Joseph Zaehnsdorf (27 February 1816 – 7 November 1886), was a

bookbinder Bookbinding is the process of physically assembling a book of codex format from an ordered stack of ''signatures'', sheets of paper folded together into sections that are bound, along one edge, with a thick needle and strong thread. Cheaper, b ...

. Zaehnsdorf was the son of Gottlieb Zaehnsdorf, of

Pesth Pest () is the eastern, mostly flat part of Budapest, Hungary, comprising about two-thirds of the city's territory. It is separated from Buda and Óbuda, the western parts of Budapest, by the Danube River. Among its most notable sights are the ...

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

, where he was born and educated. At the age of fifteen he was apprenticed to Herr Knipe, a bookbinder of Stuttgart, with whom he remained five years, afterwards proceeding to

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, where he worked in the shop of Herr Stephan, a bookbinder in a large way of business. He left Vienna about 1836, and successively visited

Zürich Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...

, Freiburg,

Baden-Baden Baden-Baden () is a spa town in the states of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg, south-western Germany, at the north-western border of the Black Forest mountain range on the small river Oos (river), Oos, ten kilometres (six miles) east of the ...

, and

Paris Paris () is the capital and 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), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. In 1837 he came to London, and obtained employment in the establishment of Messrs Wesley & Co., Friar Street, Doctors' Commons, for whom he worked three years. He afterwards entered the shop of Mr Mackenzie, a binder of considerable eminence, and there he remained until 1844, when he commenced business on his own account at 2 Wilson Street, removing in 1856 to 30 Brydges Street,

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist si ...

, afterwards called 36 Catherine Street.Broomhead, Frank. ''The Zaehnsdorfs (1842–1947) Craft Bookbinders''. Pinner, Middlesex:

Private Libraries Association The Private Libraries Association (PLA) came into being in 1956 when 18-year-old Philip Ward wrote a letter to the ''Observer'' inviting booklovers and book collectors to attend a meeting to discuss the setting up of an association whose aims would ...

, 1986 SBN 900002-74-3 Zaehnsdorf became a naturalised British subject in 1855, and died at 14 York Street, Covent Garden, on 7 December 1886. He exhibited at the London International Exhibition of 1862, where he received honourable mention. He also obtained medals at the

Anglo-French Working Class Exhibition Anglo-French (or sometimes Franco-British) may refer to: *France–United Kingdom relations * Anglo-Norman language or its decendants, varieties of French used in medieval England *Anglo-Français and Français (hound), an ancient type of hunting ...

, held at

the Crystal Palace The Crystal Palace was a cast iron and plate glass structure, originally built in Hyde Park, London, Hyde Park, London, to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. The exhibition took place from 1 May to 15 October 1851, and more than 14,000 exhibit ...

in 1865, at the Dublin International Exhibition of 1865, at the

Exposition Universelle (1867) The International Exposition of 1867 (french: Exposition universelle 'art et d'industriede 1867), was the second world's fair to be held in Paris, from 1 April to 3 November 1867. A number of nations were represented at the fair. Following a dec ...

, at Vienna in 1873, and at

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

in 1874. "Zaehnsdorf bindings" are sought for and readily identified by the amateur of

fine binding Fine may refer to: Characters * Sylvia Fine (''The Nanny''), Fran's mother on ''The Nanny'' * Officer Fine, a character in ''Tales from the Crypt'', played by Vincent Spano Legal terms * Fine (penalty), money to be paid as punishment for an off ...

s. Zaehnsdorf was acquainted with the German, French, and Italian languages, and also with several of the Slavonic tongues. In July 1849 he married Ann, daughter of John Mahoney, by whom he had an only child, Joseph William Zaehnsdorf, his successor in business and author of ''The Art of Bookbinding: a practical treatise'' (2nd ed. 1890).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zaehnsdorf, Joseph 1816 births 1886 deaths Bookbinders 19th-century British people People from Pest, Hungary Emigrants from Austria-Hungary to the United Kingdom Businesspeople from London 19th-century English businesspeople