Handelsjournal

Handelsjournal is a term used in German-speaking regions to denote either a merchant’s journal—an accounting diary recording daily transactions, credits, and inventories—or a periodical publication aimed at merchants and traders, known as a trade journal. The word combines Handel (trade) and Journal (journal). In historical contexts, both senses were common, especially from the 17th through the 19th centuries.

As a periodical, a Handelsjournal provided news relevant to commerce, including market reports, prices of goods, shipping notices, tariff changes, bankruptcies, auctions, and notices affecting business practices. It served as a key information source for merchants who needed to compare markets, assess credit conditions, and follow regulations across cities and regions. These journals complemented official gazettes and price-books, contributing to the early development of economic journalism and commercial networks.

As a ledger or diary, the term also referred to firm-level books kept to record daily transactions, stock levels, cash flow, and other financial details. Such Handelsjournale were part of the broader practice of double-entry bookkeeping and helped firms manage liquidity and evaluate performance.

Today the term is largely historical in German, with contemporary equivalents being general business or trade journals and economic newspapers. The concept remains relevant for understanding how merchants communicated market information before modern mass media and how early forms of financial journalism evolved.