Tauchnitz publishers
Tauchnitz was the name of a family of
Carl Christoph Traugott Tauchnitz
The business was carried on by his son,
Founding of Bernhard Tauchnitz
Bernhard started the Collection of British and American Authors in 1841, a reprint series familiar to anglophone travellers on the continent of Europe. These inexpensive paperbound editions, a direct precursor to
Early copyright reformer
In the early 1900s, a journalist writing about the company suggested that the warning on the covers of Tauchnitz's English-language books, "Not to be introduced into England or into any British colony," might lead some to believe that the books were not legitimate. In fact the books were authorised by the authors or their representatives for Continental sale only. The authors were paid royalties even at a time when no copyright protection for English and American books existed in Germany. That was Baron Tauchnitz's policy from the foundation of his company. He wrote in his original prospectus:
"Allow me to remark that I, as well as any other publisher in Germany, have at present the right to embark in such undertakings without any permission from the authors; and that my propositions arise solely from a wish thereby to take the first step towards a literary relationship between England and Germany, and towards an extension of the rights of copyright, and to publish my editions in accordance with those rights."[2]
In 1841, when Tauchnitz started his English-language editions, there were no copyright treaties between England or the United States and Continental countries. Although Tauchnitz's editions were authorised, they were not protected from copyright infringement and he could offer no such protection to the authors he paid. A few years later, various Continental States formed copyright treaties with Britain: Prussia and Saxony in 1846, France in 1852, and successively nearly all European states. In these countries, the Tauchnitz Authorised Edition became the Copyright Edition. Finally, the
Honours bestowed
In 1860 he was ennobled with the title of
Christian Karl Bernhard
Christian Bernhard was succeeded in the business by his son, Baron Christian Karl Bernhard Tauchnitz (born 29 May 1841).
Catalogue
The two authors who first attracted Tauchnitz's attention were
It was not only a catalogue of English works. German and French works filled a large space, as well as the Greek and Latin classics, which had been a speciality of his uncle Karl. His German edition of the Bible was a scholarly work. It included contributions from important German scholars including, Karl Gottfried Wilhelm Theile, Seligman Baer, Franz Delitzsch, Constantin von Tischendorf and Oscar von Gebhardt, together with the Bibliotheca Patrum. Scientific works, books on jurisprudence, and dictionaries covering most of the world's major languages, filled the catalogue as well.[2]
The publishers amassed a huge amount of correspondence from authors of the day, which amounted to an important
The Todd-Bowden Collection of Tauchnitz Editions
The Todd-Bowden Collection is an important collection of Tauchnitz editions in the British Library. It was acquired in 1992, with the aid of the German KulturStiftung der Länder and the National Heritage Memorial Fund. The collection includes approximately 6,700 volumes, together with sale catalogues, leaflets, and other advertising material, and is one of the most important collections of Tauchnitz books outside Germany.[4]
References
Citations
- ^ a b c d e f Chisholm 1911.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Tighe Hopkins (July 1901) "The Tauchnitz Edition", The Critic, An Illustrated Monthly Review of Literature, Art and Life, Vol.29 No.1 pp.331–343, Published for The Critic Company by G.P. Putnam's Sons, New York
- ^ w:de:Sächsischer Landtag (1831–1918) (German)
- ^ Todd-Bowden Collection of Tauchnitz Editions. British Library 2011. Retrieved 14 July 2011.
Sources
- public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Tauchnitz". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 26 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 452. This article incorporates text from a publication now in the
External links
- An incomplete, but representative list of the Collection of British and American Authors
- A Tauchnitz catalogue from July 1910
- Complete history and bibliography on Tauchnitz Publishers maintained by a collector
- Collection of British and American Authors - Checklist arranged by serial number.
- List of books in series "Collection of British Authors" from Worldcat.org
- Finding aid to Tauchnitz imprints at Columbia University. Rare Book & Manuscript Library.