Herman H. J. Lynge
Encyclopedia
Herman Henrik Julius Lynge (November 13, 1822–May 12, 1897) was a Danish antiquarian bookseller. He continued and owned the first antiquarian bookshop in Scandinavia, now “Herman H. J. Lynge & Søn A/S”.

Career

Lynge was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, as the son of a bookbinder. At a very young age, before he was even confirmed
Confirmation (Christian sacrament)
Confirmation is a rite of initiation in Christian churches, normally carried out through anointing and/or the laying on of hands and prayer for the purpose of bestowing the Gift of the Holy Spirit....

, he began his apprenticeship as a bookseller, and the shop in which he took his education was carefully chosen by his father, Henrik Berndt Lynge
Lynge
Lynge is a family name of Danish and Swedish origin. The name is pronounced in Swedish.Examples include:*Aqqaluk Lynge - a co-founder of the Inuit Ataqatigiit*Herman H. J. Lynge - Danish antiquarian bookseller...

. His master was Christian Tønder Sæbye (1789-1844), who had started his bookshop, initially a second-hand shop focusing on books, in 1821 on Gothersgade 26. After his apprenticeship, Lynge continued to work in the company, and when Sæbye died in 1844, the young man, only aged twenty-two, took over as manager of the bookshop, which was still owned by the Sæbye family. In 1853 Lynge was able to buy the bookshop from the family at the price of 1,000 rix-dollars, and at the same time he took out a trade licence as a bookseller. In the first years the cholera
Cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine that is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The main symptoms are profuse watery diarrhea and vomiting. Transmission occurs primarily by drinking or eating water or food that has been contaminated by the diarrhea of an infected person or the feces...

 was harrying Copenhagen, and Lynge is said to have done great business at the time due to the large number of private libraries offered for sale; he was the only proper “antiquarian bookseller” in Denmark, and he often spited the danger of infection and personally collected the large number of books in the homes of the ill.

When N.C. Ditlewsen died in 1853, Lynge also bought his stock and took over his locations in Købmagergade 45. From the advertisement section in the Copenhagen Directory of 1856 it is known that the company, in the beginning called “Herman H.J. Lynge (Sæbyeske Boghandling)” and a few years later merely “Herman H.J. Lynge”, had a stock of antiquarian books amounting to 80,000 volumes among which were “many ancient prints, rarities, beautiful reprints, magnificent copies etc.”
Due to his knowledge and the considerable size of the bookshop, Lynge had connections to almost all libraries and collectors at the time, and he supplied numerous Danish and foreign libraries with books. From the very beginning he took part in book auctions, and it is now widely accepted that it was probably him and his staff, who made the auctioneer’s sales record of the library of Søren Kierkegaard
Søren Kierkegaard
Søren Aabye Kierkegaard was a Danish Christian philosopher, theologian and religious author. He was a critic of idealist intellectuals and philosophers of his time, such as Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling and Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel...

, when he died in November 1855. Doubt has been raised as to this conclusion, due to the catalogue not being especially well made, and knowing the thoroughness and knowledge of Lynge it sounds improbable that he should have made a catalogue, which is far from perfect. However, the catalogue could be bought at “Herman H.J. Lynge”, and it is difficult to see, who else would have been able to finish such a catalogue in the very short amount of time that passed between the death of Kierkegaard and the auction.

In 1871 Lynge attracted much attention, when he sold a huge Holberg
Ludvig Holberg
Ludvig Holberg, Baron of Holberg was a writer, essayist, philosopher, historian and playwright born in Bergen, Norway, during the time of the Dano-Norwegian double monarchy, who spent most of his adult life in Denmark. He was influenced by Humanism, the Enlightenment and the Baroque...

 collection of 425 works to the book collector F.S. Bang, who donated the collection to Sorø Akademi, where it still is today. Even more astonishing, though, was the fact that after his death it was discovered that he had actually succeeded in creating another collection of Holbergiana, this time consisting of 880 items. Business was going extremely well for Lynge and in 1868 he had to move to larger locations, this time to Valkendorfsgade 8.

The Man

Herman H.J. Lynge was an extraodinary man, and his merits were richly honoured. He was a member of several literary and scientific academies, and he was awarded the Danish and the Swedish gold Order of Merit, and was appointed Knight of the Swedish Vasaorden. When he turned 70, he was awarded the chancellery-title, a Danish title (Kancelliråd), which was a great honour received by few.

