Jump to content

User:Keye Umber/Carl Curtius

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Translating from Carl Curtius (German Wikipedia)

Carl Curtius
Born(1841-12-10)December 10, 1841
Siebeneichen, Germany
DiedJanuary 28, 1922(1922-01-28) (aged 80)
Lübeck, Germany
EducationUniversity of Erlangen, University of Göttingen
Occupation(s)Classical philologist, librarian
Known forCity librarian of Lübeck
Notable workReorganization of the Lübeck City Library

Carl Curtius (December 10, 1841 – January 28, 1922) was a German classical philologist and librarian.

Life

[edit]

Carl Curtius came from the Lübeck family of scholars and politicians, the Curtius family. His father, Adolph Curtius (1804–1888), was a pastor in Siebeneichen and taught him at home until he was 14 years old. His mother, Wilhelmine Luise (née Ganslandt, 1811–1850), who died young, came from a Lübeck family of Reformed merchants and was a cousin of Emanuel Geibel.[1] In 1855, Curtius entered the third form of the Katharineum in Lübeck, where he graduated in 1860.[2] He then studied theology for two years at the University of Erlangen, after which he went to Berlin, where, in addition to theology, he began studying classical philology, completing his studies at the University of Göttingen. His most important academic teachers included Ernst Curtius, a cousin of his father, and Hermann Sauppe. In 1866, he earned his PhD with a dissertation titled De actorum publicorum cura apud Graecos and soon after passed the teacher's exam. In Easter 1866, he took up his first position as a Latin and Greek teacher at the Ernestinum Gymnasium in Gotha. During his time in Gotha, he traveled to northern Italy, London, and Copenhagen and, during a leave of absence in the winter semester of 1869/70, undertook an extended study trip to ancient sites in Greece and Asia Minor, during which he collected and researched numerous ancient Greek inscriptions. In Easter 1871, he moved to the Christianeum Gymnasium in Altona and in Michaelmas of the same year to the Gymnasium in Wesel. In Easter 1874, he became a senior teacher at the Katharineum in Lübeck. On September 27, 1879, the Lübeck Senate elected him as the city librarian, succeeding the late Wilhelm Mantels. In this role, he was responsible for the Lübeck City Library and the city's coin collection.[3] In 1895, Curtius was appointed a Gymnasium professor. In 1903, due to the increasing demands of his library duties, he was relieved of his teaching duties entirely, effectively becoming Lübeck's first full-time city librarian. In 1908, he formally resigned from the teaching staff of the Katharineum.

As head of the library, Curtius carried out a profound reorganization: a provision in the will of Heinrich Scharbau, the library's founder, from 1759 had stipulated that the books of the Scharbau Library (Bibliotheca Scharboviana) had to be kept separate from those of the City Library (Bibliotheca Publica). This had resulted in the library managing two separate collections. Curtius resolved this by integrating the City Library's collections of theology, classical philology, antiquity, and philosophy into the Scharbau Library around the turn of the century, thereby creating a unified collection without violating the terms of the will. This enabled a comprehensive reorganization and recataloging of the library. The old alphabetical catalog was replaced by a new card catalog. During Curtius' tenure, the City Library's collection almost doubled, and the coin collection also grew significantly. Although Curtius managed to secure an increase in the state subsidy from 5,000 to 6,000 marks per year, this amount was insufficient to cover the library's acquisitions, despite its right to receive all publications produced in Lübeck.[4] The library, which had previously catered exclusively to academically educated users, increasingly had to meet the information needs of a broader public.[5] Curtius, therefore, built an extensive network within the city to expand the collection through donations, bequests, and the acquisition of discarded books from authorities, churches, and companies.[6] He established close cooperation with the city's scholarly societies, whose journal subscriptions were initially available only to members but were eventually transferred to the City Library once no longer current.[7] An interlibrary loan agreement with the Hamburg City Library established an early form of interlibrary loan. The library's weekly opening hours increased from eight to 18 hours. Curtius also facilitated the acquisition of Friedrich Overbeck's literary estate by the City Library in 1899.[8]

On June 30, 1919, Curtius retired at the age of 77, having led the City Library for nearly 40 years. His successor was Willy Pieth.

Curtius published numerous smaller works, initially on classical philology and later on Lübeck's book history and numismatics.

