Max Abraham

• Name — Max Abraham • Born — 3 June 1831 • Birthplace — Danzig, Kingdom of Prussia • Died — 8 December 1900 • Place of death — Leipzig, German Empire • Occupation — Music publisher • Known for — Head of the C. F. Peters publishing house; founder of Edition Peters; establishment of the Peters Music Library • Successor — Henri Hinrichsen

Max Abraham attended the Municipal Gymnasium in Danzig. He studied music in his hometown of Danzig and economics in London. He studied law in Heidelberg, Bonn, and Berlin. He passed his exams in Berlin and was awarded a doctorate in law in Heidelberg without having to submit a written dissertation. During his studies, he became a member of the Alemannia Bonn fraternity in 1851. Born in Danzig, Abraham became a partner in the C.F. Peters publishing house in 1863, taking over as its sole proprietor in 1880. He founded its Edition Peters, and was succeeded as head of the firm by his nephew, Henri Hinrichsen. In 1873, Abraham acquired an undeveloped property on Leipziger Talstrasse and had the architect Otto Brückwald build a residential and commercial building on it. In 1874, this became the headquarters of the music publisher CF Peters. In this house there is now an Edvard Grieg memorial. In 1893, Max Abraham donated the Peters Music Library in Leipzig, which opened on January 2, 1894. It is considered the first of its kind in Germany and was an inspiration for Wilhelm Altmann to create an even more comprehensive collection He died in Leipzig by committing suicide. • Illustration — Max Abraham Memorial Plaque

Since 1910 (with an interruption from 1935 to 1945), Abrahamstraße in the Neulindenau district of Leipzig has been named in his honor. The Abraham/Hinrichsen family tomb at Leipzig’s Südfriedhof was leveled in the 1980s; since 1992, a monument has marked its former location.