Category Archives: Leopold Zunz

German-Jewish Gossipman illustrated

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“Der Gevattersmann” (Gossipman), edited by Berthold (Baruch) Auerbach (1812-1882), a German-Jewish historian, writer and a Spinozist, was published between 1845 and 1848 in Braunschweig. It was aimed especially at country people. According to Hurst, the calendar became the household treasure of every rural hearth in Middle and South Germany. This particular issue (1848) boasts 33 beautiful woodcut print illustrations, depicting a variety of scenes of every-day life. A selection of images is shown below.

To learn more about Berthold Auerbach, his German patriotism, idealism, attitudes to Judaism and emancipation, as well as his disappointment at German anti-Semitism, click here. Our copy of “Der Gevattersmann” for year 1848 comes as part of the private library of Leopold Zunz [Foyle-Montefiore Collection, shelfmark: Mont 69c40].