Brockhaus Enzyklopädie
Encyclopedia
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
encyclopedia
Encyclopedia
An encyclopedia is a type of reference work, a compendium holding a summary of information from either all branches of knowledge or a particular branch of knowledge....
published by Brockhaus
Friedrich Arnold Brockhaus
Friedrich Arnold Brockhaus was a German encyclopedia publisher and editor, famed for publishing the Conversations-Lexikon, which is now published as the Brockhaus encyclopedia.-Biography:...
.
The first edition originated in the Conversations-Lexikon mit vorzüglicher Rücksicht auf die gegenwärtigen Zeiten
Conversations-Lexikon mit vorzüglicher Rücksicht auf die gegenwärtigen Zeiten
The Conversations-Lexikon mit vorzüglicher Rücksicht auf die gegenwärtigen Zeiten , Leipzig, 1796 to 1808, 8vo, 6 vols., 2,762 pages, was an encyclopedia edited by Dr Renatus Gotthelf Löbel, who intended to supersede Johann Hübner, and included geography, history, and in part biography, besides...
by Renatus Gotthelf Löbel and Christian Wilhelm Franke, published in Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
1796-1808. Paralleling other 18th century encyclopedias, the scope was expanded beyond that of earlier publications, in an effort to become comprehensive. This Lexikon included geography, history, and in part biography, as well as the more typical mythology, philosophy, natural history, and so on.
The 21st edition contains about 300,000 entries on 24,000 pages, with about 35,000 maps, graphics and tables. It is the largest German language
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
printed encyclopedia in the 21st century. A digital
Digital
A digital system is a data technology that uses discrete values. By contrast, non-digital systems use a continuous range of values to represent information...
multimedia
Multimedia
Multimedia is media and content that uses a combination of different content forms. The term can be used as a noun or as an adjective describing a medium as having multiple content forms. The term is used in contrast to media which use only rudimentary computer display such as text-only, or...
encyclopedia based on the Brockhaus Enzyklopädie is available under the name Brockhaus Multimedial Premium, which is similar to Microsoft Encarta
Encarta
Microsoft Encarta was a digital multimedia encyclopedia published by Microsoft Corporation from 1993 to 2009. , the complete English version, Encarta Premium, consisted of more than 62,000 articles, numerous photos and illustrations, music clips, videos, interactive contents, timelines, maps and...
.
History
In 1808, the rights to the publication were bought by Friedrich Arnold BrockhausFriedrich Arnold Brockhaus
Friedrich Arnold Brockhaus was a German encyclopedia publisher and editor, famed for publishing the Conversations-Lexikon, which is now published as the Brockhaus encyclopedia.-Biography:...
, who paid 1,800 thaler
Reichsthaler
The Reichsthaler was a standard Thaler of the Holy Roman Empire, established in 1566 by the Leipzig convention. It was also the name of a unit of account in northern Germany and of a silver coin issued by Prussia.-Reichsthaler coin:...
s.
Full print editions
Thirteen editions were issued during the 19th century. The articles, often very brief, were considered excellent and trustworthy, especially on German subjects, gave references to the best books, and included biographies of living men.At first the name of the encyclopedia remained Konversationslexikon or Allgemeine deutsche Real-Encyklopädie für die gebildeten Stände ("General German encyclopedia for the educated"); only with the 13th edition did the name Brockhaus appear in the title, and the present edition is titled Brockhaus Enzyklopädie.
Christian Wilhelm Franke was to finish vol. vi of the Leipzig publication by December 1808, and the already projected supplement, in 2 volumes, by 1811. Brockhaus himself edited the 2nd edition (1812–1819, 10 vols.), and, when vol. IV was published, the 3rd (1814–1819). Dr. Ludwig Ham assisted in editing the 4th and 5th editions until he left Leipzig in April 1820, when Professor F.C. Hasse took his place. Brockhaus died in 1823, and his two eldest sons, Friedrich and Heinrich, edited the 6th edition with Hasse's assistance in September 1823. Hasse edited the 7th edition. Dr. Karl August Espe edited the 8th and 9th editions.
Dr. August Kurtzel, aided by Oskar Pilz, edited the 10th edition, assisted by Heinrich Edward Brockhaus, and Heinrich Rudolf Brockhaus, the younger son, assisted in the 11th edition. Kurtzel died on April 24, 1871, and Pilz was sole editor until March 1872, when Dr. Gustav Stockmann joined, who was alone from April until joined by Dr. Karl Wippermann in October.
The 14th edition was published in 1894, featuring 18,842 pages in 16 regular volumes and one supplement volume.
Preparations for the 15th edition were disrupted by World War I, and recommenced in earnest only in 1925. Because its 20 volumes (15,800 pages) were published from 1928-1934 which covered the period of the Weimar Republic
Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic is the name given by historians to the parliamentary republic established in 1919 in Germany to replace the imperial form of government...
, this edition is sometimes referred to as the Weimar Brockhaus. A supplement volume was published in 1935.
