Notes on G. J. Göschen

In 1785, Georg Joachim Göschen (1752-1828) founded the J. Göschen’s Publishing Company in Leipzig. Göschen made a name for himself as the publisher of the German classics: In 1793, he published the first edition of Christoph Martin Wieland’s Collected Works, and in the years 1787-90, he published the first collection of writings by Goethe. Göschen entertained a close friendship with Schiller, whose Thalia Göschen published. Klopstock’s Odes and Lessing’s Hamburg Dramaturgy were published by Göschen as well.

Georg Joachim Göschen had a special interest in typography and tried to improve the art of the trade. Proof of this can be found in the excellent edition of the Greek New Testament by Johann Jakob Griesbach (1803) and an edition of Homer’s works by Friedrich August Wolf (1804-07).

After the death of Georg Joachim Göschen, his heirs sold the publishing house to the Cotta’s Bookstore in Stuttgart. During the following years, the publishing company changed owners a number of times, until finally, Walter de Gruyter made it an independent part of his own publishing house.

Source: verlagsgeschichte_lang_e.pdf (PDF)

An unordered history of typography

Notes on G. J. Göschen