Philosophy in the Comptoir: The Berlin Bookseller-Publisher Friedrich Nicolai, 1733-1811

Even his most violent detractors have always recognized Friedrich Nicolai as one of the central figures of the German late Enlightenment. For all the writings on Nicolai as author and critic, however, his main profession of bookseller and publisher has been relatively neglected. Based upon Nicolai's extensive unpublished correspondence, the present study seeks to fill this lacuna and to illuminate Nicolai's career as a bookseller and publisher in the Enlightenment, and as an Aufklarer in the book trade.

The dissertation is divided into seven chapters. Chapter 1 sketches Nicolai's entry into the book trade and his attitudes towards his profession and its significance for the republic of letters and the State. Chapters 2 and 3 examine the interactions between Nicolai and the political authorities in his own land of Prussia and in other German states, with an emphasis on the phenomena of piracy and censorship particularly as they affected Nicolai's business. Chapter 4 looks at Nicolai's aims in founding his most ambitious project, the review journal Allgemeine deutsche Bibliothek, his ideal of enlightened criticism and the ways in which he sought to realize it, the making of his reputation via the ADB, and its role of in his business and in the establishment of a network of authors and informants. Chapter 5 surveys Nicolai's relations with his authors, the criteria he used for choosing or rejecting manuscripts for publication and his role in the initiation and shaping of books. Chapter 6 focusses on the everyday life of the book trade, looking at Nicolai's bookshops, employees, customer networks, business practices and relations with printers and other publishers. Finally, Chapter 7 takes a chronological and thematic view of Nicolai's publishing program and some of the factors which influenced its development.