Friedrich Soennecken (20 September 1848 – 2 July 1919) was an entrepreneur and

inventor An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It may also be an entirely new concept. If an ...

. He was the founder of

Soennecken Soennecken is a German office products manufacturer. Its products are well known in the United Kingdom, North America, Australia and also India. Founded by Friedrich Soennecken in 1875, the name was registered as a trademark in 1905. Soennecken is ...

, a German office supplier. Soennecken was born in Iserlohn-Dröschede,

Sauerland The Sauerland () is a rural, hilly area spreading across most of the south-eastern part of North Rhine-Westphalia, in parts heavily forested and, apart from the major valleys, sparsely inhabited. The Sauerland is the largest tourist region in ...

in 1848, the son of a blacksmith. On 27 May 1875 he founded the ''F. Soennecken Verlag'', a commercial enterprise in Remscheid, Westphalia.

He is best known for the reintroduction of a ''Rundschrift'' (round script) style of

calligraphy Calligraphy (from el, link=y, καλλιγραφία) is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instrument. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "t ...

and the broad

pen nib A nib is the part of a quill, dip pen, fountain pen, ball point or stylus which comes into contact with the writing surface in order to deposit ink. Different types of nibs vary in their purpose, shape and size, as well as the material from which ...

associated with it. While ''ronde'' script rendered with quill originated in late 16th-century France and was widely used in the country throughout 17th and 18th centuries, it fell out of popularity after the invention of a mass-produced pointed pen from steel in early 19th century. Round writing was designed to be a visually appealing, standardized style of penmanship which was easy to learn and execute, and Soennecken published books on the topic in several languages.http://netznotizen.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Rundschrift_Teaser.jpg As a result, broad-nibbed pen (this time from steel) was popular again not just in Germany, but also in France, Russia and elsewhere; scribes of the

French Ministry of Finance The Ministry of Economics, Finance and Industrial and Digital Sovereignty (french: Ministère de l'Économie, des Finances et de la Souveraineté industrielle et numérique, pronounced ), informally referred to as Bercy, is one of the most impor ...

used it even until right after World War II. In 1888, Friedrich Nietzsche wrote to a friend that he had finally discovered both a quality paper to write on and a quality pen from Germany: ''Soenneckens Rundschrift Federhalter.'' Soennecken also introduced the two-hole punch and the ring binder. In 1876 he and his company relocated to Poppelsdorf, near Bonn, to be closer to the University which later awarded him the honorary title ''Dr. med. h. c.''. Soennecken died in Bonn in 1919.

Inventions

* Ink container with stable stand (invented as an apprentice) * A style of writing with the round tip of the feather of a pen nib (1860) * An early type of binder which later became the ''Soennecken file'' (1886) * The hole punch * The ring binder, later symbolically part of the logo of Soennecken

Literature

* Hans Schreiber: Soennecken Alphabete No. 7 (Neue Rundschrift), Verlag Soennecken, Zurich, approx. 1930

References

External links

*
life and history of Soennecken (German)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Soennecken, Friedrich 1848 births 1919 deaths 19th-century German inventors 19th-century German businesspeople 20th-century German businesspeople German company founders People from Iserlohn