacement of the former Holy Roman Empire, w ...

during the 1830s was governed by press laws. All publications up to twenty printed pages had to be submitted to the censor, and incurred a stamp tax which was calibrated so as to limit discussion of political matters as far as possible. The way in which the ''Pfennig-Magazin'' restricted itself to subjects such as ethnology, archaeology, art history, religious, technical and natural history themes was based not on some conception of what was appropriate for popular education, but on the desire to minimise taxes driven by items on current affairs and politics. During the 1840s the appearance of rival illustrated magazines forced the ''Pfennig-Magazin'' to adapt itself to changes in consumer taste. The journal carried beneath its main title the sub-title "für Belehrung und Unterhaltung" (''"For instruction and entertainment"''). Starting in January 1843 a longer sub-title was added: "Wir glauben dem Zweck unseres Magazins, gemeinnützige Kenntnisse zu verbreiten, dahingehend erweitern zu müssen, daß dies nicht mehr, wie bisher blos in der Form der Belehrung, sondern so weit es möglich ist, auch in der Form der Unterhaltung geschehe." (''"We believe it is axiomatic that the objective of our magazine, to disseminate shared practical knowledge, must be broadened, so that it no longer crudely didactic, but also enhances the entertainment side of things."'') Nevertheless, after 1847 circulation declined, and the ''Pfennig-Magazin'' ceased publication in 1855.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pfennig-Magazin German-language magazines Defunct magazines published in Germany Magazines established in 1833 Magazines disestablished in 1855 Magazines published in Stuttgart Popular science magazines Weekly magazines published in Germany