Meyers Konversationslexikon

Meyers Konversations-Lexikon or Meyers Lexikon was a major encyclopedia in the German language that existed in various editions, and by several titles, from 1839 to 1984, when it merged with the Brockhaus encyclopedia. Joseph Meyer (1796-1856), who had founded the publishing house Bibliographisches Institut in 1826, intended to issue a universal encyclopaedia meant for a broad public: people having a general knowledge as well as businessmen, technicians and scholars, considering contemporary works like those of Pierer and Brockhaus to be superficial or obsolete.