Publishing house W. Vobach und co. Print shop in Breitkopfstraße

Willy Vobach and the legacy of a European publishing dynasty Willy Vobach came from a traditional Jewish publishing family whose roots can be traced back to the early 19th century: his grandfather, Karl August Vobach, was a publisher in Potsdam, while his father Gustav Rudolf August Robert Vobach ran the publishing house in Leipzig. From the middle of the 19th century at the latest, the family was not only active in Potsdam and Leipzig, but also in Berlin, Stuttgart and Frankfurt. An outstanding event was the marriage of Wilhelm Alphons Vobach, the son of Karl August Vobach, to Minna Schönlein in 1866. Minna came from the renowned Stuttgart publishing house Schönlein, which was one of the most respected publishing houses in Europe.This connection between two important publishing families established the rise of a European family business.
The resulting company traded under the name W. Vobach & Co. / Schönlein /Union Deutsche Verlagsgesellschaft, whose Leipzig headquarters were located in the Niederländisches Haus, Augustplatz 8 / corner of Johannisgasse 2. The Vobach-Schönlein family settled at Breitkopfstraße 25 and later also at Breitkopfstraße 9 in Leipzig.The upper floor of the house at Breitkopfstraße no. 9 was used for important printing works, including high-quality book productions.The clearly visible initials were engraved in the façade of Breitkopfstraße no. 9, the clearly visible initials W for Wilhelm and M for Minna were inscribed - a sign of their joint development work.

The print shop was known for its exceptionally high-quality furnishings: elegantly bound, with embossed leather, gilded edges and sophisticated themes.