Tankard of the Leipzig publisher

Wilhelm Ambrosius Barth (Leipzig 1790-1851)


Silver
Leipzig dated 1822
Signed at the top under the handle mount: Gefertigt von H.C. Westerman in Leipzig 1822
i.e. made by Heinrich Christoph Carl Westermann (master from 1803 onwards), the father of the important Brunswick publisher, Georg Westermann (1810-1879)
Height: 26.7 cm, weight: 2220 g

Marked on base:
Dein Schritt in’s Ehebette / Ward mir Verlust der Wette /
Drum löse ich mein Wort / und überreiche Dir/
Die süsse Kanne hier/ W.A. Barth

This lidded tankard from Leipzig, dating from the first quarter of the 19th century, is a extreme rarity in German goldsmithing art on account of its solid quality and artistic execution. In formal terms, the tankard is a drinking vessel dating from the 16th or 17th century. In contrast, the decorative design of this piece, with tendrils of foliage and flowers on the base and lid, and the scene with figures around the body of the tankard, is drawn from the Biedermeier period and from the “Nazarene” groups of early 19th-century artists.

The cause, form and décor of this work of goldsmithing art mirror in exemplary form the Vormärz period leading up to the 1848 revolution, and the associated withdrawal into private life. The dedication engraved on the bottom of the tankard refers to a marriage and to a marital promise. The following verses or chapters from the Sirach (Ecclesiasticus) are engraved around the top of the main body, admonishing a young man (perhaps the future bridegroom and the winner of the bet (Wette) referred to in the verse on the bottom) and the reader to lead a God-fearing and pious life:
Letters of John 4,7. 8, / Proverbs 17,17.22 / Proverbs 18,24 / Psalms 5,12 / Tobit 13, 16 / Sirach 37,6. / Epist. to the Ephesians 13,2 / John 3, 29 / Sirach 26, 16-24 /Sirach 30, 1-3 / Philippians 4,4 / Psalms 118,24 / John 15,11-12, Sirach 14,14.

Sirach, or Ecclesiasticus, is a book of wisdom that was written in approximately 180 B.C. It is part of the Judaic canon and of the Septuagint, i.e. it is viewed as part of the Bible by Catholics and Orthodox Christians, but not by Protestants and most free evangelical Christians.

Wilhelm Ambrosius Barth, who donated this work of goldsmithing art in 1822, was the son of the Leipzig publisher and bookseller Johann Ambrosius Barth (1760-1813) and his wife, Catharina Wilhelmina, née Mann, widowed Haug (1755-1799), the widow of the original founder of the publishing house.

After attending lectures at the University of Leipzig, Barth received his training as a bookseller in both his father’s company in Leipzig and in Frankfurt am Main. In 1813, following the death of his father, he took over the publisher’s bookstore belonging to his parents. In September 1814, Barth became a citizen of Leipzig. Under his management, the publishing house expanded its operations in the field of academic publishing.

Art history was integrated as a new field in its portfolio. Commission business was expanded, with works from other publishers being purchased on a large scale.

In 1825, Barth married a second time, taking Auguste Friederike, née Wilde (1804-1869) as his wife. His first wife, Sophie Friederike, had died in 1799. His children included Adolph Ambrosius (1827-1869) and Johann Ambrosius (“Hans“) (1834-1887), who both continued the publishing house business.

In 1824, Barth chose Johann Christian Poggendorff, hitherto unknown, to be the editor of “Annalen der Physik” (Annals of Physics), one of the most important journals published by the company. Poggendorff ran the journal for more than 50 years – an enormous service to the publishing house and to natural science in general. In 1827, a chemist by the name of Otto Linné Erdmann approached the company with the request to publish a new journal. One year later, the “Journal für technische und ökonomische Chemie” (Journal for Technical and Economic Chemistry) was launched by the publishing house, since 1834 under the title “Journal für praktische Chemie” (Journal for Practical Chemistry).

The “Minnesinger”, written by Friedrich Heinrich von der Hagen, a professor for German language and literature, appeared in 1838. Carl Gustav Carus and Wilhelm Gotthelf Lohrmann were among other major authors who were published under Barth’s management.

In 1827, Barth was appointed Deputy for the Book Trade. From 1831 to 1834, he was First Chairman of the Leipzig Bookseller’s Association. One of his accomplishments in this capacity was an expertise that he wrote in 1832 on the financial situation of booksellers and on the Prussian Städteordnung that had recently been imposed. The Börsenblatt für den Deutschen Buchhandel (Bulletin for the German Book Trade), founded in 1834, was one of his proposals. He also fostered and supported construction of the Bookseller’s Association headquarters in Leipzig.

In 1831 he became a member of the Leipzig municipal council. He was among the co-founders of the Leipzig Art Association and was a member of its Governor’s Committee. His dedication to fine art is also evident from this large and precious collection of paintings, etchings and lithographic prints. A dual portrait of the bookseller and his second wife was painted by C. L. Tischbein in 1826 and can be found in the collection of Manfred Meiner, a publisher in Hamburg.


References

  • Marion Bähr, Wilhelm Ambrosius Barth, in: Sächsische Biografie, Ed. Institut für Sächsische Geschichte und Volkskunde e.V., Martina Schattkowsky, online edition: http://www.isgv.de/saebi/ (28.11.2008)
  • G. Menz, Die ersten Vorsteher des Börsenvereins der deutschen Buchhändler 1825-1925, Leipzig, 1925, pp. 33f. (P)
  • A. Meiner, “Geschichte des Verlags Johann Ambrosius Barth 1780-1890”, in: Johann Ambrosius Barth Leipzig 1780-1930, Leipzig 1930, pp. 13-148 (picture source)
  • 200 Jahre Johann Ambrosius Barth 1780-1980, Leipzig 1980. – ADB 2, p. 99; DBA I, III; DBE 1, p. 305; NDB 1, pp. 600f.
  • W. Fischer (Ed.), Biographische Enzyklopädie deutschsprachiger Unternehmer, Vol. 1, Munich 2004, p. 49.










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