Selected works

[edit]
  • On the Care of Public Documents among the Greeks. Dissertation written by Charles Curtius. G. F. Kaestner, Göttingen 1865 (PhD thesis)
  • On the Orator Lycurgus. In: Philologus. Journal for Classical Studies, vol. 24 (1866), pp. 83–114 (Digital copy on the Internet Archive)
  • Alleged Discovery of a Document Inserted in Demosthenes. In: Philologus. Journal for Classical Studies, vol. 26 (1867), pp. 190–193 (Digital copy on the Internet Archive)
  • The Metroon in Athens as a State Archive. Gotha 1868. (School program Gymnasium Ernestinum Gotha)
  • Greek Inscriptions: Communications from Athens and Piraeus. In: Philologus. Journal for Classical Studies, vol. 29 (1870), pp. 691–705 (Digital copy on Hathi Trust)
  • Inscriptions from Ephesus. In: Hermes. Journal for Classical Philology, vol. 4 (1870), pp. 174–228 (Digital copy on DigiZeitschriften)
  • Two Athenian Documents. In: Hermes. Journal for Classical Philology, vol. 4 (1870), pp. 404–412 (Digital copy on DigiZeitschriften)
  • The Athenian Cemetery outside the Dipylon. In: Archaeological Journal, vol. 29 (N.F. vol. 4) (1872), pp. 12–35 (Digital copy on the Internet Archive)
  • Inscriptions from Asia Minor. In: Hermes. Journal for Classical Philology, vol. 7 (1873), pp. 28–46 (Digital copy on DigiZeitschriften)
  • Inscription from Sestos. In: Hermes. Journal for Classical Philology, vol. 7 (1873), pp. 113–139 (Digital copy on DigiZeitschriften)
  • Inscription from Lesbos. In: Hermes. Journal for Classical Philology, vol. 7 (1873), pp. 407–415 (Digital copy on DigiZeitschriften)
  • Documents on the History of Samos (with a Table). Wesel 1873. (School program Gymnasium Wesel) (Digital copy at UB Düsseldorf)
  • The Ancient Ionian Alphabet on Samos. In: Rheinisches Museum für Philologie, N.F. vol. 29 (1874), pp. 159–166 (Digital copy on the Internet Archive)
  • Greek Epigrams from Asia Minor and the Aegean Islands. In: Monthly Reports of the Royal Prussian Academy of Sciences in Berlin from the Year 1876. Berlin 1877, pp. 341–354 (Digital copy at the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences)
  • Inscriptions and Studies on the History of Samos. Lübeck 1877. (School program Katharineum Lübeck)
  • Friedrich Wilhelm Mantels. (Obituary). In: Biographical Yearbook for Classical Studies vol. 2 (1879), pp. 22–28 (Digital copy on the Internet Archive)
  • Friedrich Wilhelm Mantels: A Biographical Sketch. (With a list of works.) Lübeck 1880. (School program Katharineum Lübeck)
  • On Pliny Manuscripts in Lübeck. In: Historical and Philological Essays Dedicated to Ernst Curtius on His Seventieth Birthday, September 2, 1884. Asher & Co, Berlin 1884, pp. 327–337 (Digital copy on the Internet Archive)
  • The Coin Find from Travemünde. In: Numismatic-Sphragistic Announcer, vol. 20 (1889), no. 5–7, pp. 36–39, 41–45, 51–54
  • The Coin Find at Travemünde and Lübeck's Hollow Coins. In: Journal of the Association for Lübeck History and Archaeology vol. 6 (1892), pp. 161–199 (Digital copy of the journal at the Association for Lübeck History and Archaeology; PDF, 55 MB)
  • From the Life and Travels of Prof. Friedrich Matz. Borchers, Lübeck 1891. 27 pp.
  • Description of a Journey through Northwestern Germany to the Netherlands and England in 1683 by Jakob v. Melle and Christian Henrich Postel. (Edited from a Manuscript of the Lübeck City Library.) Lübeck 1891. 48 pp. (School program Katharineum Lübeck) (Digital copy at UB Düsseldorf)
  • In Memory of Ernst Curtius. In: Lübeckische Blätter 39 (1897), pp. 163–166, 177–180, 187–191 (Digital copy on the Internet Archive)
  • New edition of: Friedrich Jacobs: Hellas: Geography, History, and Literature of Greece. Krabbe, Stuttgart 1897 (Digital copy on Hathi Trust, US access only)
  • Two Lübeck Coin Finds. In: Journal of the Association for Lübeck History and Archaeology vol. 7 (1898), pp. 328–340 (Digital copy of the journal at the Association for Lübeck History and Archaeology; PDF, 50 MB)
  • Original Editions of Schiller's Writings in the Lübeck City Library. In: Vaterstädtische Blätter no. 18/1905, April 30, 1905, pp. 71–74 (Digital copy of the journal at the Lübeck City Archive; PDF, 145 MB)
  • On Some Balhorn Prints in the Lübeck City Library. In: Central Journal of Library Studies vol. 23 (1906), pp. 109–116 (Digital copy on the Internet Archive)
  • State Archivist Professor Dr. Hasse †. In: Vaterstädtische Blätter no. 19/1907, May 5, 1907, pp. 73–74 (Digital copy of the journal at the Lübeck City Archive)

Honors

[edit]

The Lübeck librarian and medallist Franz Weber created a portrait medal to mark Curtius' 70th birthday and a portrait plaque to commemorate his retirement.

