Peter Altenberg was born as Richard Englaender in Vienna and studied law and medicine at the University of Vienna. For a short while he worked in the book trade.
However, he decided leave those professions and chose a more bohemian life. It was about this time he changed his name to Peter Altenberg. Around the end of the 1890s, he was already known as a picturesque figure at ‘Young Vienna’ circles.
Peter Altenbergwatched people obsessively while sitting in coffeehouses, and roaming around the Wiener Prater. His sketches written in a witty, but delicate style, are excellent examples of small literary form. They have been collected and published in twelve volumes, starting with Wie ich es sehe (1896) and closing with Mein Lebensabend (1919). The author’s short writings of Viennese scenes and characters reflect the true social life of his time. Among his major works are Maerchen das Lebens (1908), Fechsung (1915), and Vita ipsa (1918).