“ By his marriage in 1797 with a daughter of the poet, Matthias Claudius, he was brought into intimate relation with a group of Protestant writers, who exercised a powerful influence on the growth of his religious opinions. ”

“ In 1821, his wife having died, he left Hamburg, transferring his business there to his partner, and went to Gotha, where he established what ultimately became one of the first publishing houses in Germany. It was owing to his initiation that the Börsenverein der deutschen Buchhändler (Union of German Booksellers) in Leipzig was founded in 1825. When the foundation-stone of the fine building of the Union was laid in 1834, Perthes was made an honorary freeman of the city of Leipzig, and in 1840 the university of Kiel conferred upon him the degree of doctor of philosophy. ”