Hamburg:Bookshops

From Marteau

Books sold in churches

Hamburg tourists were surprised by the fact that the city’s booksellers resided in all the bigger churches. The title pages of books printed in Hamburg mentioned where the respective booksellers resided. Visiting these churches became, however, a special experience with the mixture of worldly business and devotion one would now encounter.

Zacharias Conrad von Uffenbach (published posthumously in 1753) gives a vivid account of his first experiences with the local trade. He and his company arrive in Hamburg the morning of 18 February 1710:

[...] allwo wir vor neun Uhr ankamen, und bey dem Rathhaus in dem grossen Kaysers-Hof zimlich wohl uns einlogirten. Wir kleideten uns gleich anders an, und nachdem wir gespeiset, giengen wir ein wenig in der Stadt herum, wie auch in einige Buchläden. Man muß sich verwundern, daß alle in den Kirchen, und zwar nicht etwa ausserhalb im Chor, sondern selbst innwendig in denen Kirchen und Kapellen sind; da, wenn sie gleich, wenn geprediget wird, verschlossen sind, doch Bücher angemalt, und der Name des Buchhändlers und der Officin zu lesen. Ich fande, daß sie gar nichts von gebundenen Büchern, über die rohen aber, die sehr theur, nicht einmal Catalogos haben, sondern in großer Menge die schönsten und kostbarsten Bücher auf Tischen ordentlich liegen, oder an den Wänden hangen haben, die alle von Fliegen, Staub und sonsten sehr verderbet sind, welches mich nicht wenig ärgerte. [Herrn Zacharias Conrad von Uffenbach merckwürdige Reisen, 2 (Frankfurt/ Leipzig, 1753), p.75.]
where we arrived at nine a clock and chose a good accommodation near the city Hall in the big Kayser-Hof. We got into fresh clothes and walked through the city where we also took a look at the bookshops. One has to note this with surprise that they have all their shops in the churches — not without the sanctuary but inside. The bookstalls are closed when the preachers deliver their sermons, yet even then you see the books depicted on the outside of the shops where you can also read the names of the individual booksellers. I did hardly find any bound books and the raw ones were expensive and offered without the help of catalogues. What made things worse I saw some of the finest strewn around or hanging at the walls where flies and dust did their best to damage them not little to my annoyance.

As in most of the other German cities the booksellers were not allowed to sell new books bound – the binders were a privileged trade of their own and specialised often as sellers of books they bought and bound. Booksellers in other cities would, however, have old books on their shelves and work as well as antiquarians. Hamburg’s trade focused (as London’s) on modern books.

The throng in the churches bothered the tourist who wanted to take notes of the memorable sights. Uffenbach comparing the city’s cathedral with that of his hometown Frankfurt:

Die Kirche an sich selbst ist sonsten sehr niedrig und schlecht [i.e. schlicht], auch vor eine Haupt-Kirche und Dom gar nicht groß. Ueberhaupt sehen alle Kirchen allhier sehr wüste aus, und sind wegen der vielen durchlauffenden Leute nicht wohl zu sehen. Denn wenn man vor einem Epitaphio oder sonst etwas stehet, es ansiehet, oder etwas notiret, hat man gleich zehen oder mehr Menschen um sich herum, die Wunder meynen, was da zu thun seye. So kan man auch nicht einmal einen Küster herbey bekommen, der einem, wie anderer Orten, vor ein Trankgeld das merkwürdigste [i.e. die beachtenswerten Dinge] zeige, oder aufsuchen helfe, da es ohnedem schwer fällt, weil die Kirchen mit Buch-Läden sehr verstellet sind, etwas zu finden. [Herrn Zacharias Conrad von Uffenbach merckwürdige Reisen, 2 (Frankfurt/ Leipzig, 1753), p.122.]
The church is otherwise very low and lacking decoration, also quite small for a city’s central church. Everything is in any case a mess and one cannot see very much due to the crowd of people running around. As soon as you pause to take a look at or note down one of the inscriptions people gather around you to see what strange business you might have. It is especially difficult to find a sexton who might, for a tip, show you the most memorable things. It is difficult enough to see anything in churches packed with bookstalls.

Literature

  • Olaf Simons: Marteaus Europa oder Der Roman, bevor er Literatur wurde (Amsterdam/ Atlanta: Rodopi, 2001), p.70-75 ISBN 90-420-1226-9