Casa Editrice Leo S. Olschki
An Italian scholarly publishing house specializing in critical works, books, and journals in the humanities.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
Casa Editrice Leo S. Olschki is an Italian academic publishing house based in Florence and associated with the long tradition of Italian humanistic scholarship. Leo Samuele Olschki founded the firm in Verona in 1886 after working in the antiquarian book trade and publishing a catalogue of incunabula. The company later moved to Venice in 1890 and to Florence in 1897, where it remains based. Its publishing program has historically concentrated on critical and research-oriented works in fields such as history, literature, art history, philosophy, bibliography, and related areas of the humanities. The firm developed both a publishing and a printing identity. In 1909, Olschki acquired a typography and named it Giuntina, referring to the historic Florentine Giunti printing family. The company also opened a Rome office in 1914. The First World War created a serious disruption: because Leo Olschki did not hold Italian citizenship, he was compelled to leave Italy and take refuge in Switzerland. There he established Salso, an acronym derived from Société Anonyme Leo S. Olschki, while the Italian business faced wartime interruption. Olschki returned to Italy in 1920 and died in Switzerland in 1940. The publisher was also affected by the racial legislation imposed by Italy's Fascist regime in 1939. The laws excluded Jewish people from many areas of public and professional life, including publishing. As a result, the company was forced to remove its logo from books and sold the Giuntina printing business. These events form an important part of the firm's institutional history and reflect the wider effect of Fascist persecution on Italian Jewish cultural and commercial enterprises. After the Second World War, Leo Olschki's sons Aldo and Cesare continued the family business and expanded its reach beyond Italy. Aldo Olschki died in 1963 and was succeeded by his son Alessandro. Since 2011, the firm has been managed by Alessandro's children, Daniele and Costanza Olschki, continuing its family-run character. A defining feature of Olschki's catalogue strategy has been the retention of books in print for long periods. This approach helped the publisher maintain a substantial backlist: its 1966 catalogue listed approximately 2,000 available titles. That same year, the Florence flood of the Arno inundated the warehouse on Via Ghibellina and destroyed more than 200 tons of books. In 1985, the company purchased a sixteenth-century villa and moved its offices there. The contemporary catalogue is described as containing more than 4,000 books and approximately 25 scientific journals. Among its periodicals is Archivio storico italiano, one of Italy's oldest continuously published journals. Olschki's role is therefore not primarily that of a mass-market publisher, but of a specialist institution serving scholars, libraries, universities, and readers interested in durable humanities research. Its identity combines family continuity, bibliographic and editorial expertise, a large long-lived catalogue, and a strong connection with Florence and Italian intellectual history.
History
Casa Editrice Leo S. Olschki originated in the late nineteenth-century European book trade. Its founder, Leo Samuele Olschki, came from a family of typographers of Jewish ancestry. Born in a region of present-day Poland that was then part of Prussia, he moved to Berlin in 1879 and later to Verona in 1883. In Verona he became manager of the antiquarian bookseller and publisher Libreria Antiquaria Münster. His early professional work included the preparation of a catalogue of incunabula, establishing the bibliographic and antiquarian orientation that would remain important to the Olschki identity. Olschki founded his own publishing house in Verona in 1886. The firm moved to Venice in 1890 and then to Florence in 1897. Florence became the company's enduring home and connected the publisher with one of Italy's most important centres of printing, art, scholarship, and cultural history. In 1909, Olschki bought a typography and named it Giuntina, a reference to the historic Giunti family of Florentine printers. The combined publishing and printing capabilities strengthened the firm's position in the production of scholarly books. A Rome office opened in 1914 and continued until the Second World War. The First World War brought a major interruption. Because Olschki did not possess Italian citizenship, he was forced to leave Italy and hide in Switzerland. During this period he established Salso in Geneva, using a name derived from Société Anonyme Leo S. Olschki. He returned to Italy in 1920. Olschki died in Switzerland in 1940, but the business continued as a family enterprise. The company was subjected to the restrictions of Italy's Fascist racial laws in 1939. These measures excluded Jewish people from many social, professional, and cultural activities, including publishing. Olschki was compelled to remove its logo from books, and the Giuntina typography was sold. This episode marked both a direct interruption of the firm's public identity and an example of the institutional damage caused by antisemitic state policy to Italian Jewish publishing and cultural businesses. Following the Second World War, Leo Olschki's sons Aldo and Cesare maintained the family firm and expanded its market beyond Italy. When Aldo died in 1963, his son Alessandro succeeded him. The company retained a long-term catalogue strategy, keeping a high number of titles available rather than treating books as short-lived publications. By 1966, its catalogue listed approximately 2,000 available titles. That year, however, the flood of the Arno entered the warehouse on Via Ghibellina and destroyed more than 200 tons of books, a serious material loss for a publisher whose identity depended heavily on the preservation of its backlist. In 1985, the company acquired a sixteenth-century villa and transferred its offices there. The move reinforced its association with historic Florence while providing a new base for its publishing operations. Since 2011, the firm has been run by Daniele and Costanza Olschki, the children of Alessandro. This succession continued the publisher's family-based governance across several generations. The modern Olschki catalogue consists of more than 4,000 books and approximately 25 scientific journals. Its subjects remain concentrated in the humanities and adjacent scholarly fields, including history, literature, art, philosophy, bibliography, and Italian cultural studies. Archivio storico italiano is among its notable periodicals and is described as Italy's oldest journal still in publication. Olschki's historical importance therefore rests on continuity rather than mass-market scale: it has preserved a specialist, research-oriented publishing program through political upheaval, war, regulatory persecution, natural disaster, and generational change.
