Press release: 20.6.2017

Over 100 years after being founded in 1904, the Leipziger Bibliophilen-Abend has donated its historical archive to the German Museum of Books and Writing of the German National Library. The generous gift enriches the collection of archival materials and documents related to the history of books at the German Museum of Books and Writing, creating a unique source for the academic study of book history and bibliophilia as cultural history.

The Leipziger Bibliophilen-Abend was founded in 1904 as the first bibliophile society in Germany and existed until 1933. It was refounded in 1991 and, building upon the achievements of 35 years of tireless and productive work under the umbrella of the Pirckheimer-Gesellschaft, it soon regained its previous standing and significance. The influence of the Leipziger Bibliophilen-Abend, and especially its award-winning bibliophile editions, extends far beyond its immediate environment.

The archive contains over 300 prints published since 1904. It also holds extensive writings documenting the history of the society within the context of Leipzig's socio-historical and cultural environment in the first third of the 20th century, research on its former members, as well as full documentation of its activities since being refounded in 1991.

The archive of the Leipziger Bibliophilen-Abend joins those of other German bibliophile societies which have also entrusted their archives to the German Museum of Books and Writing in recent years. The Gesellschaft der Bibliophilen (founded in 1899) and the Maximilian-Gesellschaft für alte und neue Buchkunst (founded in 1911) in particular have made extensive book history material available to the general public in this way.

Bibliophilia – the “love of books“ – was of huge cultural, but also cultural policy significance in past centuries.

At the same time many representatives of the bibliophile movement occupied key social and political positions and were among the intellectual elite of the time. The events organised by the bibliophile societies thus became social events, especially in the early part of the 20th century. The fascination with the subject of bibliophilia makes the archives of the bibliophile societies so interesting for social and contemporary historians. The German Museum of Books and Writing is committed to permanently preserving the historical sources and to making them accessible to humanities researchers via the catalogue of the German National Library, thus extending the purpose of the museum collections.

Background

The book has shaped our culture and civilisation like no other medium. For centuries our knowledge about the world and its peoples has been stored in books. The task of the German Museum of Books and Writing is to collect, exhibit and process evidence of book and media history. Founded in 1884 in Leipzig as the Deutsches Buchgewerbemuseum (German Book Trade Museum), it is the oldest book culture museum in the world, and also one of the most important with regard to the scope and quality of its collection.

Contact person
Dr. Stephanie Jacobs