Allgemeine Geschichte der Literatur: ein Handbuch in zwei Bänden. 2

Johannes Scherr published his two-volume Allgemeine Geschichte der Literatur in the mid-19th century as an ambitious attempt to provide a comprehensive survey of world literature. During this period of German intellectual history, there was a strong cultural impulse to categorize and synthesize human knowledge, and Scherr sought to produce a narrative that was both scholarly and accessible to an educated public.

The work reflects the rigorous, encyclopedic style characteristic of 19th-century German historiography. Scherr, a known historian and cultural critic, crafted the text to serve as a definitive handbook for students and enthusiasts alike. It was well-regarded for its stylistic flair and the breadth of its coverage, securing its place as a standard reference work for its time and helping to shape how German-speaking audiences understood the development of global literary traditions.