Albertus Willem Sijthoff (30 June 1829 – 29 July 1913) was a prominent

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

publisher from

Leiden Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration wi ...

, Netherlands.

Early life

Sijthoff was born in 1829 to an established family in Leiden. He was educated at the Stedelijk Gymnasium in Leiden, which had established a reputation as the "city of books." His father was a prominent baker who died in 1843.

Publishing work

Sijthoff worked in the book and newspaper printing office of J.G. La Lau, and the

Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

bookselling firm of K. Fuhri. After working in Paris as a resident typographist, Sijthhoff first spoke to colleagues about starting his own printing business on October 20, 1850. The A.W. Sijthoff company was established in

in 1851. Sijthoff rose to prominence in the trade of translated books. He wrote a letter, dated November 12, 1899, to Queen

Wilhelmina of the Netherlands Wilhelmina (; Wilhelmina Helena Pauline Maria; 31 August 1880 – 28 November 1962) was Queen of the Netherlands from 1890 until her abdication in 1948. She reigned for nearly 58 years, longer than any other Dutch monarch. Her reign saw World Wa ...

regarding his opposition to the petition to become a signatory to the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works. He felt that the international copyright restrictions would stifle the publishing industry in the Netherlands. Sijthoff was a member of the Society of Dutch Literature. He was knighted in the

Order of Orange-Nassau The Order of Orange-Nassau ( nl, Orde van Oranje-Nassau, links=no) is a civil and military Dutch order of chivalry founded on 4 April 1892 by the queen regent, Emma of the Netherlands. The order is a chivalric order open to "everyone who has ...

, the

Order of the Oak Crown The Order of the Oak Crown (french: Ordre de la Couronne de chêne, german: Eichenlaubkronenorden, lb, Eechelaafkrounenuerden) is an order of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. History The Order of the Oak Crown was established in 1841 by Gran ...

and the

Order of the Polar Star The Royal Order of the Polar Star ( Swedish: ''Kungliga Nordstjärneorden'') is a Swedish order of chivalry created by King Frederick I on 23 February 1748, together with the Order of the Sword and the Order of the Seraphim. The Order of t ...

Retirement and legacy

Sijthoff spent his retirement at Villa Waldberta, an estate in Feldafing,

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

which he acquired from

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

banker Bernhard Schuler in 1903. Previously called Villa Felsenheim, Sijthoff renamed it after himself and his wife Waldina. Sijthoff lived there until his death in 1913.

Willi Daume Willi is a given name, nickname (often a short form or hypocorism of Wilhelm) and surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name * Willi Apel (1893–1988), German-American musicologist * Willi Boskovsky (1909–1991), Austrian violin ...

, president of the

organizing committee of the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. ...

occupied the villa from 1968 to 1974. His son

Albert Georg Sijthoff Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert (supermarket), a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street market in The Gambia * Albert Productions, a record label * Albert C ...

continued in his father's footsteps, taking over as publisher of the ''

Haagsche Courant 250px, The former headquarters of the Haagsche Courant in Rijswijk The ''Haagsche Courant'' operated as an independent newspaper between 1864 and 2005 in The Hague and its suburbs. After it was acquired by the Algemeen Dagblad (AD) it is now pu ...

''. The

Sijthoff Planetarium Sijthoff may refer to: People *Albertus Willem Sijthoff (1829–1913), a prominent Dutch publisher *Albert Georg Sijthoff (1853–1927), son of Albertus Willem Sijthoff and publisher of the ''Haagsche Courant'' *Bob Sijthoff, descendant of ...

in The Hague was named in his son's honor in 1934, as well as the asteroid 3201 Sijthoff, which was discovered in 1960. The family's publishing company continues to operate today as Luitingh-Sijthoff.

References

External links

The printer-publisher A.W. Sijthoff (1829-1913)
in the Digital library for Dutch literature (in Dutch)
English translation

A.W. Sijthoff's enterprise of the Codices graeci et latini photographice depicti duce Bibliothecae Universitatis leidensis praefecto
at the Internet Archive
Letter Collection
of the University of Leiden {{DEFAULTSORT:Sijthoff, Albertus Willem 1829 births 1913 deaths Dutch publishers (people) Knights of the Order of the Polar Star People from Leiden Knights of the Order of Orange-Nassau

Early life

Publishing work

Retirement and legacy

See also

References

External links