author

Josef Bersch

1840–1907

A Viennese chemist and teacher who turned practical science into readable handbooks, he wrote widely on wine, fermentation, and industrial color-making. His books reflect a hands-on mind interested in how things are made and improved.

2 Audiobooks

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

The manufacture of earth colours : With thirty-one illustrations

The manufacture of earth colours : With thirty-one illustrations

by Josef Bersch

About the author

Born in Vienna on August 22, 1840, Josef Bersch studied at the University of Vienna and later worked in the university’s chemical laboratory. He then taught at the Landes-Oberrealgymnasium in Baden, where the local wine-growing region helped spark his strong interest in oenology, the chemistry and practice of wine.

Bersch wrote extensively for working professionals rather than just academic readers. Sources describe him as both a teacher and an editor for the Allgemeine Wein-Zeitung, and his books covered subjects such as wine diseases, fermentation chemistry, wine production, cellulose, and pigments. That mix of topics makes him stand out as an author who moved easily between agricultural chemistry and industrial manufacturing.

For audiobook listeners and curious readers alike, Bersch is most interesting as a clear explainer from a period when chemistry was reshaping everyday trades. He died in 1907, leaving behind practical, technically minded books that opened specialist knowledge to a wider audience.