A n the Western Wall of Leipzig in Division III South Cemetery is the burial site of Herrmann Julius Meyer, the most significant addition to Friedrich Arnold Brockhaus German encyclopedia publisher. Meyer was born on 4 April 1826 as son of publisher Joseph Meyer was born in Gotha. His father was the one who founded the publishing house called "Bibliographical Institute," which evolved under Julius Meyer to bloom. To suppress it would mean to tell only half the story. So it was allowed to begin with the father.
Joseph Meyer was born in 1796 in Gotha, grew up there, first attended a grammar school and then headed by a priest Schulpensionat. At the age of thirteen he went on a four-year apprenticeship as a clerk in a grocery store in Frankfurt and was subsequently in 1817 to London to try his fortune as a merchant miscalculated, according to interim successes, however, in 1820, in coffee shops and drive thus his business into bankruptcy. Finally he had to leave London to escape the debtors' prison.
A year later tried his hand as an entrepreneur Bleaching and dyeing entangled, but again in speculation, which led to large losses and failed so did also this company. After he had issued in the meantime, in his former school, language lessons, and was entered as a writer in appearance, Meyer took over in 1824 a position in Henning's bookstore in Gotha, where he was trusted with the publication of a weekly correspondence sheet for merchants, which under his Aegis has been a great success. In addition, Meyer also gave out Shakespeare in German, which is due to criticism of his translation designed but less successful.
After this employment relationship, however, lured him again the independence, so he founded in 1826, the aforementioned Bibliographical Institute. At the third attempt at independence had Meyer - as it should soon see - found his destiny. His first project as an independent bookseller and publisher that is was a resounding success. This project consisted of installing inexpensive editions of the classics under the name "Cabinet Library of the German classics." In this series appeared 150 bands, of which 40,000 copies were ever sold , which was a huge success. He violated copyrights but also against what the competition is less disturbing than his offensive and including new ways of advertising and marketing bypassed, with whom he sometimes even the established booksellers. Meyer said advertised in newspapers with not a single ad for his publications, but the same on several pages. He had billboards hang at post offices and mail to millions of leaflets. The effect of these campaigns was not enough. Examined the prospects abound at bookstores to buy the advertised title, why did the carrying trade compelled to have these in stock. In the areas that possessed no book stores or book stores which did not cooperate with Meyer, he won from outside the industry as a distributor of commercial agents, which might have hundreds colporteurs sent, so peddlers with abdominal stores in the country.
In addition, Meyer brought in his publications the Subskriptionsprinzip used. Especially in multi-volume or otherwise costly publications could be ordered in advance by the subscription, the subscription is similar to the magazines. This allowed the publisher to determine the run length of one that would be salable and, second, whether this would at least cover the cost of production. Thus did reduce the risk of publishing. The subscriber paid the entire publication in advance, but was only piecemeal as supplied weekly for a period of one year. This was partly so far that not only individual volumes were delivered successively, but only two arcs, corresponding to 32 pages. Did you complete all the sheets together, they could be bound at the bookbinder. On the way, let the production volumes for the publisher manageable. At the same time this piecemeal acquisition also was affordable for less affluent customers, generating new buyers have been developed. Thus Meyer also acted in the spirit of the Enlightenment impetus resulting from corporate motto "Education for All". Another reason for the low prices of Meyer's books and their resulting therefrom large spread was also the above-mentioned fact that Meyer reprinted some works illegally, ie without having acquired the licenses. With such pirated editions, he was able to reduce its production costs and pass these cost savings to its customers. Only about 40 years later - namely on 9 November 1867 - was enacted a law by which all those literary works were public domain, the authors of which at least 30 years had recently died. This was true of a work that now had neither the publisher nor any descendants of the author's eligible compensation to be paid, which accounted for a significant cost factor in the production of books. It is therefore not to be regarded as a coincidence that Philipp Reclam Jr., the publisher. just in the year in which this law was enacted, with the publication of his still sold Universal Library began.
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Nevertheless, it was decided in Ditzingen 3 in 2005 against a continuance of the Leipzig publishing subsidiary, closed its doors in 2006. Reclam of Leipzig is thus left nothing but the name which is used by more than the Stuttgart publishing imprint 4 . In addition, the book city of Leipzig was still an empty sarcophagus. Another tragedy, the cause is found in the crimes of the Nazis. 
