Verlag Herder

Verlag Herderis a publishing company started by the Herders, a German family. The company focuses primarily onCatholictopics ofecclesiology,Christian mysticism,women's studies, and the development of younger Catholic theologians.

Verlag Herder

Founded	1801
Founder	Bartholomäus Herder
Country of origin	Germany
Headquarters location	Freiburg im Breisgau
Publication types	Books
Nonfiction topics	Christianity
Imprints	Crossroad
Official website	www.herder.de (in German)

History

Bartholomäus Herder

In 1801Bartholomäus Herderfounded the publishing firm inMeersburg.Among the first publications, which were mainly of a theological and pedagogic character, wereIgnaz Heinrich von Wessenberg's "Archiv für pastorale Conferenzen in den Landkapiteln des Bisthums Constanz"(1802–27).

In 1810 the business moved toFreiburg im Breisgau,where, in connection with the university, a more comprehensive character was given to the publications and helped in developing new directions. One of the most important publications wasKarl von Rotteck's "Allgemeine Geschichte vom Anfang der historischen Kenntniss bis auf unsere Zeiten"(9 volumes, 1812–27; the 15th edition being issued by another firm). Being entrusted with the publication of the official war bulletin, the"Teutsche Blätter",by the royal and imperial authorities at headquarters as early as the end of 1813, Herder went toPariswith the allied armies in 1815 inMetternich's train as "Director of the Royal and Imperial Field Press".

After the end of the war, Herder founded an art institution forlithography,copperplate engraving,and modeling in terra cotta, in connection with the publishing business. More than three hundred pupils were educated there, while the sumptuous illustrations and maps that were issued mark an epoch in the history of this branch of technic–especially the "Heilige Schriften des Alten und Neuen Testamentes in 200 biblischen Kupfern"(the Holy Writ of the Old and the New Testament in 200 biblical engravings), of which Herder reproduced numerous impressions by an original lithographic process, and Woerl's"Atlas von Central-Europa in 60 Blättern"(Atlas of Central Europe in 60 plates, 1830), which was the earliest employment of two-colour lithography. As late as 1870 this atlas rendered important service to the German army by reason of the map ofFranceit contained. Although such great achievements won a European reputation for the house, the commercial profits derived therefrom were entirely disproportionate to the expenditure. Consequently the condition of the house at Bartholomäus Herder's death in 1839 was by no means a satisfactory one. His two sons succeeded to the heritage.

Karl Raphael Herder and Benjamin Herder

Karl Raphael Herder(2 November 1816 – 10 June 1865), the older son of Bartholomäus, took up the commercial side of the business, while the youngerBenjamin Herder(31 July 1818 – 10 November 1888), took charge of the publishing department until his brother's retirement in 1856, when he undertook the sole management. Equipped with a thorough, scholarly education, trained in the book business by his father and under Gauthier de Laguionie in Paris, Benjamin had had his views further broadened early in life by travels through Germany, Austria, France, England, and Italy.

Benjamin, strongly impressed by the 1837 conflicts between Protestants and Catholics inCologne,pivoted the publishing business to focus on revitalizing the Catholic Church in Germany. He gradually abandoned fine-art publications in favour of book-publishing, with an emphasis on religious books. These included theological literature, catechetical works, pedagogies, saints' lives, and sermons. He next took up works dealing with the religious and political problems of the day, with questions of ecclesiastical policy and social controversies and issues. Eventually he expanded to works on the general sciences–history and philosophy, the natural sciences, geography, and ethnology, including the publication of atlases, school textbooks, music, art and its literature, the history of literature, and belles-lettres. His governing purpose throughout was to avoid wasting his energies on particular publications, but to build up the various branches gradually and systematically by the publication of more comprehensive "collections" and "libraries" and by the issue of scientific periodicals.

TheKirchenlexikon(Church Lexicon) was the great centre of his fifty years' activity as a publisher. It was the first comprehensive attempt to treat everything that had any connexion with theology encyclopedically in one work, and also the first attempt to unite all the Catholic savants of Germany, in the production of one great work. Herder had nursed this project since 1840. When its appearance was made possible and its issue was begun in 1847 under the direction ofBenedict Welte,exegete of Tübingen, andHeinrich Joseph Wetzer,Orientalist of Freiburg. After sixteen years of struggling and striving on the part of Herder, all obstacles were overcome, and the work was brought to completion in 1856, thanks chiefly to the support ofHefele.

It had a decisive influence on the subsequent intellectual activity of Catholicism. While it was still in process of issue,Protestantscholars made use of Herder's scheme for theReal-Encyklopädie für protestantische Theologie.It was sixteen years more before the preliminary work could be begun on the new edition, and ten years more before its publication could be started. While the historical element had been especially emphasized in the first edition, the dogmatic and exegetical side was expanded to equal dimensions in the second edition. The subjects to be treated were chosen byAdalbert Weiss,professor at the Freising lyceum, and the editorial chair was held byJoseph Hergenrötheruntil his elevation to the cardinalate, and afterwards byFranz Philip Kaulen,the exegete of Bonn.

