Johann Friedrich Hartknoch

Johann Friedrich Hartknoch (sometimes referred to as Johann Friedrich Hartknoch the Elder to distinguish him from his son; 28 September 1740 – 1 April 1789) was a Baltic German book publisher. He came from a poor family in Gołdap and took up work at the firm of a publisher and book trader while he was a student at the University of Königsberg. In 1762, he established his own business in Jelgava and soon afterwards moved to Riga.

In Riga, at the time part of the Russian Empire, he developed an important book trade and publishing business. Thanks to the comparatively tolerant regime under Catherine the Great, he could bring German books from cities like Leipzig and Berlin to the Russian Empire and also publish and sell works by Russian writers such as Mikhail Lomonosov and Nikolay Karamzin on a European market. Arguably more important was his work as publisher of German literature and Enlightenment philosophy. The first editions of Immanuel Kant's Critique of Pure Reason (1781) and Johann Gottfried Herder's (1784–1791) were published by Hartknoch, in addition to works by several other German-language authors.

Hartknoch died in 1789. His son would continue running the publishing business in Riga. However, the new Emperor Paul I of Russia in 1797 forbade the sale of books printed outside Russia that had not undergone censorship, forcing the company to leave Russia. The publishing company was set up again in Leipzig, where it would remain in business until 1879.

Biography Early life Hartknoch was born in Gołdap, at the time known in German as Goldap and part of the Kingdom of Prussia. He was the son of an organist and town musician. He grew up under modest or even poor circumstances. The headmaster of his school however convinced the family that he had potential to pursue higher studies, and he enrolled in the University of Königsberg in 1755 to study theology and law. Other German and Baltic German authors which were published by Hartknoch were , Jakob Benjamin Fischer, , August Wilhelm Hupel, , Friedrich Maximilian von Klinger and Gotthard Friedrich Stender.

He died in Riga in 1789, partly due to exhaustion from a life of strenuous work. His son, also named Johann Friedrich, would continue running the business in Riga. During his time as head of the publishing company, the first accurate atlas of the provinces of Livonia and Estonia, compiled by Ludwig August Mellin, was published. However, the new Emperor Paul I of Russia in 1797 forbade the sale of books printed outside Russia which had not undergone censorship. While attempting to get clearance for a shipment of books in 1798, the younger Hartknoch was arrested. Soon thereafter, he left Russia and settled in Thuringia, and the publishing company was set up again in Leipzig. It would remain in business in Leipzig until 1879.