author

Josef Bersch

1840–1907

A 19th-century Austrian chemist and teacher, he wrote practical books on fermentation, wine, pigments, cellulose, and other industrial processes. His work stands out for turning technical knowledge into useful guidance for manufacturers, merchants, and tradespeople.

2 Audiobooks

The manufacture of earth colours : With thirty-one illustrations

The manufacture of earth colours : With thirty-one illustrations

by Josef Bersch

The manufacture of mineral and lake pigments : Containing directions for the manufacture of all artificial artists' and painters' colours, enamel colours, soot and metallic pigments

The manufacture of mineral and lake pigments : Containing directions for the manufacture of all artificial artists' and painters' colours, enamel colours, soot and metallic pigments

by Josef Bersch

About the author

Born in Vienna on August 22, 1840, Josef Bersch studied at the University of Vienna and worked in the university’s chemical laboratory before becoming a professor at the Landes-Oberrealgymnasium in Baden near Vienna. Reference sources identify him as a scientist and chemist, and wine-history sources also remember him as an oenologist with a strong interest in fermentation and applied chemistry.

Bersch wrote across a wide range of practical scientific subjects. Library records and digitized editions connect his name with works on fermentation chemistry, pigments and dyes, cellulose, and general commercial materials, showing how closely his writing was tied to the needs of industry and everyday production rather than purely academic debate.

He died on March 13, 1907, in Baden near Vienna. Today, his books remain of interest not only as technical manuals, but also as a window into the hands-on scientific culture of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.