When the "Kirchenlexikon"was nearing completion, Herder began the publication of the"Konversations-Lexikon"(Universal Encyclopedia, 1st ed., 1853-7), a general encyclopedia intended for a Catholic audience. Out of regard for the limited purchasing capacity of the Catholic public in Germany, he confined himself to the modest limits of five medium-sized volumes.

Herder published a great number of other works, some of which became well-known and garnered an international reputation for his publishing house. These included the works ofAlban Stolz,popular theologian and teacher, whoseKalender für Zeit und Ewigkeitachieved an extraordinary success.Ignaz Schuster's catechisms and Biblical histories also solds hundreds of thousands of copies in up to twenty-five languages. Herder also published Hefele's "Conciliengeschichte"andFranz Hettinger'sApologie des Christentums,as well as the "Apologien"of Weiss and Schanz.

In 1864,Pope Pius IXpublishedQuanta curaand theSyllabus of Errors,andpapal infallibilitybecame a hot topic among Catholics. In response, Herder published in "Stimmen aus Maria Laach"a comprehensive defence of the authority of the pope. On controversies concerning theFirst Vatican Council,he published Hergenröther's "Anti-Janus", followed by a series of historico-theological essays, the "Katholische Kirche und christlicher Staat in ihrer geschichtlichen Entwicklung und in Beziehung auf Fragen der Gegenwart".

TheStimmenat first appeared irregularly, but developed into a significant phenomenon; its "Ergänzungshefte"(Supplementary Numbers) numbered more than one hundred. These works contributed to a growing relationship between the house of Herder and the German Jesuits, which led to publications such as the"Collectio Lacensis"and the"Philosophia Lacensis".

Since 1841, Herder had planned to build up a "Theologische Bibliothek"(Theological Library), but he did not accomplish this until thirty years later. TheBibliothekopened after the promulgation of the fundamental decrees of the First Vatican Council, withScheeben'sHandbuch der Dogmatik.

In response to theKulturkampf,Herder published Janssen'sGeschichte des deutschen Volkes,which became popular even among Protestants.

Other works published by Herder included:

• Real-Encyklopädie der christlichen Alterthümer(F. X. Kraus),
• Praktischer Kommentar zur biblischen Geschichte(Justus Knecht)
• Bibliothek für Länder- und Völker-kunde(Friedrich von Hellwald)
• Jahrbuch der Naturwissenschaften(Max Wildermann)
• Geschichte der Päpste(Ludwig von Pastor)
• Staatslexikon der Görres-Gesellschaft(Adolf Bruder)
• Archiv für Literature und Kirchengeschichte des Mittelalters(Henry DenifleandFranz Ehrle)
• Bibliothek für katholische Pädagogik(Franz Xaver Kunz)

Herder generally took an active role in publishing, selecting the themes for literary treatment and keeping watch for competent collaborators. The publishing house sometimes faced financial difficulties under his management, including during the Baden uprising of 1848, the wars between 1859 and 1871, and the Kulturkampf. Herder was dedicated to training his assistants, and one of them, Franz Joseph Hutter (b. at Ravensburg, 25 November 1840) later became his partner in the business.

New branches were established to open a wider market than the older establishments at Freiburg and Strasburg afforded. In 1873 were founded the St. Louis (U. S. A.) branch, under the management of Joseph Gummersbach, and the Munich branch under Herder's brother-in-law, Adolf Streber, and in 1886 that at Vienna.

In 1863 Herder marriednumismatistEmilie Streber, daughter ofFranz Seraph Streber.His alliance with the Streber family introduced Herder to a circle of men who played an important part in the Catholic revival in Germany.

Hermann Herder

Under the management of Hermann Herder, a series of collections, chiefly theological and historical, were issued. Publishing started in foreign languages, principally Spanish and English. In the 21st century, various annuals have been published. These include the "Geschichte der Weltliteratur"ofAlexander Baumgartner,the definitive collection of sources for theTridentine Council,the third, completely revised, edition of the "Konversations-Lexikon",and Joseph Wilpert's work,Fractio Panis, die alteste Darstellung der eucharistischen Opfers (Freiburg in Breisgau)on thecatacombs.

The firm established an office inSt. Louis, Missouriin 1873,and one in Berlin in 1906.

Current operations

In the 1990s, the American imprint of Herder & Herder was brought back under the international Herder publishing family. Gwendolin Herder became the CEO of TheCrossroad Publishing Company,based in New York. Manuel Herder was in charge of operations in Freiburg, Germany, and Raimund Herder led the office inBarcelona, Spain.

References

• This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Franz Meister (1913). "Herder".In Herbermann, Charles (ed.).Catholic Encyclopedia.New York: Robert Appleton Company.

External links

• Official website(in German)