Bibliography

[edit]
  • Alken Bruns: Curtius Family. In: Biographical Lexicon for Schleswig-Holstein and Lübeck, Volume 10, Karl Wachholtz Publishing House, Neumünster 1994, pp. 66ff. (here p. 67); also in: Alken Bruns (ed.): Lübeck Life Stories from Nine Centuries, Karl Wachholtz Publishing House, Neumünster 1993, pp. 77–80 (here p. 79).
  • Franz Kössler: Biographical Dictionary of Teachers of the 19th Century. Volume: Cadura–Czygan. Gießen 2007.
  • W. Dahms: Professor Dr. Carl Curtius. In: Vaterstädtische Blätter No. 17/1919 from May 25, 1919, pp. 65–66 (digitized version of the magazine at the Lübeck City Archive; PDF, 41 MB) (with bibliography).
  • Professor Dr. Carl Curtius †. In: Vaterstädtische Blätter No. 10/1922 from February 22, 1922, p. 37 (digitized version of the magazine at the Lübeck City Archive; PDF, 41 MB).
  • City and Library. Literature Provision as a Municipal Task in the German Empire and the Weimar Republic. Edited by Jörg Fligge and Alois Klotzbücher. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1997. (Proceedings of the ... Annual Conference of the Wolfenbüttel Working Group for Library History ...; 8) (Wolfenbüttel Writings on the History of the Book Industry. Vol. 25). ISBN 3-447-03885-3. (On Curtius: Fligge, pp. 79–93, “The Curtius Era, City Librarian 1879-1919”).
  1. ^ Karl Theodor Gaedertz: Emanuel Geibel-Denkwürdigkeiten. Wilhelm Friedrich Nachf., Berlin 1885 Digitalisat, S. 176
  2. ^ Hermann Genzken: Die Abiturienten des Katharineums zu Lübeck (Gymnasium und Realgymnasium) von Ostern 1807 bis 1907. Borchers, Lübeck 1907. (Beilage zum Schulprogramm 1907, Digitalisat), Nr. 579
  3. ^ B.[ernhard] Eschenburg: Professor Dr. Carl Curtius †. In: Lübeckische Blätter 64 (1922), S. 45–46. - Jörg Fligge in: Stadt und Bibliothek. Literaturversorgung als kommunale Aufgabe im Kaiserreich und in der Weimarer Republik. Hrsg. von Jörg Fligge und Alois Klotzbücher. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1997. (Vorträge der … Jahrestagung des Wolfenbütteler Arbeitskreises für Bibliotheksgeschichte … ; 8)(Wolfenbütteler Schriften zur Geschichte des Buchwesens. Bd. 25). S. 79 (Leben); S. 79–93 (bibliothekarisches Wirken insgesamt). ISBN 3-447-03885-3.
  4. ^ Die Etatentwicklung wird bei Jörg Fligge in: Stadt und Bibliothek. Literaturversorgung als kommunale Aufgabe im Kaiserreich und in der Weimarer Republik. Hrsg. von Jörg Fligge und Alois Klotzbücher. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1997. (Vorträge der … Jahrestagung des Wolfenbütteler Arbeitskreises für Bibliotheksgeschichte … ; 8)(Wolfenbütteler Schriften zur Geschichte des Buchwesens. Bd. 25). S. 82–85, in verschiedenen Tabellen durchleuchtet und mit genauen Zahlen belegt. S. 86f.: Etatvergleich mit anderen deutschen Bibliotheken, 1902–1916. ISBN 3-447-03885-3.
  5. ^ Die gesellschaftliche Schichtung der Benutzer nach Berufen wird in einer Tabelle illustriert bei: Jörg Fligge in: Stadt und Bibliothek. Literaturversorgung als kommunale Aufgabe im Kaiserreich und in der Weimarer Republik. Hrsg. von Jörg Fligge und Alois Klotzbücher. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1997. (Vorträge der … Jahrestagung des Wolfenbütteler Arbeitskreises für Bibliotheksgeschichte … ; 8)(Wolfenbütteler Schriften zur Geschichte des Buchwesens. Bd. 25). S. 81.
  6. ^ Auflistung aller Bibliothekspartner bei: Jörg Fligge in: Stadt und Bibliothek. Literaturversorgung als kommunale Aufgabe im Kaiserreich und in der Weimarer Republik. Hrsg. von Jörg Fligge und Alois Klotzbücher. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1997. (Vorträge der … Jahrestagung des Wolfenbütteler Arbeitskreises für Bibliotheksgeschichte … ; 8)(Wolfenbütteler Schriften zur Geschichte des Buchwesens. Bd. 25). S. 88–90 (Gesellschaften und Vereine); S. 90–92 (Staat, Behörden, Ämter, Firmen usw.) Diese Übersichtslisten zeigen das breite Spektrum der damaligen Kontaktarbeit von Curtius auf.
  7. ^ Bibliothek der Hansestadt Lübeck: Bibliotheksführer zum 375jährigen Jubiläum. Lübeck 1997, S. 14–15.
  8. ^ Vaterstädtische Blätter 47/1899 of 10 December 1899, p. 376 (digital copy of the journal at the Lübeck City Archive)
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:Keye_Umber/Carl_Curtius&oldid=1253093733"