The Encyclopedia Americana (1920)/Auer, Alois

AUER, Alois, Ritter von Welsbach, Austrian printer: b. Wels 1813; d. 1869. He was trained as a compositor and in his leisure moments acquired several languages, becoming a professor of Italian in the Gymnasium of Linz. In 1839 he set out on a tour of Germany, Switzerland, France and England, collecting material for his art. From 1841 to 1868 he was at the head of the imperial printing office at Vienna. He made many typographical discoveries and published ‘Die Sprachenhalle oder das Vaterunser in 608 Sprachen’ (1844); and ‘Das Vaterunser in 206 Sprachen’ (1847); ‘Die Buchschriften des Mittelalters’ (1852); ‘Geschichte der K.-K. Hof- und Stadtsdruckerei in Wien’ (1851).