PUBLISHER S Lavater Correspondence The ... - IDC Publishers

Prof Dr. Christoph Eggenberger; Zentralbibliothek Zurich, Head of the Manuscript Department
The Correspondence of Johann Caspar Lavater (1741-1801) in the Manuscript Department of the
Zentralbibliothek Zurich
It has been debated how many letters from and to Johann Caspar Lavater there are in the collection of the
Manuscript Department of the Zentralbibliothek Zurich, not to mention the fact that additional letters exist in
other public and especially in private collections.. Now, with the help of the microfiche edition and the indices,
we can count them; there are 21,423 letters.. However you look at it, there are innumerable letters from a
21st century perspective, comparable only to the extensive communication networks existing today via
electronic media. To us, Lavater is a genius in communication par excellence, as well as a prominent and
provocative 18th-century mind. His letters reached every destination in Europe, and letters came to Zurich
from every direction and are thus the most significant proof of the importance of this city during the time of
the Enlightenment.. The index of letters reads like a list of important 18th-century personalities; we are
confident that even the anonymous letter writers and recipients can eventually be identified by publishing the
letters
This important collection of letters is part of the extensive Johann Caspar Lavater estate in the family
archives.. The Zentralbibliothek Zurich was able to inherit portions of the estate in 1850; in 1901 the heirs of
Antistes Georg Finsler (1819-1899), a great-grandchild of Lavater, donated the majority of the existing
collection, which was subsequently expanded by gifts and acquisitions.. These were arranged and displayed
under the shelf mark FA Lav. Ms.. In 1916 the municipal library was merged with the cantonal library to
become the Zentralbibliothek Zurich, a cantonal, municipal, and university library..
However, an actual complete edition of Lavater's correspondence is not anticipated in the foreseeable
future, if ever.. Academic efforts are currently focused on the edition which is being supervised by the Johann
Caspar Lavater Research Institute and the NZZ Publishing House in Zurich, "Johann Caspar Lavater,
Selected Works in a Historico-Critical Edition" ("Johann Caspar' Lavater, Ausgewahlte Werke in historischkritischerAusgabe"
).. The publishers make use of the correspondence and refer to it; however, even they do
not know about all of the letters.. In the current microfiche edition by IDC, Leiden, this interesting source
material is available to the international academic community and interested laypersons. Its importance will
be demonstrated for a wide variety of disciplines, including theology, history of mentalities, social history,
literary and art history, pedagogy, psychology, the history of medicine, and above all, the history of 18thcentury
culture.
The Zentralbibliothek Zurich considers itself fortunate to see this rich treasure so exalted and looks forward
to its worldwide academic exploitation. The Manuscript Department hopes to be informed about all research
projects and findings, and it is willing to pass on this information in a coordinated fashion. Without numerous
helpful individuals, the project would never have been completed. Thanks can only be given by name to a
small number of the many who helped, above all to the president of the Johann Caspar Lavater Research
Institute in Zurich, Dr.. Conrad Ulrich, himself a connoisseur of the 18th century, and to all the current and
prior members of the foundation's board, to the publishers of the new edition, F.. de Capitani (Berne), R.
Dellsperger (Berne), G. Ebeling (Zurich), H. Holzhey (Zurich), K.. Pestalozzi (Basle), M. Sauer (Wiesbaden),
G. Schafer (Nurtingen), A.. Schindler (Zurich), Ch.. Siegrist (Basle), H. Stickelberger (Zurich), and H. Weigelt
(Bamberg), as well as to the editorial team, Ursula Caflisch-Schnetzler, Martin Hirzel, and Bettina Volz-
Tobler.. Marlis Stahli, completed the preparations in the Manuscript Department of the Zentralbibliothek
Zurich.. She and Alexa Renggli deserve special thanks; without them the letters would not have been ready
for filming by Peter Moerkerk of IDC - who has become a friend of the family - and the valuable and helpful
indices of letters would not be able to accompany the microfiche edition.
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