Chapter 9: Johann Conrad Fischer's diaries

Johann Conrad Fischer: Tagebücher 1773 – 1854. bearb. von Karl Schib. (Schaffhausen : Georg Fischer AG, 1951).

published October 2016

The favorite book of Nina Helg-Kurmann

In chapter nine of the “My favorite book” – series, Nina Helg-Kurmann presents Johann Conrad Fischer’s diaries. Due to her engagement with the company's historical documentation, the student employee of the Georg Fischer Corporate Archives is especially fascinated by this source of European development in the 19th century.

The reader

The book

Johann Conrad Fischer: Tagebücher 1773 – 1854. bearb. von Karl Schib. (Schaffhausen : Georg Fischer AG, 1951).

More than just a travel description

What I find particularly intriguing about Fischer's reports is that he goes beyond writing purely about his personal impressions which is quite unusual for travel diaries of the time. Most of his reports are objective and detailed observations of his excursions. Thereby, he not only describes the developments and events that are directly related to his own company, but also includes his reflections on current trends in science, politics, and art that he found particularly interesting. Especially in the prefaces to his diaries, he philosophizes about society and the two-edged nature of technical progress. Johann Conrad Fischer's diaries are thus a very fascinating record of European trends in the first half of the 19th century that is worth reading.

The book in IRONCAT

Johann Conrad Fischer's diaries in the catalog of the Iron Library