Adolf (Sr.) Walser
* 28. January 1833, † 28. January 1914
Bookbinder and merchant
Son of the “ radical” theologian and publicist Johann Ulrich Walser, resident in Teufen, Canton Appenzell Außerrhoden. Learns the bookbinder's trade in Paris, among other places. Settles in Biel in 1864 and founds a workshop for stationery and picture frames. Increasingly shifts to the retail business, which has to be downsized in 1885. After the business fails, he works as a commercial agent. His marriage to Elisabeth “ Elisa” Marti in 1868 resulted in eight children. The decline of the trading business is accompanied by the family's social decline, and in 1889 he moves to the industrial district of Biel. After the death of his wife in 1897, he moved into Flora Ackeret's house as a lodger.
Literary traces in Der Teich (written 1902); Geschwister Tanner (1907); Brief eines Vaters an seinen Sohn (1914); Der Vater (1914); Marie (1916); Der Handelsmann (1916); Das Bild des Vaters (1916); Nach dem heimatlichen Dorf(e) (1924); “Felix”-Szenen (written 1925).
From: Robert Walser-Handbuch, ed. by Lucas Marco Gisi, 2015, p. 16