Many honourable stories are told about the knowledgeable and generous Lynge. It is known for a fact that when the famous Danish poet, Christian Winther
Christian Winther
Rasmus Villads Christian Ferdinand Winther , was a Danish lyric poet.He was born at Fensmark near Næstved, where his father was the vicar. He went to the University of Copenhagen in 1815, and studied theology, taking his degree in 1824. He began to publish verse in 1819, but no collected volume...

, was short of money, Lynge bought a selected collection of his best books, paid them in cash, as he always did, and then wrapped up the books, until Winther was able to buy back the books at the same price. He also donated books to libraries, for instance in 1864 when he presented the Danish Royal Library
Danish Royal Library
The Royal Library in Copenhagen is the national library of Denmark and university library of University of Copenhagen. It is the largest library in the Nordic countries....

 with a copy of the New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....

, which had belonged to Kierkegaard and had his handwritten notes in it. Due to his large amount of important and rare scientific books, he was an important person in the scientific environment in Denmark, and often lent a scientist valuable works necessary for scientific studies, but too expensive for the person to buy, though sometimes the book was not handed back. He also willingly lent pictures from his large collection to exhibitions and for the use of illustrations. Lynge was an eager collector, and his collection of coins was especially well known. He also collected medals, paintings, graphic art and portraits.

Death

The “Old Lynge” died in 1897, and in the D.B.L. (Danish Biograpghical Lexicon) he is characterized as “the first proper antiquarian bookseller in Denmark. As a role-model his importance to the development of the antiquarian book trade in Denmark has been huge” and “he raised the trade above the average level and gave it a position that had previously been lacking.” It is told that there was not a question about books that he could not answer immediately.

Continuation of the book shop

The son of the old Lynge, Herman Johannes Vilhelm Lynge, had been working in his father’s bookshop since his confirmation. In 1892 he became an associate, and the company changed its name to “Herman H.J. Lynge & Søn A/S”. When his father died, Lynge Jr. took over the business, in spite of his immense interest in scientific zoology
Zoology
Zoology |zoölogy]]), is the branch of biology that relates to the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct...

. Lynge Jr. continued the tradition of his father perfectly and from an advertisement it is evident that early on he had increased the stock to 300,000 volumes. He moved the bookshop to larger locations across the street in Løvstræde. Lynge Jr. was also known as a very knowledgeable and generous man, and he enhanced the scientific profile of the bookshop. Due to his encountering so many scientists in the bookshop, his interest in zoology was only increased, and he actually succeeded in becoming an international authority in the field of molluscs and tropical mussel
Mussel
The common name mussel is used for members of several families of clams or bivalvia mollusca, from saltwater and freshwater habitats. These groups have in common a shell whose outline is elongated and asymmetrical compared with other edible clams, which are often more or less rounded or oval.The...

s, mainly specializing in the left-oriented snails. Due to his expertise, he was assigned to investigate the collection of these snails brought home from the Danish expedition to Siam (1899-1900), and in 1909 his main work appeared: Marine Lamellibranchiata, containing five plates and a map and written in English. Lynge Jr. was also honoured for his merits and was announced Knight of Dannebrog
Order of the Dannebrog
The Order of the Dannebrog is an Order of Denmark, instituted in 1671 by Christian V. It resulted from a move in 1660 to break the absolutism of the nobility. The Order was only to comprise 50 noble Knights in one class plus the Master of the Order, i.e. the Danish monarch, and his sons...

. His principle of business was to “solve any assignment from best conviction”.

Herman J.V. Lynge’s son, Flemming Lynge, worked in the bookshop for a while, but his interest in the theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...

 was too great, and he did not continue the family tradition, but became a writer. In 1932 Lynge sold the bookshop to Axel Sandal (1885-1974), who already owned the bookshop “C.A. Reitzel”. Lynge continued to be connected to the bookshop until he became too old and had to retire. He died in 1945, aged eighty-two. The leader of the bookshop immediately became Arne Stuhr, who continued his leadership until 1974, when the old bookshop was bought by Käthe and Max Girsel, who, in 1978, moved the shop to Silkegade 11, where it still is today, continuing the strong tradition of Lynge. The bookshop has always been placed in the centre of Copenhagen.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK