Grosses vollständiges Universal-Lexicon
Encyclopedia
The Grosses vollständiges Universal-Lexicon aller Wissenschafften und Künste (Great Complete Encyclopedia of All Sciences and Arts) is a 68-volume German encyclopedia
published by Johann Heinrich Zedler
between 1731 and 1754. It was the first encyclopaedia to include biographies of living people.
under the full name "Great Complete Encyclopaedia of All Sciences and Arts Which So Far Have Been Invented and Improved by Human Mind and Wit: Including the Geographical and Political Description of the Whole World According to All Monarchies, Empires, Kingdoms, Principalities, Republics, Free Sovereignties, Countries, Towns, Sea Harbors, Fortresses, Castles, Areas, Authorities, Monasteries, Mountains, Passes, Woods, Seas, Lakes ... and also a Detailed Historical and Genealogical Description of the World's Brightest and Most Famous Family Lines, the Life and Deeds of the Emperors, Kings, Electors and Princes, Great Heroes, Ministers of State, War Leaders... ; Equally about All Policies of State, War and Law and Budgetary Business of the Nobility and the Bourgeois, Merchants, Traders, Arts."
Zedler himself called his encyclopedia "Zedler's Encyclopedia" (Zedlersches Lexikon).
(volumes 1-2), Paul Daniel Longolius
(volumes 3-18), and Carl Günther Ludovici
(volumes 19-64 and supplements).
Nothing certain is known about the individual authors of the encyclopedia. Heinrich Winkler wrote many medical articles, and Friedrich August Müller probably wrote articles on philosophy. Lorenz Christoph Mizler (1711–1778) claimed to have written mathematical articles. Johann Heinrich Rother and Johann Christoph Gottsched have also been suggested as possible collaborators, though both denied it.
; at the time, it was the largest printed encyclopaedia in the western hemisphere. It was originally supposed to be printed in about 12 volumes, an estimate later extended to 24, but its final printing was in 64 volumes plus four supplements, with about 750,000 articles on 62,571 pages. Ludovici had even been intended to write a further four supplements.
Initial production was funded through Praenumeration
, where buyers paid in advance and received a discount on the volume that was later delivered.
The volumes were all printed in the cellars of Halle
Orphanage, not far from Leipzig. This printshop belonged to August Hermann Francke
's Halle Foundation. Later, between 1961 and 1964, the book was republished in Graz
, Austria
.
n State Library's digitisation center in Munich
(Münchener Digitalisierungszentrum, MDZ) digitized the encyclopedia completely, including the three supplements, in the form of images and PDF
files. The 68 volumes have an index and readers can browse through the pages.
-Bild des Zedlerschen Lexikons: Bibliographie
der in seinen China-Artikeln besprochenen oder als Quellen genannten Werke", in: Suevica. Beiträge zur schwäbischen Literatur- und Geistesgeschichte 9 (2001/2002). Stuttgart: Heinz, 2004 [2005], pp. 477-506, ISBN 3-88099-428-5.
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 Johann Heinrich Zedler
Johann Heinrich Zedler
Johann Heinrich Zedler was a bookseller and publisher. His most important achievement was the creation of a German encyclopedia, the Grosses Universal-Lexicon ,...
between 1731 and 1754. It was the first encyclopaedia to include biographies of living people.
Title
The bookseller and publisher Zedler published this book in LeipzigLeipzig
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...
under the full name "Great Complete Encyclopaedia of All Sciences and Arts Which So Far Have Been Invented and Improved by Human Mind and Wit: Including the Geographical and Political Description of the Whole World According to All Monarchies, Empires, Kingdoms, Principalities, Republics, Free Sovereignties, Countries, Towns, Sea Harbors, Fortresses, Castles, Areas, Authorities, Monasteries, Mountains, Passes, Woods, Seas, Lakes ... and also a Detailed Historical and Genealogical Description of the World's Brightest and Most Famous Family Lines, the Life and Deeds of the Emperors, Kings, Electors and Princes, Great Heroes, Ministers of State, War Leaders... ; Equally about All Policies of State, War and Law and Budgetary Business of the Nobility and the Bourgeois, Merchants, Traders, Arts."
