Asher Jacobson

Adolphus Asher, born Abraham Isaac Ascher in 1800 in Pomerania, was a German bookseller, publisher, bibliographer, Hebraist, and Anglophile. After studying in Berlin and gaining business experience in England and Russia, where he amassed a fortune in diamonds, he established bookshops in Berlin, London, and St. Petersburg. His firm, A. Asher & Co., dealt in new, secondhand, and antiquarian books, and later expanded into publishing.

Asher became a key supplier to the British Museum, notably enhancing its Russian and Eastern European holdings. He also provided books to scholars like Alexander von Humboldt and Charles Darwin, and to the Bodleian Library. He authored scholarly bibliographical essays, still consulted today, and was knowledgeable in Hebrew language and literature. His notable publication includes a critical edition of Benjamin of Tudela's travelogues. Asher died in 1853 in Venice.

Born Abraham Isaac Ascher in 1800 in Cammin, Pomerania, into a Jewish family, Adolphus Asher received his education at the Gymnasium zum Grauen Kloster in Berlin. He displayed an early talent for languages, which proved beneficial throughout his career. From 1820 to 1825, he lived and worked in England, learning business practices. He then moved to St. Petersburg, Russia, where he successfully traded diamonds and made a considerable fortune between 1825 and 1830. During his time in England, in 1824, he married Anna Friedeberg, and they had a son, Georg Michael, in 1827.

In 1830, Asher established his first bookshop in Berlin, followed by branches in London and St. Petersburg. His firm, A. Asher & Co., evolved from a bookseller to a publisher. He cultivated a significant relationship with Anthony Panizzi of the British Museum, becoming a primary supplier of continental and antiquarian books and instrumental in building the museum's Russian and Eastern European collections. Asher also supplied books to prominent intellectuals such as Alexander von Humboldt and Charles Darwin, and contributed to the Hebrew collection at the Bodleian Library. He was recognized for his expertise in Hebrew language and literature and authored influential bibliographical essays that remain valuable resources for scholars and booksellers.

Asher's publishing ventures included a critical edition of the travelogues of Benjamin of Tudela in 1840. He was affiliated with scholarly societies, including the Deutsche Morgenländische Gesellschaft, and served on the board of the Jewish Community of Berlin. In 1849–1850, he managed the auction of the renowned library of Ludwig Tieck. His opinions on copyright and trade were frequently sought in British official inquiries. Asher sold his firm in 1852 and passed away in 1853 during a business trip to Venice. His son, Georg Michael Asher, though not entering the book trade, also produced bibliographical works.