The collection consists of more than 150,000 written and pictorial documents on the history of book printing and the book trade dating from the 16th century to the present day. They include individual portraits and letters, business circulars and entire publishing company archives. The core of this collection is the book trade archive in the library of the Börsenverein der Deutschen Buchhändler zu Leipzig (German Book Traders’ Association in Leipzig), which was established in 1844. Later acquisitions focus on areas such as documents relating to book history in the GDR.

Book trade archive of the Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels (German Publishers and Booksellers Association)

The Book Traders’ Exchange in Ritterstraße – home of the German Book Traders’ Association in Leipzig and its library until 1888.

Together with the notable library of the Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels, the book trade archive, established in 1844, is one of the most important special collections of its kind in Germany. Part of the archive is located in Leipzig, and part in Frankfurt am Main. It largely consists of German-language archival materials on 19th century book history. Along with individual documents such as letters and publishing contracts, it also includes self-contained collections of items such as business circulars and partial estates left by book dealers. The collection is continually being extended. The new acquisitions include individual testimonies to 20th century history such as autographs and occasional prints as well as the archives of individual publishing companies.

• Materials relating to around 3,000 persons, companies and topics associated with the German book trade
• 450 autographs (including correspondence between publishers and authors)
• More than 1,000 portraits and likenesses (copper engravings of book dealers and publishers dating from the 16th to 19th centuries)
• Approx. 18,000 publisher's signets dating from the 18th to 20th centuries
• Publishing company posters and posters from the Börsenverein
• 60 consecutive metres of publishing directories and brochures

• Self-contained collections:

  • the archive of publishing company Karl Robert Langewiesche, Königstein/Taunus,
  • holdings from the publishing company Gustav Fischer Verlag,
  • the files of book dealers Märkische Buchhandelsgesellschaft, Frankfurt/Oder,
  • partial estates bequeathed for example by Herbert Grundmann, Horst Kliemann, Annemarie Meiner, Gerhard Menz, Wolfgang Oelbermann and Berthold Spangenberg
• extensive data records on individual companies and persons
• the photo and media archive of book trade weekly “Börsenblatt. Wochenmagazin für den Deutschen Buchhandel” (around 90,000 photographs, film clips and sound recordings)

Book trade circulars

Business circular from Giesecke & Devrient, Leipzig, 15.6.1858. Relocation of the Typographic Institute to Bosenstraße.

We have the world’s largest collection of business circulars from the book trade, numbering around 25,000 in all. These memoranda, most of which are printed on one or two pages, largely originate from German publishing companies and book dealers, with some from abroad. The circulars date from 1737 to the mid-20th century. They testify for example to the foundation or dissolution of companies and changes in name or ownership.

Archival materials on the book trade

Göschen Collection

Letter from Georg Joachim Göschen to August Wilhelm Schlegel in Amsterdam. Leipzig, 27.2.1794.

This collection is named after Georg Joachim Göschen (1752–1828), a prominent Leipzig publisher and printer. The letters it contains were either written by or sent to him. The collection was compiled by the English minister Viscount George Joachim Goschen (1831–1907), the publisher's grandson, for the purpose of preparing a biography of his grandfather. The German Museum of Books and Writing acquired the collection in 1913 from the London auction house Henry Sotheran & Co.; it consists of 865 autographs and more than 1,000 copies of letters dating from 1785 to 1827.

Search individual letters in the Göschen Collection using the Kalliope Union Catalog

Dr. Alphons-Dürr-Stiftung (Dr. Alphons Dürr Foundation)

The collection consists of 500 autographs by 19th century writers and artists taken from the correspondence of Leipzig publisher Alphons Dürr. Among them are letters from Theodor Storm, Ludwig Richter and Moritz von Schwind.

Kummer Archive

Circular from Paul Gotthelf Kummer with the suggestion of renting rooms in the Richtersches Kaffeehaus (what is today the Romanushaus) from which to conduct the book traders’ payment-clearing work for the Easter Fair. Leipzig, 4.4.1792.

The Kummer Archive is a collection of approximately 856 handwritten and printed documents by Paul Gotthelf Kummer (1750–1835). For many years the chairman (1811–1833) of the Deputierte des Buchhandels (Book Trade Representatives) in Leipzig, he supported the reformation of the German book trade between 1802 and 1804. The archive also provides information on the concerns addressed by the representatives at the Vienna Congress of 1814, in particular with regard to reprints, press freedom and Kummer's clearance institution of 1792.
In 1942, the Verein der Leipziger Buchhändler zu Leipzig presented this collection of documents to the library of the Börsenverein.

Publishing company and antiquarian catalogues

Christmas catalogue produced by the book dealer C. Boysen in Hamburg 1901 and 1902.

The German Museum of Books and Writing has a large number of publishing company and antiquarian catalogues.

Please follow the links to search them individually:

Historical sources on the book trade

The database provides information on archival documents relating to the history of publishing and the book trade in Germany during the 19th and 20th centuries. Consideration is also given to subjects such as lending libraries, magazine subscription services, censorship and the press. The database is the result of an analysis of finding aids taken from the federal archive, 55 state archives, 297 municipal archives and 217 church archives. The data was collected between 1992 and 1997 as part of a project funded by the German Research Foundation. The information relating to approximately 80,000 fascicles can be researched in a series of registers according to person, corporate body, provenance, etc. The data has been made available in a machine readable format and as tables of registers (CSV).

Inventory of archival sources on the history of German book publishing and the book trade during the 19th and 20th centuries (only available in German)

Image gallery “Archival materials and documents on book history”

Contact: Carola Staniek