Johann Friedrich Steinkopf (publisher)
Johann Friedrich Steinkopf | |
|---|---|
| Born | Error: Invalid birth date for calculating age Ludwigsburg, Germany |
| Died | April 4, 1852 (aged 80) Stuttgart, Germany |
| Occupation(s) | Publisher, bookseller |
Johann Friedrich Steinkopf (born 17 May 1771 in Ludwigsburg; died 4 April 1852 in Stuttgart) was a notable German publisher and bookseller.
Life and career
As the firstborn among fourteen siblings of the porcelain artist Johann Friedrich Steinkopf, he was also the grandson of Johann Christoph Betulius, a distinguished bookseller and publisher. After relocating to Stuttgart in 1775, Steinkopf began supporting his grandfather’s publishing enterprise at the age of fourteen and assumed control of the business by twenty. In 1792, he rebranded the company as "," a title that continues to be used today.
He entered into marriage with Dorothea Morstatt in 1799; she passed away in 1800 following childbirth. The following year, he married Julie Magdalene Wallot, though their sole child died during infancy.
In 1806, Steinkopf purchased a printing establishment from Karl Jakob Klett, whose family had founded . He delegated the bookselling division to his brother Ferdinand in 1815; after Ferdinand’s premature death, ownership transferred to nephew Gustav Süskind and subsequently to another nephew, Rudely Louis Hänel, who became a partner in 1834. The publishing responsibilities were ultimately overseen by Friedrich August Steinkopf, son of Ferdinand.
Honored with the Orden der Württembergischen Krone in 1842, Steinkopf passed away at eighty years old following a brief illness.
Publishing program
Steinkopf focused on publishing works by pietistic writers including Johann Albrecht Bengel, , , and . Among his significant contributions was the publication of Tägliche Hand-Buch in guten und bösen Tagen by , marking the first new edition since 1738.
His initial original commercial success was the Ökonomische Handbuch für Frauenzimmer (1792), complemented by Friederike Luise Löffler’s cookbook—both of which continue to be reprinted.
From 1831 onward, Johann Christian Friedrich Burk produced the Sunday newspaper Der Christenbote through Steinkopf’s firm; this publication continued until it was prohibited by the Nazi authorities in 1941. Beginning in 1836, the company also released Jugendblätter, a youth magazine associated with pietist pastor Christian Gottlob Barth.
Sources
- Waltraud Pfäfflin; Friedrich Pfäfflin: Die Gräber der Dichter auf dem Stuttgarter Hoppenlau-Friedhof. with an essay by Udo Dickenberger. Stuttgart : Edition Vincent Klink, 2015, pps.91–93, 364–365
- Rudolf Schmidt: Deutsche Buchhändler. Deutsche Buchdrucker. Beiträge zu einer Firmengeschichte des deutschen Buchgewerbes. Vol.5. Berlin : Verlag der Buchdruckerei Franz Weber, 1908, pps. 930–934
- Stammbuch Karl Friedrich Adolf Steinkopf. 1795–1801
- Aus der Chronik der Familie Steinkopf. Ein Gedenkblatt zum 1. August 1898. Stuttgart : J. F. Steinkopf, 1898
External links
- "222 Jahre Steinkopf", company history @ Buchhandlung Steinkopf website