Johann Friedrich Vieweg (; 11 March 1761 – 25 December 1835) was a German publisher and the founder of

Vieweg Verlag Springer Vieweg Verlag (formerly known as Vieweg+Teubner Verlag) is a German publishing company that specializes in books on technical subjects. It is a subsidiary of ''Springer Science+Business Media''. The original ' was founded in Berlin i ...

Early life

He was the son of master tailor Johann Valentin Vieweg (d. 1785), who later owned a starch factory. After cancelling an apprenticeship in

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; nds, label=Low Saxon, Meideborg ) is the capital and second-largest city of the German state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is situated at the Elbe river. Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archdiocese of Magdebu ...

, a chance acquaintance with

Friedrich Nicolai Christoph Friedrich Nicolai (18 March 1733 – 11 January 1811) was a German writer and bookseller. Life Nicolai was born in Berlin, where his father, Christoph Gottlieb Nicolai (d. 1752), was the founder of the bookseller ''Nicolaisch ...

led him to become a bookseller in the Halle Orphanage bookstore. His experience there led to a position as an assistant at the Bohn Bookstore in

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

. It was there he met the publisher

Joachim Heinrich Campe Joachim Heinrich Campe (29 June 1746 – 22 October 1818) was a German writer, linguist, educator and publisher. He was a major representative of philanthropinism and the German Enlightenment. Life Born to the merchant Burchard Hilmar Campe and ...

and his daughter Charlotte, who would become Vieweg's wife. In 1784, he moved to Berlin to look after the Mylius Bookstore, whose owner was ill. After the owner's death in 1786, Vieweg founded his own publishing business. His first success was an edition of

Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as tr ...

's lyrical epic ''

Hermann and Dorothea ''Hermann and Dorothea'' is an epic poem, an idyll, written by German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe between 1796 and 1797, and was to some extent suggested by Johann Heinrich Voss's ''Luise'', an idyll in hexameters, which was first published i ...

''. In October 1795, he married Charlotte Campe.

Work in Braunschweig

Duke Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand wanted to establish a Book Fair and make Braunschweig the center of the German bookselling trade. At the Duke's request, Vieweg moved there in 1799 and was presented with some land and a dilapidated theater where he could set up his operations. After the expulsion of the Duke by the

Napoleonic Army Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

, Vieweg came under suspicion because of his close association with him. As a result, he turned away from publishing to operate a

type foundry A type foundry is a company that designs or distributes typefaces. Before digital typography, type foundries manufactured and sold metal and wood typefaces for hand typesetting, and matrices for line-casting machines like the Linotype and M ...

and a playing card factory. When sovereignty was restored in 1815, he became involved in politics and public works administration, serving for some time as a city councillor. In 1824, a planned patriotic weekly called the "Braunschweigische Hauschronik" failed to materialize. From 1826 to 1828, he produced the "Mitternachtblatt für gebildete Stände" (Evening Journal for Educated Readers) in cooperation with

Adolf Müllner Amandus Gottfried Adolf Müllner (18 October 177411 June 1829) was a German critic and dramatic poet. Müllner was a nephew of Gottfried August Burger, and was born at Langendorf near Weissenfels. After studying law at Leipzig he established ...

but, due to some disagreements, it was sold to Niedmann’s Verlag in

Wolfenbüttel Wolfenbüttel (; nds, Wulfenbüddel) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, the administrative capital of Wolfenbüttel District. It is best known as the location of the internationally renowned Herzog August Library and for having the largest ...

. Upon his death in 1835, his publishing company passed to his eldest son, Eduard Vieweg. In 1837, his younger son Friedrich Vieweg Jr. (1808–1888) founded his own publishing company in Paris and one of his daughters, Blanca, married the publisher Georg Westermann.

References

External links

Braunschweig University Library: Vieweg Archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vieweg, Friedrich 1761 births 1835 deaths German publishers (people)