‚Nationaljournale‘ gründen vor 1800: Das Avertissement

Abstract On the basis of newly discovered Avertissements, this paper reconstructs the process of founding the popular journals Teutscher Merkur, Deutsches Museum, and Berlinische Monatsschrift in the late eighteenth century. The Avertissements were meant to attract new readers and writers to the newly founded journal. By comparing and analyzing these short programmatic texts, the paper shows how, by developing new strategies of distribution and reader participation, the three monthlies established the concept of the Nationaljournal.