Johann Leonhard FRISCH

Vorstellung der Vogel in Deutschland

Johann Leonhard Frisch was born on 19 March 1666 in Sulzbach, near Nuremburg. After leaving school he made a living as a singer before working his way up over eight years as an interpreter for the imperial army, as a yard manager for an agricultural company, before becoming head-master of the Gymnasium 'sum Grauen Kloster' in Berlin. His varied career contributed to the breadth of his knowledge. With his linguistic skills, he produced a German-Latin Dictionary (encouraged by his friend Leibniz), and was a connoisseur of the Slavic languages. He travelled widely, grew silkworms, and sharpened and developed his powers of observation and interest in natural history, collecting specimens of German birds. This collection of birds, mostly from Brandenburg, formed the basis for Vorstellung der Vogel in Deutschland the most complete and beautiful book on German birds. Frisch started to publish the work in 1733 and it was completed by his sons Leopold Frisch, who prepared the text, and Ferdinand Helfreich, who together with Philip Jakob Frisch, engraved and coloured the plates. The last 30 plates were executed by his grandson Johann Christoph Frisch.

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