New blog post of the Gotha Research Library: "Between Consolidation and Reorientation. On the 230th Birthday of Wilhelm Perthes".

Wilhelm Perthes was born in Gotha on June 18, 1793, the seventh of eleven children of the bookseller Justus Perthes and his wife Ernestine. After attending the Gotha grammar school, two events in particular were to shape the rest of his life. As the eldest son, Wilhelm was to continue his father's business and receive a solid commercial education. Thus, in April 1811, he left his hometown and entered the commercial metropolis of Hamburg. There he began his apprenticeship in the bookshop of his cousin Friedrich Christoph Perthes (1772 - 1843). Wilhelm was confronted with new ideas here, the desire for social reform and national revival. In 1813, he took an active part in the fight against Napoleon. At his father's request, he returned to Gotha in August 1814 and joined his father's company.