Alexander Friedrich Wilhelm Duncker (February 18, 1813 – August 23, 1879) was a German publisher and bookseller.

Life and family

He was descended from a successful Berlin family of booksellers, born in Berlin, the son of Carl Friedrich Wilhelm Duncker (1781–1869) and Fanny Duncker (née Wolff). His brothers included historian and politician Maximilian Duncker (1811–1886), and publisher and pundit Franz Duncker (1822–1888), founder of a trade union with labor economist Max Hirsch (1832–1905). Another brother, Hermann Carl Rudolf Duncker (1817–1892) was a member of the Prussian National Assembly and a mayor of Berlin. Duncker's father had founded the publishing firm in 1809, running it alone after business partner Peter Humblot died in 1828. Alexander Duncker started his education in 1829. After apprenticeships with Friedrich Christoph Perthes and Johann Besser in Hamburg, Duncker founded his own firm, "Verlag Alexander Duncker". His firm specialized in Belles lettres (German: Belletristik) and visual arts. Among the authors he published were Thekla von Gumpert, Ida Hahn-Hahn, Paul Heyse, Karl von Holtei, August Kopisch, Fanny Lewald, Elise Polko, Christian Friedrich Scherenberg, Hermann von Pückler-Muskau, and Friedrich von Uechtriz. He was instrumental in promoting new authors, and some of them Emanuel Geibel, Wilhelm Jensen, Marie Petersen, Gustav zu Putlitz, and Theodor Storm found their first recognition through Duncker's efforts. Duncker had far-reaching political connections and regularly corresponded with King Friedrich Wilhelm IV. Later, he maintained contact with Emperor William I. From 1841 he held the title "Royal Court Bookseller". As a reserve officer attaining the rank of lieutenant colonel, he participated in the wars against

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

(1864), Austria (1866), and France (1870-71).

Works

A high point in his output was a graphic collection of Prussian castles under the title, ''Die ländlichen Wohnsitze, Schlösser und Residenzen der ritterschaftlichen Grundbesitzer in der preussischen Monarchie nebst den königlichen Familien-, Haus-Fideicommiss- und Schatull-Gütern in naturgetreuen, künstlerisch ausgeführten, farbigen Darstellungen nebst begleitendem Text'' (in English: The rural residences, castles, and palaces of the knightly landowners in the Prussian monarchy, along with the royal families estates, fideicommissum estates, and private sovereign estates, depicted in lifelike, artistically executed, colorful illustrations with accompanying text) appearing from 1857 to 1883. The series of 320 signatures in 16 volumes included 960 color lithographs measuring 20x15 cm. The collection is especially valuable for its pictorial record of numerous stately buildings from the old eastern German lands, many of which were destroyed during and after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

when these regions were transferred to

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

and the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. File:Rittergut Sglietz Sammlung Duncker.jpg, Manor of Glietz Brandebourg in 1865 File:Schloss Tamsel.jpg, Tamsel File:Rittergut Fredersdorf Sammlung Duncker.jpg, Fredersdorf Manor File:Schloss Ahrensburg Sammlung Duncker.jpg, Ahrensburg in

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; ; ; ; ; occasionally in English ''Sleswick-Holsatia'') is the Northern Germany, northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical Duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of S ...

File:Burg Loersfeld.jpg, Lörsfeld Hall File:Gut Rosbitek Sammlung Duncker.jpg, Rozbitek File:Schloss Stolzenfels Sammlung Duncker.jpg, Stolzenfels Castle File:Tillowitz - Schloss.jpg, Tillowitz (

Silesia Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...

Province of Silesia The Province of Silesia (; ; ) was a province of Prussia from 1815 to 1919. The Silesia region was part of the Prussian realm since 1742 and established as an official province in 1815, then became part of the German Empire in 1871. In 1919, as ...

) File:Schloss Chutow Sammlung Duncker.jpg, Chutow Castle (Silesia / Province of Silesia) Another large project was an edition of the political correspondence of

Frederick the Great Frederick II (; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was the monarch of Prussia from 1740 until his death in 1786. He was the last Hohenzollern monarch titled ''King in Prussia'', declaring himself ''King of Prussia'' after annexing Royal Prussia ...

, which by Duncker's death had appeared in 24 volumes – eventually totaling 46 volumes by 1939 when it was interrupted by the second world war. The project resumed with the issue of volume 47 in 2003. Duncker also wrote works including: * 1851 The Patriots: National drama in three acts. * 1867 Through Night to the Light. A time story * 1877 Off the road. Poems of a vagabond * 1886 Angiola Folimarino (novella) * 1891 Her Picture (novella) * 1897 The Swallows. A children's tale.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* Dora Duncker: ''Das Haus Duncker. Ein Buchhändlerroman aus dem Biedermeier''. Berlin 1918 (mainly about Carl Friedrich Wilhelm Duncker) * Peter-Michael Hahn und Hellmut Lorenz (Ed.): ''Herrenhäuser in Brandenburg und der Niederlausitz. Kommentierte Neuausgabe des Ansichtenwerks von Alexander Duncker (1857–1883)''. Nicolai, Berlin 2000, , Volume 1 Introduction, Volume 2 Catalog * * Soetemann, Christel: ''Alexander Dunckers 'Ländliche Wohnsitze, Schlösser und Residenzen der Preußischen Monarchie'. Tausend Veduten zwischen Tilsit und Trier''. from: Lüneburger Beiträge zur Vedutenforschung. Edited Eckhard Jäger. Lüneburg: Verlag Nordostdeutsches Kulturwerk, 1983. pp. 173–210 * Loeck, Gottfried: ''Alexander Dunckers Werk über die ländlichen Wohnsitze der ritterschaftlichen Grundbesitzer Preußens - eine wertvolle Quelle zur pommerschen Geschichte''. from: Baltische Studien - Pommersche Jahrbücher für Landesgeschichte. Edited by Gesellschaft für pommersche Geschichte, Altertumskunde und Kunst e.V ., Vol. 82, pp. 99–119. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Duncker, Alexander Friedrich Wilhelm 1813 births 1879 deaths 19th-century German publishers (people) German booksellers Businesspeople from Berlin Prussian Army personnel