Christian von Mechel was a Swiss engraver, publisher and art dealer. He developed a broad trade in art, through business connections throughout northern and central Europe; although the French Revolutionary Wars ruined him financially, he started over in 1805 in Berlin.
Although trained in art and copper etching, he found his niche as a purveyor of art. Joseph II employed him to convert the private Habsburg collection to one available for public display. He was one of the first curators to employ schools of art as a mnenomic system of organization.