»I have received many letters of recommendation for all parts of the world and hope to make use of the majority of them.«
Willy Merck, partner in the company, to his mother, May 27, 1887

Born on June 27, 1860 in Darmstadt, Wilhelm Ernst »Willy« Merck is the youngest son of pharmacist Georg Merck and his wife Anna, née Schenck. After completing his schooling, Willy Merck studies chemistry in Heidelberg, Strasbourg, Aachen, and Kiel, where his thesis »On cocaine« earns him a doctorate in 1886. He subsequently joins »Chemische Fabrik E. Merck«, Darmstadt, Germany.

Between May 1887 and December 1888, Willy Merck undertakes a journey around the world on behalf of the company. Far from being merely an educational trip, Merck also hopes to discover new markets and identify potential trade relations. His journey takes him from the Americas to Asia, via Hawaii, in particular to the Far East, and to Japan, China and India.

During his travels, Willy Merck writes regularly to his mother, providing long accounts of his impressions and experiences of visits to the remains of ancient cities, highly evolved cultures and customers. He paints a bright, rather subjective picture of his experiences, a not entirely selfless act: »Since it soon became clear to me that these reports would later be of great use and interest to myself, I described certain aspects in greater detail, which at the time seemed of little interest to the recipient.«

In 1891, Willy Merck publishes his letters in a limited and numbered edition entitled, »My Journey around the World in Letters to my Mother« as a Christmas present to his mother, to whom the book is dedicated. »Since this book is solely intended for my mother and closest friends and relatives, I believed it necessary to preserve the subjective nature of the letters and to change as little as possible in my expression. Following my return, I was given my letters back in good order and now cordially ask my mother to accept those same letters as my Christmas present to her. Christmas, 1891. Dedicated to my dear mother, with thanks.«

Following his journey around the world, Willy Merck becomes a member of the Executive Board and is appointed Head of Production. He dies on December 15, 1932 in Darmstadt as the last partner of the eighth generation of the family. Two years later, his widow Mathilde Merck publishes a new edition of his letters entitled, »Memories of Dr. W. Merck’s Journey around the World«; this edition contains various illustrations of the objects Willy Merck acquired on his world trip. The final volume »Catalog of the Collection of Dr. W. Merck, Darmstadt« is published in 1939.

Willy Merck earns a doctorate in chemistry in 1886 with a thesis on cocaine. In 1890, he marries Mathilde »Tilla« Nothwang, daughter of Frankfurt-based merchant Theodor Nothwang. Following his 18-month journey around the world, Willy Merck becomes a member of the Executive Board and Head of Production.

His round-the-world trip first takes him to North and Central America, then onto Asia via Hawaii, and back to Europe via Egypt. In a series of letters to his mother that Willy Merck publishes as a limited edition for friends and family in 1891, he describes his experiences of ancient cities, highly evolved cultures and customers.

In addition to selected letters, the book »Memories of Dr. W. Merck’s Journey around the World«, published by his widow Mathilde Merck in 1934, also contains illustrations of the places he visited as well as the objects that Willy Merck collected and acquired during his travels, including a figurine and death mask from Mexico.