Westermanns illustrirte deutsche Monatshefte

1906/07 – 1944/45
Westermanns Monatshefte 1856/57 – 1906
Braunschweig

(Illustrated Periodicals ; 6)

approx. 134,000 pages on 1,553 microfiches
2002, ISBN 3-89131-397-7
Diazo (negative) EUR 6,950.– / Silver (positive) EUR 8,350.–

The Tables of Content and List of Contributors of «Westermanns Monatshefte» 1856 – 1944 on CD-ROM (PDF; Mac/PC)
ISBN 3-89131-398-5, EUR 25.–

«To entertain by teaching, and to teach by entertaining, and thus to bring education and knowledge within the reach of the masses.» Such was the new periodical's cultural-historical mission, described by its publisher George Westermann in the announcement of the Monatshefte in 1856.

After having focused on scientific and technical topics, the periodical soon found its actual and lasting character «for the entire intellectual life of the present» and got established as a literary, popular-science medium open to all topics relevant to education, except for politics.

While, in the beginning, the illustrations were wood engravings, they later on were improved thanks to newly developed techniques for printing and illustrations. Illustrations made up a central part in the periodical's layout and were meant to ensure the paper's success with the public. Unlike other illustrated periodicals established in the second half of the 19th century, the illustrations of the Monatshefte never stood for themselves. Instead, they were always meant to be a supplement to the text.

Essential to the periodical's immense success, which it achieved after only a short period of time and managed to maintain up to the 20th century, was a large staff of outstanding and well-known writers. For the scientific articles, the paper hired university teachers from various disciplines. The literary section obtained its distinct character with the help of several parallel strategies. For one thing, the editorial staff set a high value on a steady and long-term collaboration with well-known writers (such as Wilhelm Raabe, Theodor Storm or Paul Heyse). Any literary styles were made allowance for. In addition to that, phenomenons like a female readership also found attention.
Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach supplied the paper with articles for many years, and, going by the public's taste, women writers such as Fanny Lewald and Ossip Schubin were repeatedly asked for their contributions.

Still, the periodical's main priority was to maintain the high standard of the monthly issues and to keep its peculiar character. Both the English Reviews, which the Monatshefte were modelled on, and the cultural-historic assignment defined by George Westermann remained the determining factors for the periodical and thus guaranteed its prominent position among the German literary scene.