Johan Frederik Schultz (1 March 1756 – 28 November 1817) was a Danish book printer and publisher.

Biography

Schultz was born in

Odense Odense ( , , ) is the third largest city in Denmark (after Copenhagen and Aarhus) and the largest city on the island of Funen. As of 1 January 2025, the city proper had a population of 185,480 while Odense Municipality had a population of 210, ...

. After completing an

apprenticeship Apprenticeship is a system for training a potential new practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study. Apprenticeships may also enable practitioners to gain a license to practice in a regulat ...

as a book printer in 1777, her moved to

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

where he was employed at the

Berlingske ''Berlingske'', previously known as ''Berlingske Tidende'' (, 'Berling's Times'), is a Danish national daily newspaper based in Copenhagen. It is considered a newspaper of record for Denmark. First published on 3 January 1749, ''Berlingske'' is ...

publishing house. In 1783, he established his own company after acquiring a small printing business. The company moved into a building on

Højbro Plads Højbro Plads (literally "High Bridge Square") is a rectangular public square located between the adjoining Amagertorv and Slotsholmens Kanal, Slotsholmen Canal in the Indre By, City Centre of Copenhagen, Denmark. It takes its name from the Slotsh ...

in 1787 and Schultz was appointed to Royal Book Printer in 1789. Schultz was also on good terms with many prominent writers, including

Knud Lyne Rahbæk Knut ( Norwegian and Swedish), Knud ( Danish), or Knútur ( Icelandic) is a Scandinavian and German first name, of which the anglicised form is Canute. In Germany both "Knut" and "Knud" are used. In Spanish and Portuguese Canuto is used which ...

, C. Pram, T. Thaarup, R. Nyerup and

Jens Baggesen Jens Immanuel Baggesen (15 February 1764 – 3 October 1826) was a major Danish poet, librettist, critic, and comic writer. Life Baggesen was born at Korsør on the Danish island of Zealand on February 15, 1764. His parents were very ...

. He published much of the Danish fiction of his time as well as several journals, including ''Minerva'' and ''Den danske Tilskuer''. Among his most notable publications was an edition of

Ludvig Holberg Ludvig Holberg, Baron of Holberg (3 December 1684 – 28 January 1754) was a writer, essayist, philosopher, historian and playwright born in Bergen, Norway, during the time of the Denmark–Norway, Dano–Norwegian dual monarchy. He was infl ...

's '' Niels Klim'' in Baggesen's translation from 1789 with illustrations by

Nicolai Abildgaard Nicolai Abraham Abildgaard (11 September 1743 – 4 June 1809) was a Danish neoclassical and royal history painter, sculptor, architect, and professor of painting, mythology, and anatomy at the New Royal Danish Academy of Art in Copenhage ...

. Schultz's building on Højbro Plads was destroyed in the

Copenhagen fire of 1795 The Copenhagen Fire of 1795 (''Københavns brand 1795'') started on Friday, 5 June 1795, at or around 3 pm by the Navy's old base south east of Kongens Nytorv on Gammelholm, in the Navy's magazine for coal and timber, the so-called Dellehave. As t ...

. He immediately acquired a publishing house in

Skindergade Skindergade is a street in central Copenhagen, Denmark. Running roughly parallel to Strøget, to which it is connected through Jorcks Passage, it extends for approximately 400 metres from Gammeltorv to Købmagergade. History Its name dates ba ...

from P. M. Høpfner, who was both responsible for publications from

University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen (, KU) is a public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in Scandinavia, after Uppsala University. ...

and the Court. Schultz moved his business back to Højbro Plads when a new building had been completed in 1797 and it soon developed into one of the largest Danish publishing houses om Copenhagen. Among Schultz's most important publications from this period was Rahbek's edition of Holberg's complete works which was published in 21 volumes between 1804 and 1814. Schultz became a wealthy man who owned several properties in and near Copenhagen. He was a member of the

Royal Copenhagen Shooting Society The Royal Copenhagen Shooting Society ( Danish: Kongelige Kjøbenhavnske Skydeselskab og danske Broderskab) was founded some time before 1443 in Copenhagen, Denmark. Originally it served to train citizens to contribute to the defence of the city b ...

. He died in 1817 and is interred in

Assistens Cemetery An Assistens Cemetery () is a cemetery that functions as an expansion of another, older cemetery often in relation to a city church. Already by the end of the 17th century, Danish authorities deemed that the conditions for inner-city cemeteries we ...

Legacy

Schultz's widow was after her husband's death granted permission to keep his privileges and ran the company until her death. It was then passed on to her son by her first marriage, Jens Nicolai Christian Hostrup S. (1782–1849) and later to his descendants. Schultx's building on Højbro Plads (No. 4) still exist. It was listed in 1945.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schultz, Johan Frederik 18th-century Danish publishers (people) 19th-century Danish publishers (people) Danish printers Danish company founders People from Odense 1756 births 1817 deaths

Biography

Legacy

Further reading

References