Carl Georg von Maassen

Bibliophiles in Munich

by Eberhard Köstler

Büchern bin ich zugeschworen,
Bücher bilden meine Welt.
Bin an Bücher ganz verloren,
Bin von Büchern rings umstellt.

These words by the poet Karl Wolfskehl were the “hymn” of the bibliophiles during the 1930s. It was sung for the first time on April 5th, 1930, at the annual meeting of the “Gesellschaft der Münchner Bücherfreunde”. At that point the Munich bibliophiles were in their prime with collectors like Karl Wolfskehl, Carl Georg von Maassen and Rolf von Hoerschelmann. Societies like the „Gesellschaft der Münchner Bibliophilen (1907-1913), the „Gesellschaft der Münchner Bücherfreunde“ (1923-1931) and „Die Mappe“ (since 1926) were centres of book culture. Eberhard Köstler portrays the life, the collections, and the societies for the German magazine “Imprimatur”.

Eberhard Köstler: Bücher Bücher Bücher Bücher. Aus der Blütezeit der Münchner Bibliophile.

In: Imprimatur. Ein Jahrbuch für Bücherfreunde. Edited by Ute Schneider and the Society of Bibliophiles Munich, NF XXI (2009). pp. 259-286.

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>>> Gesellschaft der Bibliophilen

>>> Eberhard Köstler