Elsa Fougt

ELSA FOUGT

Elsa Fougt (25 or 15 December 1744 – 19 June 1826) was a Swedish printer, publisher, book importer and newspaper editor and an important figure in the literary market in the second half of the 18th century Sweden. Between 1772 and 1811, she ran the Royal printing and was responsible for the country's official print.

Fougt was the daughter of Peter Momma, royal printer, and the publisher Anna Margareta von Bragner. In 1762 she married the official Henric Fougt Sr. When her parents died, both in 1772, Elsa and her husband took over their businesses, of which the most important was the Royal Printery, which they ran together until the death of her husband in 1782; as a widow, she ran the business herself and in her own name thirty years.

Elsa Fougt published French, German and Swedish drama and imported books from the Société typographique de Neuchâtel in Switzerland. She was also editor for the paper Stockholms Weckoblad. She was a member of the order Amarenterorden, in which she gave memorial speeches of the salonist Anna Charlotta von Stapelmohr and one of the co-founders of the order, Beata Elisabeth Théel.

In 1811, she retired and was succeeded by her son Henric Fougt Jr.

FAMILY MONOPOLY IN ALL OFFICIAL PRINTING IN THE SWEDISH REALM

Henric Fougt Sr. (1720-1782) was son of Rector (Swedish: kyrkoherde) Abraham Fougt Sr. Learn more about Henric Fougt Sr. at: http://www.nad.riksarkivet.se/sbl/Presentation.aspx?id=14410

The wife of Henric Fougt Sr. was Elsa Fougt (1744-1826). Their son Henric Fougt Jr. took over his parents' printing businesses from his mother in May 1811, two years after Finland had become an autonomous Grand Duchy of Russia.

Henric Fougt Jr. laid down the business by the end of 1833. Norstedt & Söner acquired it in 1835. Henric Fougt Jr., like his parents, held the privilege to print all official publications in the Swedish Realm (Source: http://thesaurus.cerl.org/record/cni00036748).

Prior to Henric Fougt Sr. and his wife Elsa Fougt and their son Henric Fougt Jr., the father of Elsa Fougt - Peter Momma - had held the same position; they all were the official "Royal Printers" of the Swedish Realm.

ELSA FOUGT TAKES CHARGE OF THE ROYAL PRINTING IN 1782

Elsa Fougt (1744–1826) was one of the most powerful figures in the Swedish book trade of her time. For nearly thirty years, she held the position of Royal Printer in the Swedish Realm and - accordingly - ran the large and prestigious printing house Kongl. Tryckeriet. She also ran several enterprises that were attached to the printing house, including a publishing firm, a type foundry, and a bookshop that traded in foreign books.

While previous research about the late eighteenth-century book trade in Sweden has seen Elsa Fougt primarily as a passive figure, the widow of the Royal Printer Henric Fougt, this study argues that she was an active entrepreneur in her own right. Elsa Fougt worked independently for thirty years after her husband had died, and, moreover, she already worked as a married woman, although unofficially.

Kongl. Tryckeriet was a typical family business in which each family member’s contribution was necessary for its survival. Elsa Fougt, being the daughter of the previous Royal Printer Peter Momma, had literally grown up in the business, and most probably received both the essential training and the network contacts that a future career in the trade required, even though, being a woman, she was not permitted apprenticeship as a printer.

It is important to stress that the wives of entrepreneurs often worked in the family business. After her husband’s death, Elsa Fougt was able to represent her companies officially, since widows were allowed by law to run businesses.

The fact that Elsa Fougt was a woman living and working in a patriarchal society does not seem to have particularly affected her role as Royal Printer. In comparison with her predecessors, her position as Royal Printer appears to have been remarkably strong. For instance, her recurrent demands to the authorities for higher financial compensation for printing and publishing official documents were accepted more often than those of her predecessors.

Elsa Fougt was a skillful business strategist who tried to consolidate her companies in many ways. Her most noteworthy tactic was to make use of her official position as Royal Printer and the prestigious trademark of Kongl. Tryckeriet for the purpose of benefiting her other, private, enterprises. Thus, it is evident that her different companies were tightly interwoven,even though the printing house Kongl. Tryckeriet held the most prominent place in her business empire.

In thesis: Rimm, Anna-Maria. Elsa Fougt, Kungl. boktryckare: Aktör i det litterära systemet ca 1780-1810. 2009.

Available from: 2009-09-07 Created: 2009-09-07

Source: http://uu.diva-portal.org/smash/record.jsf?pid=diva2:234212

• Reference: FamilySearch Family Tree - SmartCopy: Dec 3 2022, 14:45:54 UTC
• Reference: Sweden, Baptisms, 1611-1920 - SmartCopy: Dec 3 2022, 14:46:23 UTC
• Residence: Kongl. Djurgården, Mariefred-Kärnbo, Södermanlands, Södermanland, Sweden - Between 1817 and 1827
  • Reference: MyHeritage Family Trees - SmartCopy: Dec 3 2022, 14:48:19 UTC