Alois Auer
Encyclopedia
Alois Auer, born 1813 in Wels, Austria
, died 11 June 1869; was a printer, inventor and botanical illustrator, most active during the 1840s and 1850s. He produced a number of works in German and other languages, including the first regarding the nature printing process. He was the director of the Austrian State Printing House, which produced illustrated volumes of scientific interest. His name, in the full title of the hereditary knighthood he was given, is Alois Auer Ritter von Welsbach (Knight of Welsbach).
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Auer's early career began in October 1837 with an appointment as professor of Italian at a gymnasium
in Linz
. He acquired fluency in other languages during his travels in Germany, Switzerland, France, and England. That trip began in 1839. He studied the typographical techniques he would use when he became director of the printing office of the Viennese
court in 1841. The ornamental typefaces he implemented allowed greater flexibility in printing, and the enterprise was to become highly successful, meeting the requirements of 500 European dialects (exclusive of those Russian, Turkish, and Hebrew), and almost 150 languages of the world. Under his management, the Imperial printing office became one of the largest establishments of the kind in Europe. He remained there until 1868.
The first published work on 'nature printing
' (German: Naturselbstdruck), was The Discovery of the Nature Printing-Process. In this he detailed the use of actual plant material, rocks and lace, impressed upon lead or into gum, to demonstrate what he saw as a major advance in the productions of botanical works. His intention was to produce 'artistical-scientific objects', while greatly reducing the problems of producing herbaries and other works of natural history. Another illustrator, Henry Bradbury
, began producing work by a similar process after seeing Auer's invention.
The interest in the natural sciences, physics, and languages was met by publications that included his own works. The various printing processes and an extensive history of the Staatsdruckerei, state printing house itself.
Apart from the volumes and plates produced by the nature printing process, he also produced some of the earliest books to incorporate photographs. The publication of microphotography is given to be the first.
He invented a 'typometrical' system, facilitating the use of a large number of foreign alphabets with ornamental type to be used in printing. This was described in his work "Der polygraphische Apparat der Wiener k. k. Hof- und Staatsdruckerei" ("The Polygraphical Apparatus of the Viennese k. k. Court and State Printer"). His directorship at the Royal and State Printing oversaw many advances in automatic high-speed press, copperplate press, and new typographical processes.
He lectured in languages, and later took up the directorship of the Austrian state's porcelain factory.
in 608 languages), with Roman types (1844); and Das Vaterunser in 206 Sprachen (English: The Lord's Prayer in 206 languages), with their national alphabets (1847).
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, died 11 June 1869; was a printer, inventor and botanical illustrator, most active during the 1840s and 1850s. He produced a number of works in German and other languages, including the first regarding the nature printing process. He was the director of the Austrian State Printing House, which produced illustrated volumes of scientific interest. His name, in the full title of the hereditary knighthood he was given, is Alois Auer Ritter von Welsbach (Knight of Welsbach).
Biography
Auer was trained as a compositor, and in his leisure moments studied French, Italian, English, and other languages, in which he underwent an examination in 1835 and 1836 at the University of ViennaUniversity of Vienna
The University of Vienna is a public university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world...
.
Auer's early career began in October 1837 with an appointment as professor of Italian at a gymnasium
Gymnasium (school)
A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...
in Linz
Linz
Linz is the third-largest city of Austria and capital of the state of Upper Austria . It is located in the north centre of Austria, approximately south of the Czech border, on both sides of the river Danube. The population of the city is , and that of the Greater Linz conurbation is about...
. He acquired fluency in other languages during his travels in Germany, Switzerland, France, and England. That trip began in 1839. He studied the typographical techniques he would use when he became director of the printing office of the Viennese
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
court in 1841. The ornamental typefaces he implemented allowed greater flexibility in printing, and the enterprise was to become highly successful, meeting the requirements of 500 European dialects (exclusive of those Russian, Turkish, and Hebrew), and almost 150 languages of the world. Under his management, the Imperial printing office became one of the largest establishments of the kind in Europe. He remained there until 1868.
The first published work on 'nature printing
Nature printing
Nature printing is a printing process, developed in the 18th century, that uses the plants, animals, rocks and other natural subjects to produce an image...
' (German: Naturselbstdruck), was The Discovery of the Nature Printing-Process. In this he detailed the use of actual plant material, rocks and lace, impressed upon lead or into gum, to demonstrate what he saw as a major advance in the productions of botanical works. His intention was to produce 'artistical-scientific objects', while greatly reducing the problems of producing herbaries and other works of natural history. Another illustrator, Henry Bradbury
Henry Bradbury
Henry Bradbury is best known for his book The Ferns of Great Britain and Ireland with author Thomas Moore and editor John Lindley published in 1855 and using the new technique of nature printing invented by Alois Auer and Andreas Worring in 1852 and improved by Bradbury...
, began producing work by a similar process after seeing Auer's invention.
The interest in the natural sciences, physics, and languages was met by publications that included his own works. The various printing processes and an extensive history of the Staatsdruckerei, state printing house itself.
Apart from the volumes and plates produced by the nature printing process, he also produced some of the earliest books to incorporate photographs. The publication of microphotography is given to be the first.
He lectured in languages, and later took up the directorship of the Austrian state's porcelain factory.
Works
Besides the works mentioned above, he produced Die Sprachenhalle oder das Vaterunser in 608 Sprachen (English: The Hall of Languages or the Our FatherLord's Prayer
The Lord's Prayer is a central prayer in Christianity. In the New Testament of the Christian Bible, it appears in two forms: in the Gospel of Matthew as part of the discourse on ostentation in the Sermon on the Mount, and in the Gospel of Luke, which records Jesus being approached by "one of his...
in 608 languages), with Roman types (1844); and Das Vaterunser in 206 Sprachen (English: The Lord's Prayer in 206 languages), with their national alphabets (1847).