- 2011
Daniele and Costanza Olschki take over management
[1]Management passes to the next generation of the Olschki family.
- 1985
Move to a sixteenth-century villa
[1]The publisher purchases a sixteenth-century villa and moves its offices there.
- 1966
Arno flood damages the catalogue
[1]Floodwaters destroy more than 200 tons of books in the Via Ghibellina warehouse.
- 1963
Alessandro Olschki succeeds Aldo
[1]After Aldo Olschki's death, his son Alessandro succeeds him in the family business.
- 1939
Impact of Fascist racial legislation
[1]The racial laws force the publisher to remove its logo from books, and the Giuntina typography is sold.
- 1920
Return to Italy after wartime displacement
[1]Leo Olschki returns to Italy after taking refuge in Switzerland during the First World War.
- 1914
Rome office opens
[1]The publisher opens a Rome office that remains active until the Second World War.
- 1909
Creation of the Giuntina typography
[1]Olschki acquires a typography and names it Giuntina in honour of the Giunti printing tradition.
- 1897
Permanent move to Florence
[1]The company relocates to Florence, which remains its base.
- 1890
Relocation to Venice
[1]The firm moves from Verona to Venice.
Products and positioning
A specialist, research-led academic publisher serving humanities scholars, universities, libraries, and institutions through authoritative books, critical works, and scholarly journals.
Academic books
Humanities scholarly monographs
Olschki publishes research monographs for the humanities, with a strong emphasis on historical, literary, artistic, philosophical, bibliographic, and Italian cultural subjects. These books are aimed primarily at scholars, universities, specialist libraries, and readers seeking sustained academic treatment rather than commercial general-interest titles.
Scholarly editions
Critical works and editions
Critical works and editions form part of the publisher's traditional role in Italian humanistic scholarship. The category includes research-based editorial projects that establish, document, interpret, or contextualize literary and historical texts, consistent with the firm's origins in bibliography and antiquarian publishing.
Academic journal
Archivio storico italiano
Archivio storico italiano is a historical journal published by Olschki and identified in reference material as Italy's oldest journal still in publication. It represents the publisher's commitment to continuing scholarly periodicals and to the study of Italian and European history.
Academic journals
Scientific journals
The contemporary catalogue includes approximately 25 scientific journals. Together they extend the publisher's work beyond books into continuing research communication for academic communities in the humanities and related disciplines.
Reference publishing
Bibliographies and incunabula catalogues
Bibliographic catalogues and reference works reflect Leo Olschki's early experience in the antiquarian book trade, including his publication of a catalogue of incunabula. This strand connects the house's modern academic publishing with the documentation and preservation of the history of books and printing.
Controversies
1939
Suppression under Fascist racial legislation
The Fascist regime’s racial laws targeted Jewish people and affected the Olschki publishing business. The firm was forced to remove its logo from books and sold its Giuntina printing operation, demonstrating how state persecution directly constrained the company’s publishing activity.
Brand decisions
2011
Transfer of management to the fourth family generationStrategyBackground
The firm retained its family-owned and family-managed structure after Alessandro Olschki's tenure.
Action taken
Daniele and Costanza Olschki assumed management of the publishing house.
Aftermath
The succession preserved the company's family continuity while it continued operating its extensive scholarly catalogue.
1966
Response to the Arno floodOtherBackground
The 1966 Arno flood reached the publisher's warehouse on Via Ghibellina.
Action taken
The company had to absorb the destruction of more than 200 tons of books.
Aftermath
The disaster highlighted the vulnerability of Olschki's large long-term catalogue and warehouse holdings.
1939
Compliance with Fascist racial publishing restrictionsOtherBackground
The Fascist regime's racial laws excluded Jewish people from publishing and other areas of public life.
Action taken
Olschki removed its logo from books and sold the Giuntina typography under the pressure of the legislation.
Aftermath
The episode disrupted the firm's public identity and printing operations during the Fascist period.
1909
Integration of printing through the Giuntina typographyStrategyBackground
The publisher sought a stronger production base within Florence's historic printing environment.
Action taken
Leo Olschki purchased a typography and named it Giuntina as a tribute to the Giunti family of printers.
Aftermath
The company operated with an important printing component until the typography was sold following the impact of the 1939 racial laws.
Sources2 sources
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