L’Institut national de Géographie : les grandes ambitions d’une éphémère maison d’édition

When it was founded in 1882, the Institut national de Géographie, a private company, brought together prominent figures from the Belgian political and financial spheres, right up to Leopold ii. However, Henry Merzbach and Théodore Falk-Fabian, two publishers from Brussels, were the real men in control. They aimed to develop their activities in the field of geography, a discipline in vogue at the time. As the name and shareholders of the company suggest, the Institut had ambitious goals. It published numerous works, edited a new periodical and even financed an expedition to the Congo. Exploration and the King''s ambitions for this region were among the company''s main interests. The society was very concerned with geography and, in particular, with its teaching. It also published works on the history of geography tinged with patriotism. Finally, the Institute''s study allows us to shed light on geographical publishing in Belgium in the second half of the 19th century.