Fin-de-siècle Scottish Cosmopolitanism in the Scottish book Trade: The Rise and Fall of Otto Schulze
The German-born bookseller, publisher and bookbinder, Otto Schulze, is a forgotten figure in the history of Scottish book trade. His achievements in a relatively brief career lasting from 1901-16 are worthy of wider attention.
His shop in Edinburgh, selling "foreign books at foreign prices," catered to a cosmopolitan readership. He was also responsible for a small number of eclectic publications on bookplates, art, architecture and history, "beautiful books, where special care has been paid to the type, setting up and ornamentation of the text." He also ran a bookbindery, promising to "bind solidly and tastefully in sound material at moderate prices."
Schulze's early career in Germany and the UK has yet to be traced, but by 1889 he was working in Williams and Norgate's shop on Frederick Street in Edinburgh, which he subsequently took over in 1901. He specialised in selling the latest Continental books and scientific, medical and art publications. Schulze became a naturalised British citizen in 1910 but remained a prominent member of the small but influential ex-pat 'German colony' in Scotland.
The outbreak of the First World War would prove to be a damaging blow for Schulze's business, which relied on quick and easy access to the output of Continental publishers. He may also have had to contend with rising anti-German prejudice in Scotland. In 1915 he and a fellow German ex-pat felt compelled to write to 'The Scotsman' to deplore the sinking of the Lusitania by a German U-boot. Later that year his business partners, worried about the levels of debt in the firm, went to the courts to recover some of their money. By early 1916 Schulze & Co. was for sale, leading to a lengthy process of selling off his stock and paying off debtors. Schulze himself resurfaced in the book trade relatively quickly, working for another bookshop in Edinburgh until his sudden death, aged 73, in 1925.
Examples of bookbindings by Schulze & Co. do occasionally appear in the antiquarian book trade. They are indeed examples of solid and tasteful craftsmanship which would adorn any bookshelf and are becoming increasingly collectable.
Dr Graham’s Hogg Article, ‘Foreign Books at Foreign Prices: the Rise and Fall of Otto Schulze & Co. of Edinburgh’, is newly published in the 2025 number of the Journal of the Edinburgh Bibliographical Society’.
