Carl Günther Ludovici

Cover of the first volume of the General Treasure Chamber, the merchant's lexicon. Carl Günther Ludovici (or Ludewig) (7 August 1707 – 5 July 1778) was a philosopher, lexicographer and economist from Leipzig in the Electorate of Saxony in the Holy Roman Empire. He edited a large part of the Grosses vollständiges Universal-Lexicon, a major German encyclopedia of the 18th century. His prefaces to volumes 19, 21, 23 and the first volume of the supplements are important lexicographical sources. The extensive article on Christian Wolff and the Wolffian philosophy is almost certainly his work.

While editing Zedler's Universal Lexicon, Ludovici did a German translation from the French of the of Jacques Savary des Brûlons, which was published as the General Treasure Chamber between 1741 and 1743. From this work grew the Open Academy of Merchants, a complete lexicon of commerce whose five volumes published by Zedler's partner Johann Samuel Heinsius began to appear in 1752 and were completed in 1756. It is the first complete German-language trade lexicon, with the last volume providing a systematic plan of this discipline. The lexicon was used in practice, as shown by the sales to commercial firms.

Partial bibliography