Guide to the William H. Schab Gallery records, 1906-2018

Title: William H. Schab Gallery records, 1906-2018
OCLC/RLIN No. (Unique ID): 1257556539  
Dates: 1906-2018  
Extent: 13 boxes; 10 linear feet  

Abstract:  

Access Restrictions: Collection is open for research use. Materials containing financial transactions and sensitive personal information are restricted until forty years after the date of transaction.   
Copyright restrictions may apply; please contact repository for requests for copying and for authorization to publish, quote, or reproduce the materials.

Preferred Citation: [Description and date of item], [Box/folder number], William H. Schab Gallery records, 1906-2018. About the Finding Aid: This finding aid was prepared by Meghan Constantinou in Microsoft Word at the Grolier Club, June 2021.  

Provenance: Gift of the Estate of Frederick G. Schab, May 18, 2021.                                             

Biographical/Historical Note: William H. Schab (1888-1975) began working as an office boy in 1905 for the bookselling firm, Gilhofer and Ranschburg, which was founded in 1883 in Vienna, Austria. By 1924, he had become a major shareholder in the firm and opened a subsidiary in Lucerne, Switzerland, specializing in master prints. The Lucerne branch was run by Otto Ranschburg (1899 or 1900-1985), the son of founding partner, Heinrich Ranschburg (1860-1914), as chief cataloger. In September 1938, under threat from the Nazi regime, Schab emigrated with his family, first to Switzerland, then to England and finally, in August 1939, to the United States. The Vienna firm was sold by German authorities to non-Jewish owners (including Hans Werner Taeuber), and the Lucerne branch was closed. Although the firm was returned to the descendants of Schab and Ranschburg in 1949, it formally passed to Taeuber in 1950. In 1956 the Lucerne branch resumed operations, this time functioning separately from the Vienna branch. In 1956 Rudolf Hoffmann joined as co-manager. After Taeuber died in 1970, his son Werner (1920-1988) took over. In 1989 Hoffmann passed the management of the firm to his daughter Elisabeth, who ran it for 15 years. The Lucerne firm is currently run by Axel Erdmann.    

Shortly after moving to the United States, Schab established the William H. Schab Gallery on Madison Avenue in New York City, issuing his first catalogue in 1939. In 1959, the shop moved to 48 East 57th Street, and then, in 1972, to 37 West 57th Street. The firm initially focused on manuscripts, incunabula, early books on sciences and law, Slavica, and illustrated books and prints. In the late 1960s, the emphasis changed to master prints and drawings.  

Schab issued one or two catalogues a year. By 1972, much of the day-to-day operation of the business had been turned over to his son and successor, Frederick G. Schab (1924-2020), who officially inherited the firm in 1976. Frederick Schab operated the firm until it closed in 2018.     

Reference: Donald Dickinson, Dictionary of American Bookdealers (Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1998), pp. 193-195.  

Scope and Content Note:  Nearly complete run of the annotated shop catalogues of the William H. Schab Gallery from its founding in 1939 to its closure in 2018. Catalogues are marked with prices, buyers’ names, and stock numbers. Includes an Index to Book Catalogues 1-41 (1939-1966); and an inventory of the reference library taken for insurance purposes after it was lost in Hurricane Sandy (2012). Also includes a set of invoices arranged alphabetically by buyer’s name, dating between approximately the 1950s and late 1980s, cross-referenced with stock numbers (according to Margery G. Schab, the stock list was lost in a fire); and an excel spreadsheet of invoices with prices and buyers’ names dating from 1 December 1989 to 14 December 2018.    

Also includes a run of Gilhofer and Ranschburg (Lucerne) bookseller catalogues nos. 1-96 (with gaps), some annotated and marked ‘office copy’; miscellaneous bulletins and lists though ca. 2008; and an artist index for stock catalogues (Lagerkataloge) nos. 1-38. In addition, there are 13 auction catalogues dating between 18 Nov. 1925 (Auktion no. 6) and 16 Nov. 1938 (Auktion no. 24), most annotated with prices and buyers’ names.   

Also includes a small number of Gilhofer and Ranschburg (Vienna) bookseller catalogues; and three auction catalogues dating between 1906 and 1911.       

Related Materials Note: Incomplete runs of William H. Schab Gallery and Gilhofer & Ranschburg catalogs already at Grolier Club.    

Access Points:  
Personal Names
Schab, William H.
Schab, Frederick G.  

Corporate Names
William H. Schab Gallery
Gilhofer & Ranschburg (Vienna, Austria)
Gilhofer & Ranschburg (Lucerne, Switzerland)    

Subjects
Antiquarian booksellers – Austria – 20th Century
Antiquarian booksellers – Switzerland – 20th Century
Antiquarian booksellers – United States – 20th Century
Antiquarian booksellers – United States – 21st Century
Booksellers and Bookselling –Austria– 20th century
Booksellers and Bookselling –New York (State) – New York City – 20th century
Booksellers and Bookselling –New York (State) – New York City – 21st century
Booksellers and Bookselling –Switzerland– 20th century    

Container List  

 
Auction Catalogues in Box 6