Zedler himself called his encyclopedia "Zedler's Encyclopedia" (Zedlersches Lexikon).
Editors
Zedler's encyclopedia was the first which was worked on by editors who were specialists, and which was not named after the author or the editor, but instead after the publisher. The main editors were Jacob August FranckensteinJacob August Franckenstein
Jacob August Franckenstein was the main editor of the first two volumes of Johann Heinrich Zedler's Grosses vollständiges Universal-Lexicon , the most important encyclopedia published in Germany in the 18th century.Franckenstein was born in Leipzig on 27 December 1689, the son of the lawyer and...
(volumes 1-2), Paul Daniel Longolius
Paul Daniel Longolius
Paul Daniel Longolius was the main editor of volumes 3 through 18 of Johann Heinrich Zedler's Grosses vollständiges Universal-Lexicon from 1733 to 1739, replacing Jacob August Franckenstein, who had edited the first two volumes...
(volumes 3-18), and Carl Günther Ludovici
Carl Günther Ludovici
Carl Günther Ludovici was a German philosopher, lexicographer and economist.He edited a large part of the Grosses vollständiges Universal-Lexicon, a major German encyclopedia of the 18th century.-Life:Ludovici was born on 7 August 1707 in Liepzig, son of Christian Ludovici , professor of...
(volumes 19-64 and supplements).
Nothing certain is known about the individual authors of the encyclopedia. Heinrich Winkler wrote many medical articles, and Friedrich August Müller probably wrote articles on philosophy. Lorenz Christoph Mizler (1711–1778) claimed to have written mathematical articles. Johann Heinrich Rother and Johann Christoph Gottsched have also been suggested as possible collaborators, though both denied it.
Printing
The encyclopedia is sometimes considered the first modern one in the German languageGerman 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....
; at the time, it was the largest printed encyclopaedia in the western hemisphere. It was originally supposed to be printed in about 12 volumes, an estimate later extended to 24, but its final printing was in 64 volumes plus four supplements, with about 750,000 articles on 62,571 pages. Ludovici had even been intended to write a further four supplements.
Initial production was funded through Praenumeration
Praenumeration
Praenumeration was a common business practice in the 18th Century book trade in Germany.The publisher offered to sell a book that was planned but had not yet been printed, usually at a discount, so as to cover their costs in advance....
, where buyers paid in advance and received a discount on the volume that was later delivered.
The volumes were all printed in the cellars of Halle
Halle, Saxony-Anhalt
Halle is the largest city in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. It is also called Halle an der Saale in order to distinguish it from the town of Halle in North Rhine-Westphalia...
Orphanage, not far from Leipzig. This printshop belonged to August Hermann Francke
August Hermann Francke
August Hermann Francke was a German Lutheran churchman.-Biography:Born at the German city Lübeck, Francke was educated at the gymnasium in Gotha before he studied at the universities of Erfurt and Kiel - where he came under the influence of the pietist Christian Kortholt - and finally Leipzig...
's Halle Foundation. Later, between 1961 and 1964, the book was republished in Graz
Graz
The more recent population figures do not give the whole picture as only people with principal residence status are counted and people with secondary residence status are not. Most of the people with secondary residence status in Graz are students...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
.
Online copy
The BavariaBavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
n State Library's digitisation center in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
(Münchener Digitalisierungszentrum, MDZ) digitized the encyclopedia completely, including the three supplements, in the form of images and PDF
Portable Document Format
Portable Document Format is an open standard for document exchange. This file format, created by Adobe Systems in 1993, is used for representing documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems....
files. The 68 volumes have an index and readers can browse through the pages.
Further reading
Gu Zhengxiang: "Zum ChinaChina
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
-Bild des Zedlerschen Lexikons: Bibliographie
Bibliography
Bibliography , as a practice, is the academic study of books as physical, cultural objects; in this sense, it is also known as bibliology...
der in seinen China-Artikeln besprochenen oder als Quellen genannten Werke", in: Suevica. Beiträge zur schwäbischen Literatur- und Geistesgeschichte 9 (2001/2002). Stuttgart: Heinz, 2004 [2005], pp. 477-506, ISBN 3-88099-428-5.