The 16th edition, published 1952-1957, consisted of 12 regular volumes, two supplement volumes, and one atlas
Atlas
An atlas is a collection of maps; it is typically a map of Earth or a region of Earth, but there are atlases of the other planets in the Solar System. Atlases have traditionally been bound into book form, but today many atlases are in multimedia formats...
volume.
The latest (2005–2006) full print version of the Brockhaus Enzyklopädie is the 21st edition, with approx. 24,500 pages in 30 volumes. Prices start at EUR 2,820.
Abbreviated print editions
In addition to the full encyclopedia, several abbreviated editions have been published with increasingly condensed content:- The 1854 Kleineres Brockhaus'sches Conversations-Lexikon für den Hausgebrauch ("Minor Brockhaus Encyclopedia for Home Use") had 4 volumes;
- The Brockhaus’ Kleines Konversations-Lexikon ("Brockhaus Small Encyclopedia," multiple editions, was published in two volumes;
- Der Volks-Brockhaus ("The People's Brockhaus"), the first single-volume version, was first published in 1931. By 1941 it was in its 9th edition, with 794 pages.
Transition to digital editions
On February 13, 2008, Brockhaus announced that due to the disappointing sales figures it would make the content of the encyclopedia available online, supported by Internet advertising revenues and that there might be no more print editions. This announcement briefly boosted print sales again and the plans to switch to an on-line only edition were canceled. However, in 2009 Bibliographisches Institut & F.A. Brockhaus AG (Bifab) sold the Brockhaus brand to BertelsmannBertelsmann
Bertelsmann AG is a multinational media corporation founded in 1835, based in Gütersloh, Germany. The company operates in 63 countries and employs 102,983 workers , which makes it the most international media corporation in the world. In 2008 the company reported a €16.118 billion consolidated...
, renamed themselves to Bibliographisches Institut AG, and sacked 50 employees of its Leipzig-based editorial staff. This move was widely interpreted as the end of Brockhaus Enzyklopädie, caused by the competition of Internet-based reference works such as Wikipedia
Wikipedia
Wikipedia is a free, web-based, collaborative, multilingual encyclopedia project supported by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation. Its 20 million articles have been written collaboratively by volunteers around the world. Almost all of its articles can be edited by anyone with access to the site,...
.
Impact
"No work of reference has been more useful and successful, or more frequently copied, imitated and translated, than that known as the Conversations-Lexikon of Brockhaus," wrote the 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica. The work was intended not for scientific use, but to promote general intellectual improvement by giving the results of research and discovery in a simple and popular form without extended details. This format, a contrast to the Encyclopædia BritannicaEncyclopædia Britannica
The Encyclopædia Britannica , published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia that is available in print, as a DVD, and on the Internet. It is written and continuously updated by about 100 full-time editors and more than 4,000 expert...
, was widely imitated by later 19th century encyclopedias in Britain and the United States. The seventh edition of the Conversations-Lexikon formed the basis of the Encyclopedia Americana
Encyclopedia Americana
Encyclopedia Americana is one of the largest general encyclopedias in the English language. Following the acquisition of Grolier in 2000, the encyclopedia has been produced by Scholastic....
(1829–1833), the first significant American encyclopedia.
In 2009, Brockhaus had a brand recognition of 93% in Germany.
Edition history
- 1st (1796–1808)
- 2nd (1812–1819)
- 3rd (1814–1815)
- 4th (1817–1819)
- 5th (1819–1820)
- 6th (1824)
- 7th (1827)
- 8th (1833–1837)
- 9th (1843–1848)
- 10th (1851–1855)
- 11th (1864–1868)
- 12th (1875–1879)
- 13th (1882–1887) Brockhaus Conversations-Lexikon
- 14th (1892–1895) Brockhaus Konversations-Lexikon
- 15th (1928–1935) Der Große Brockhaus
- 16th (1953–1957) Der Große Brockhaus
- 17th (1966–1974) Brockhaus Enzyklopädie
- 18th (1977–1981) Der Große Brockhaus
- 19th (1986–1994) Brockhaus Enzyklopädie
- 20th (1996–1999) Brockhaus Die Enzyklopädie
- 21st (2005–2006) Brockhaus Enzyklopädie (starting fall 2005)
- (2007) Special edition of the 21st edition, with book design by Armin Mueller-StahlArmin Mueller-StahlArmin Mueller-Stahl is a German film actor, painter, writer and musician.-Early life:Mueller-Stahl was born in Tilsit, East Prussia...
(starting fall 2007)
External links
- Brockhaus
- Brockhaus' Kleines Konversations-Lexikon (1911 edition)
- Vollständiges Verzeichniss der von der Firma F.A. Brockhaus in Leipzig seit ihrer Gründung durch Friedrich Arnold Brockhaus im Jahre 1805 bis zu dessen hundertjährigen Geburtstage im Jahre 1872 verlegten Werke, in chronologischer Folge mit biographischen und literarhistorischen Notizen (1872) (Catalogue of books published by F.A. Brockhaus until 1872, including publishing details of the "Konversationslexikon" until the 11th edition) - scan at the Internet ArchiveInternet ArchiveThe Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...