Page:Dictionary of National Biography volume 63.djvu/432

 ZADKIEL (pseudonym). [See, 1795–1874.]  ZAEHNSDORF, JOSEPH (1816–1886), bookbinder, son of Gottlieb Zaehnsdorf, of Pesth in Austria-Hungary, was born in that city on 27 Feb. 1816, and received his education in the gymnasium there. At the age of fifteen he was apprenticed to Herr Knipe, a bookbinder of Stuttgart, with whom he remained five years, afterwards proceeding to Vienna, where he worked in the shop of Herr Stephan, a bookbinder in a large way of business. He left Vienna about 1836, and successively visited Zürich, Freiburg, Baden-Baden, and Paris. In 1837 he came to London, and obtained employment in the establishment of Messrs. Wesley & Co., Friar Street, Doctors' Commons, for whom he worked three years. He afterwards entered the shop of Mr. Mackenzie, a binder of considerable eminence, and there he remained until 1842, when he commenced business on his own account at 90 Drury Lane, removing in 1845 to 30 Bridges Street, Covent Garden, afterwards called 36 Catherine Street. Zaehnsdorf became a naturalised British subject in 1855, and died at 14 York Street, Covent Garden, on 7 Dec. 1886. In July 1849 he married Ann, daughter of John Mahoney, by whom he had an only child, Mr. Joseph William Zaehnsdorf, his successor in business and author of ‘The Art of Bookbinding.’

Zaehnsdorf was an excellent craftsman, and his work may be ranked with that of Bedford and Riviere. The forwarding and finishing of his bindings are equally good, and much artistic taste is also displayed in their decoration. Fine examples of his workmanship are to be found in the libraries of all the great English collectors of the day. He exhibited at the London International Exhibition of 1862, where he received honourable mention. He also obtained medals at the Anglo-French Working Class Exhibition, held at the Crystal Palace in 1865, at the Dublin Exhibition of 1865, at Paris in 1867, at Vienna in 1873, and at South Kensington in 1874.

Zaehnsdorf was acquainted with the German, French, and Italian languages, and also with several of the Sclavonic tongues.

[The British Bookmaker, iv. 8; Journal of the Soc. of Arts, xxxv. 38; British and Colonial Printer and Stationer, 22 Dec. 1886; information supplied by the family.]

 ZEEMAN, ENOCH (1694–1744), portrait painter. [See ]

 ZERFFI, GEORGE GUSTAVUS (1821–1892), writer on history and art, was born in Hungary in 1821. He edited at Pesth the ‘Ungar’ newspaper, and in 1848 served as a captain in the 2nd corps of the revolutionary army. On the failure of the revolution in 1849 he came to England and was naturalised. Some years later he obtained employment in the department of art at South Kensington, and in 1868 was appointed a lecturer. He devoted much attention to the subject of decoration, and published in the ‘Building News’ in 1872–6 ‘Historical Art Studies,’ being his lectures in a revised form. In 1876 he issued a more comprehensive work, entitled ‘A Manual of the Historical Development of Art … with special reference to Architecture, Sculpture, Painting, and Ornament.’ It went through three editions. Prefixed to the preface is a chart illustrating the development of art from the earliest times, and a bibliography is appended to the work. Throughout his life Zerffi also gave much attention to history, which he maintained should be studied as a whole on philosophical principles. In 1879 he published ‘The Science of History,’ a work written for Japanese scholars in accordance with instructions prepared by K. Surgematz of Japan. He planned a general work on somewhat similar principles, entitled ‘Studies in the Science of General History,’ two volumes of which, dealing with ancient and mediæval history respectively, were issued in 1887 and 1889. They were in great part a revision of lectures which he delivered and issued in monthly parts. Zerffi died at Chiswick on 28 Jan. 1892.

Zerffi was for many years a member of the council of the Royal Historical Society, and at one time its chairman, and was also a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. He was a man of extensive knowledge and some critical ability. As a lecturer he was popular and effective. He published the following lectures delivered before the Sunday Lecture Society: 1. ‘Natural Phenomena and their Influence on different Religious Systems,’ 1873. 2. ‘Dogma and