Nationality British Name Frederic Shoberl Children two | Known for Editor, writer Other names Frederick Shoberl Role Journalist | |
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Born 1775 London Died 1853, Brompton, London, United Kingdom Books Narrative of the most remarkable events which occurred in and near Leipzig | ||
Frederic Shoberl (1775–1853), also known as Frederick Schoberl, was an English journalist, editor, translator, writer and illustrator. Shoberl edited Forget-Me-Not, the first literary annual, issued at Christmas "for 1823" and translated The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
Contents
Biography
Shoberl was born in London in 1775, and educated at the Moravian school at the Fulneck Moravian Settlement in West Yorkshire.
From 1809 he began editing Rudolph Ackermann's '‘Repository of Arts’' which had just started and was only at its third edition. Ackermann was seen as the populariser of aquatint engraving and his Repository of Arts was intended to cover "arts, literature, commerce, manufactures, fashions, and politics". At the beginning of February 1814, Shoberl and Henry Colburn founded and became co-proprietors of the ‘New Monthly Magazine’. For some time Shoberl was editor, writing many of the articles and reviews and editing Ackermann's magazine.
From 27 June 1818 to 27 Nov. 1819 he was printer and publisher of the ‘'Cornwall Gazette, Falmouth Packet, and Plymouth Journal'’. The latter was published in Truro in Cornwall.
In 1822 he was the founding editor of Ackermann's ‘'The Forget-me-not'’ which was an annual, a new type of publication in England. This was the first literary annual in English Shoberl continued to edit the annual until 1834. Shoberl was also began overseeing Ackermann's junior annual, The juvenile Forget-me-not from 1828 until 1832.
In addition to these editing tasks Shoberl was also an illustrator. He created his own hand-colored engravings for The World in Miniature: Hindoostan which was published in London by Ackermann in the 1820s.
Shoberl married Theodosia and they had two sons. William was an assistant to Henry Colburn, and then a publisher in Great Marlborough Street and Frederic, who was printer to Prince Albert in Rupert Street and died a year before his father. His wife died on 18 December 1838.
Shoberl died at Thistle Grove, Brompton, London, on 5 March 1853, and was buried in Kensal Green cemetery a week later.
Legacy
In addition to the selected works below and his illustrations, Shoberl's editing is still being viewed. The Forget-Me-Not publications are being digitised because of their value. Poetry that was published includes works by Hester Thrale, Sir Walter Scott and Mary Wollstonecraft. The artwork that was included has also been digitised which continues Shoberl's poetry. It was the editor and publisher's job to identify and then borrow artwork for the magazine. Many of the artists chosen were Royal Academicians and a considerable fee would have to be negotiated. Once engraved the artwork was then used to solicit accompanying texts.