Moritz Georg Weidmann (January 23, 1686 – May 3, 1743 ) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

bookseller and publisher based 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 wel ...

, accredited to the courts of

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

Electorate of Saxony The Electorate of Saxony, also known as Electoral Saxony (German: or ), was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire from 1356–1806. It was centered around the cities of Dresden, Leipzig and Chemnitz. In the Golden Bull of 1356, Emperor Charles ...

. He was the son of the Moritz Georg Weidmann Senior. He entered the business in 1713 as a partner, and in 1717 took complete control of his father's bookstore, which his stepfather, Johann Ludwig Gleditsch, had managed for him since 1694. Moritz Georg Weidmann was born in 1686, son of the elder Moritz Georg Weidmann who died in 1693. The family firm of

Weidmannsche Buchhandlung Weidmannsche Buchhandlung is a German book publisher established in 1680 that remained independent until it was acquired by Verlag Georg Olms in 1983. History Weidmannsche Buchhandlung was established in 1680 in Frankfurt by Moritz Georg Weid ...

had been established in

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

by his father in 1680, moving to Leipzig in 1681. Johann Ludwig Gleditsch, brother of

Johann Friedrich Gleditsch Johann Friedrich Gleditsch (15 August 1653 – 26 March 1716) was a major book publisher in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Early career Gleditsch was born in Eschendorf, near Pirna, on 15 August 1653, son of pastor Georg Gleditsch (16 ...

, married his father's widow and built up the business of the house, while training the younger Moritz Georg to take over the business. Gleditsch published authors such as Wieland, Gellert, Lessing, Lavater and Heyne. The most significant achievement of the Gleditsch brothers was to persuade the leading Dutch booksellers to send their works to the Leipzig fair instead of to Frankfurt. After his stepson had taken control in 1717, Gleditsch withdrew from the book trade. Early in 1734, Weidmann introduced a magazine of news of the European states, ''Europäischen Staats-Secretarius'', in competition with

Johann Heinrich Zedler Johann Heinrich Zedler (7 January 1706 in Breslau (now Wrocław, Poland) – 21 March 1751 in Leipzig) was a bookseller and publisher. His most important achievement was the creation of a German encyclopedia, the '' Grosses Universal-Lexicon (Gre ...

's monthly ''Cabinet'' magazine. When Zedler attempted to boost sales through a book lottery, Weidmann was the leader of the booksellers opposing the innovation. Weidmannsche Buchhandlung continued to publish in Leipzig until 1854, reaching its height under

Philipp Erasmus Reich Philipp is both a surname and a given name. Notable people with the name include: "Philipp" has also been a shortened version of Philippson, a German surname especially prevalent amongst German Jews and Dutch Jews. Surname * Adolf Philipp (1864� ...

, called the "nation's bookseller". The firm later moved to

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

and in 1983 was taken over by

Georg Olms Georg may refer to: * ''Georg'' (film), 1997 *Georg (musical), Estonian musical * Georg (given name) * Georg (surname) * , a Kriegsmarine coastal tanker See also * George (disambiguation) George may refer to: People * George (given name) * ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weidmann, Moritz Georg 1686 births 1743 deaths German publishers (people) German booksellers Businesspeople from Leipzig