Ludwig Bechstein

Ludwig Bechstein (24 November 1801 – 14 May 1860) was a German writer and collector of folk fairy tales.

His situation improved only when his uncle Johann Matthäus Bechstein, a renowned naturalist and forester living in Meiningen in the country of Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen, adopted him in 1810.

From 1828 to 1831 he studied philosophy and literature in Leipzig and Munich thanks to a stipend granted by Duke Bernhard II of Sachsen-Meiningen, who hired him subsequently as a librarian.

This lifetime post provided Bechstein with a continuous income, while leaving him a lot of freedom to pursue his own interests and writing.

His German Fairy Tale Book was even more popular than the Brothers Grimm's collection when it was first published in 1845.

Ludwig Bechstein
Cover of Villa Carlotta. Poetic Travel Images from Lake Como and the Lombard-Venetian lands ( Villa Carlotta. Poetische Reisebilder vom Comersee und aus den lombardisch-venetianischen Landen ), by Bechstein (1857)