Augustin, Johannes Jakob

Johannes Jakob Augustin (October 12, 1904 - March 1, 1984) was a Jewish-American New York City based printer and publisher active in the mid-20th century. Augustin inherits the legacy of one of the world's oldest and longest running printshops. The firm was founded in 1632 by Andreas Koch in Glückstadt, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. At its founding the print shop was approved by the Danish King Christian IV and became one of the country's most important publishers - with an unusual specialization in foreign characters. In 1775, it was taken over by Jakob Johann Augustin (fl. 1775 - 1806), who renamed it Druckerei J. J. Augustin. The firm continued in the Augustin family for more than 200 years, and remains active today. Johannes Jakob Augustin Augustin was born in Glückstadt, Germany and apprenticed all aspects of the family business before perusing additional studies in art, music, and oriental languages in Innsbruck, Vienna, Paris, Leipzig, and London. He returned to Glückstadt in 1932 to work in the family press under his father, Heinrich Wilhelm Augustin (fl. 1905 - 1938). His name appears on the rolls of Jews who had their nationality annulled by the Nazi Regime in 1935. Unsurprisingly, in 1936, fleeing anti-Jewish persecution in Nazi Germany, Augustin moved to Havana, then in 1937 to New York. In New York he established the J. J. Augustin print shop at 125 E 23d St. After World War II, he reestablished connections with his family shop in Germany, and in 1950, he took over and ran remotely from his home in Long Island, New York. He died in 1984.