Specialist publishing group Springer Science+Business Media, Germany, is making the print version of Springer's 150 years of publishing history freely available on the internet. The two-volume work Springer-Verlag: History of a Scientific Publishing House was published in 1992 to mark the publishing company's 150th anniversary. The volumes appeared in print in English and German at the time. The online version of this publishing history will now be available in both languages on Springer's online platform www.springerlink.com.
The first volume explains how Springer-Verlag started in 1842 as a publisher's bookstore in Berlin and describes the publishing activities of the Springer family: from political writings to German literature (Theodor Fontane, Jeremias Gotthelf) to a scientific publishing house.
The second volume looks at the company's development between 1945 and 1992 and its international expansion: New York, Vienna, London, Paris, Milan, etc. The managing director and owner at the time, Heinz Götze, was particularly far-sighted in stepping up activities in Asia and setting up new offices in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Delhi. The foundation was already laid back then for close contact with academics and scientists in China, where a publishing office was opened in 2007 in Beijing.
