About the project

Travel Reports of a Pioneer: Johann Conrad Fischer as eyewitness to the Industrial Revolution
Digital edition of the travel journals of Johann Conrad Fischer 1794–1851

1. Johann Conrad Fischer as eyewitness to the Industrial Revolution

Johann Conrad Fischer (1773–1854), pioneer at the time of the Industrial Revolution and founder of GF, travelled far and wide. He covered more than 30,000 kilometres from his journeyman's hike at the age of 19 to his last trip to the World's Fair in London 60 years later. Fischer cultivated a network with scientists, entrepreneurs and personalities throughout Europe.

A keenly observant witness of the times, Fischer reported in several journals on his extensive travels "with a view to technology" between 1794 and 1851. The destination was mostly England, with stops in Scandinavia, Germany, France and Belgium. His experiences, encounters and experiences, as well as his detailed observations and pointed comments on technological, economic, political and social developments, are invaluable for historical research.

2. The history of the editions of Fischer's journals

Johann Conrad Fischer published the notes on nine of his journeys in seven journals between 1816 and 1853. The manuscripts for these first publications no longer exist. In 1951, the Schaffhausen historian Karl Schib (1898–1984) produced the only critical edition of all the diaries to date.

Text masters

A: First editions, published 1816–1853 by Johann Conrad Fischer

  • Fischer, Johann Conrad: Tagebuch einer Reise von Coppenhagen nach Stokholm, im Frühjahr 1794. Schaffhausen: Hurter, 1845. [e-rara]
  • Fischer, Johann Conrad: Tagebuch einer im Jahr 1814 gemachten Reise über Paris nach London und einigen Fabrikstädten Englands vorzüglich in technologischer Hinsicht. Aarau: Sauerländer, 1816. [e-rara]
  • Fischer, Johann Conrad: Tagebuch einer zweiten Reise über Paris nach London und einigen Fabrikstädten Englands vorzüglich in technologischer Hinsicht. Aarau: Sauerländer, 1826. [e-rara]
  • Fischer, Johann Conrad: Fragmente aus dem Tagebuch dreier Reisen nach London und einigen Fabrikstädten Englands im Spätjahr von 1825, 1826 und 1827. Stuttgart und Tübingen: Cotta, 1829. [e-rara]
  • Fischer, Johann Conrad: Notizen auf der Reise über Paris nach London, Leeds, Low, Moore, Sheffield, und zurück im Sommer 1845. Schaffhausen: Ziegler, 1846. [e-rara]
  • Fischer, Johann Conrad: Notizen auf meiner Reise über Carlsruhe, Mannheim, Cöln, und Ostende nach London, Derby, Wingfield, Alfredton und Butterly Ironworks nach Sheffield, Liverpool, und zurück über Sheffield und London nach Schaffhausen im Spätjahr 1846. Schaffhausen: J. J. Ziegler'sche Buchdruckerei, 1847. [e-rara]
  • Fischer, Johann Conrad: Tagebuch einer Reise zu der Ausstellung in London und nach einigen Fabrikstädten in England im Sommer 1851. Schaffhausen: Murbach & Gelzer, 1853. [e-rara]

B: Critical edition by Karl Schib

Fischer, Johann Conrad: Tagebücher. Bearbeitet von Karl Schib. Schaffhausen 1951.

3. Digital edition 2023

For Fischer's 250th birthday in 2023, the Iron Library is realising a digital edition of his travel diaries and is also translating the texts from the original German into English for the first time. This will make them accessible to an international readership. The edition is based on the text of Fischer's first editions. The texts are provided with itineraries and detailed index data on people, places, events and terms and enriched with numerous images.

4. Technical

The edition uses TEI Publisher as a technical basis. The register data is maintained in the database of the GF Corporate Archives, which uses the Anton system.

5. Project stages

The digital edition is published in three stages:

8 June 2023 (version 1.0)

  • German version of the journals for 1794, 1814, 1825, 1825-1827 and 1851
  • English version of the journals for 1794 and 1851

18 October 2023 (version 1.1)

  • English version of the journals for 1814, 1825 and 1825-1827

15 December 2023 (version 1.2)

  • German version of the journals for 1845 and 1846
  • English version of the journals for 1845 and 1846

6. Project team of the Iron Library

  • Franziska Eggimann, director
  • Helena Barteld
  • Nicolau Lutz
  • Niklaus Müller
  • Lorenzo Persi
  • Valerija Rukavina
  • Flavia Spescha
  • Jörg Spinatsch
  • Christopher Zoller-Blundell

Version 15 December 2023