DANTE – DIVINE COMEDY AND INDUSTRIAL COMMERCE

The private collection of Wilhelm Reiner acquired in 1964 originally comprised about 1200 volumes. After the duplicates were handed over to the Petrarca Institute Cologne and the University Library Bochum, about 900 volumes remained. A count based on the catalogue of Reiner's collection revealed 409 titles that had appeared before 1900. The majority of these works were published in the 19th century. Besides 244 Italian titles, the German editions were predominant (110). The remaining works are in Latin, French, English, Dutch and Danish. About 200 titles are Dante editions and Dante letters, mostly in the original language, partly with illustrations. The remaining titles in the collection are commentaries, research reports, biographical works and literature on the Renaissance. The Reiners Collection thus provided the USB with an extraordinary enrichment of its Dante collection, allowing it to preserve one of the most comprehensive and best Dante collections in Germany. The collection is constantly expanded at the UCL Cologne.

DANTE ALIGHIERI (1265 – 1321)

Dante Alighieri was born in Florence in May or June 1265. He died on 14 Sep 1321 in Ravenna. He was baptised Durante, according to the same statements by Filippo Villanis and Dante's son Jacopo Alighieri, wich was then shortened into Dante. The family name Alighieri goes back to the father Alighiero II. and the grandfather Alighiero I. and then was continued by Dante's sons. His Divine Comedy overcame Latin, which had dominated until then, and turned Italian into a literary language. Dante is Italy's most famous poet and is regarded as one of the most important poets of the European Middle Ages. His work draws sovereign inspiration from the theology, philosophy and other sciences (Artes liberales) of his time.

WILHELM REINERS (1873 – 1943)

Wilhelm Reiners, to whom the University and City Library owes an extensive Dante collection, was born in Aachen on 11 November 1873. After completing an apprenticeship as a locksmith, he began his studies at the Royal Prussian School of Mechanical Engineering in Cologne, where he passed his engineering exam in 1896. In the same year, the 23-year-old took up his first position at a mechanical engineering company founded by Wilhelm Schlafhorst in Mönchengladbach. In 1896 Wilhelm Reiners took over the technical management and developed complete preparation machines for mechanical weaving from 1901. In 1903, Reiners was already appointed a partner in the company by the head of the company, which from then on traded as "W. Schlafhorst & Co“. When the company founder withdrew completely from business life in 1910, Reiners took over the company as sole director. He also managed the oil and grease factory "Chemische Fabrik Rhenus Wilhelm Reiners" as the sole owner. He enriched the production range of his mechanical engineering company with further new designs, specialised in the manufacture of weaving preparation machines and soon achieved international renown with his products. During the two world wars, the company had to switch to armaments.

At the end of August 1943, the factories of the Schlafhorst company were almost completely destroyed within a few hours. On 16 December 1943, Wilhelm Reiners died on a business trip to The Hague. The management of the company was passed on to his son Walter, who joined the family business in 1936 and was appointed partner by his father after only four years. He continued to expand the company as sole owner and ran it until his death in 1980. In 1989, his son Dr. Max Reiners took over the management and still runs the company today. Currently, the company exists as one of the leading industrial lubricant manufacturers in the world with subsidiaries in Spain, France and the Netherlands. It is represented internationally by foreign agencies and maintains one of the most modern fat factories in Europe.

THE COLLECTOR WIHELM REINERS AND HIS COLLECTION OF DANTE PRINTS

In addition to his interest in photography, Wilhelm Reiners also studied the history of the Rhineland and genealogy. However, his special passion belonged to Dante Alighieri. This also led him to acquire an extensive collection of Dante prints. His book collection included Italian editions of the "Commedia" from the Incunabula period and the early 16th century, editions by the famous Venetian printer Aldus Manutius and first editions of German translations from the 16th to 18th centuries as well as translations into other European languages. Secondary literature and bibliographical works on Dante are also represented in his collection. Reiners collected a total of around 1,200 volumes. Two decades after the collector's death, the heirs of Wilhelm Reiner decided to sell the Dante volumes and offered them to the UCL Cologne. In April 1964, a trade agreement was reached, and the collection with its approximately 1.200 volumes was sold to the University of Cologne. The UCL took over the largest part with 910 volumes. The volumes, provided with the ex-libris of the former owner, were placed in the magazine. The subject librarians responsible for Romance Studies have since striven to complete and continue the collection through further acquisitions. The number of titles by and about Dante has probably exceeded the threshold of 1,500 volumes by now. Consultation for research purposes takes place in the Reading Room Historical Collections.