Grosserer-Societetet

The Grosserer-Societetet ('Wholesalers' Society') was a society for wholesale merchants in Copenhagen founded by law in 1742. Since 1714, it was possible to acquire citizenship as a wholesaler in the city. Grosserer-Societetet was reorganized in 1817. In 1987 the association was replaced by the Danish Chamber of Commerce. 

History
Grosserer-Societetet was founded by law in 1742. The inaugural meeting took place on 31 August 1842 in Sø-Assurance-Compagniet's offices. The meeting was attneded by Hans Hendrick Beck, Andreas Bjørn, Oluf Blach, P. Bortman, Søren G. Elsegaard, Michael Fabritius & Wever, Carl Hieronimus Gustmeyer, Joost van Hemert, Johan P. Issenberg, Søren Jørgensen, Jens Gregersen Klitgaard, Daniel Lindeman and Rasmus Sternberg.

The society was initially headed by a chairman and two elders. Membership in Grosserer-Societetet required proof of maintaining an office, being trained as merchant, owning stakes in one or more ships, as well as keeping international correspondence.

In 1797, 48 of Copenhagen's 70–80 wholesale merchants with citizenship as grosserer were members of Grosserer-Societetet. As of 16 June 1809, the number of wholesale merchants in Copenhagen had increased to 173 (cf. list below).

Grosserer-Societetet was reorganized in 1817. Its affairs were from then on managed by a committee whose 13 members were elected at the Grosserer-Societetet's annual general meetings.

In 1886, Wilhelmine Rerup became the first female member of Grosserer-Societetet. Caroline Herding became the second female member of the organisation.

As of 1969, it was no longer mandatory for businesspeople with the title of grosserer (wholesaler) to be members of Grosserer-Societetet. In 1987, it merged with Provinshandelskammeret (founded in 1901) as Det Danske Handelkammer (from 2000 Handelskammeret and from 2007 part of the Danish Chamber of Commerce, Dansk Erhverv).

Location
Grosserer-Societetet was initially based in bank cashier Lacoppidan's building at Købmagergade 35. As of 1804, its meetings were held in a room in the Sundorph House at Ved Stranden 10. In 1857, Frederick VII sold the building to Grosserer-Societetet for 70,000 rigsdaler.

Activities
Grosserer-Societet's committee represented the merchant class equally before the government and the Rigsdag (Parliament) and acted as its external representative wherever it was necessary to safeguard its special interests. Grosserer-Societetet was from its 1817 reorganisation based in the Sundorph House prior to purchasing the Stock Exchange building, which it purchased in 1857 and supervised, managed daily stock exchange meetings, issued responses to questions whose answers required special commercial expertise, participated in the election of the members of the Maritime and Commercial Court, held brokerage examinations, participated in the official fixing of the exchange rate and supervised the Copenhagen Stock Exchange. Attached to the committee were assessment and arbitration committees for the grain trade, the feed trade, the seed trade and the butter trade, as well as a committee for setting the price quotes for Danish butter. Since 1888, the committee published a detailed annual trade report. Finally, the committee managed the Brockian Business Schools (today Niels Brock Copenhagen Business College; see Niels Brock); a benefit fund, to which fines assessed for not attending the stock exchange on time (spærrepenge) are donated; as well as a large number of grants.

Commemoration
Peder Severin Krøyer depicted some of the society's members in his monumental group portrait painting From Copenhagen Stock Exchange. Carl Nielsen wrote a cantata, Kantate ved Grosserer-Societetets Hundredsaarsfest, to commemorate its 100th anniversary.

Chairmen
This list is incomplete.

Members in 1809
People with citizenship as wholesalers in Copenhagen as of 16 June 1809, arranged chronologically by year that citizenship was acquired: