The history of the Antiquarian Bookshop Emanuel Mai is based on three generations of a Jewish family: the founder Emanuel Mai (née Maier, 1812-1897), his son Max Mai (1842-1909) and his grandson Ulrich Mai (1873-1964).

The large Kaufhof building between Hohe Straße and Schildergasse in Cologne's city center catches the eye even as you pass by. Less obvious, however, is the building's history, which dates back to 1891, when Jewish merchant Leonhard Tietz set up his business in Cologne. 

In the years 1871/2 the "Villa Joachim" is built for the Jewish violinist, composer, conductor and music professor Joseph Georg Maria Joachim (1831-1907) and his family at the address Beethovenstraße 3/In den Zelten 10, north of the Berlin Tiergarten. 

Nearly ten years later, the adjacent building with the house number In den Zelten 9a was built in 1880.

The Agrippinahaus was one of the most important commercial and office buildings of its time and, in addition to stores and the Agrippina-Lichtspiele, also housed important political organizations of Jews in the German Reich. Among others, the "Centralverein deutscher Staatsbürger jüdischen Glaubens" (Central Association of German Citizens of the Jewish Faith) and the "Zionistische Vereinigung" (Zionist Association), which represented different positions and had a conflictual relationship with each other, moved into the building.