Schostal

Schostal, also known as Schostal Photo Agency or Agentur Schostal, was an Austrian press photo agency founded in Vienna in 1929 by brothers Robert and Walter Schostal. It developed from the family’s earlier postcard and photographic-sales business and became one of the prominent image-distribution agencies operating in Central Europe during the 1920s and 1930s. The agency produced, represented, and circulated photographs for newspapers and magazines, with subject coverage spanning culture, fashion, glamour, public life, and general editorial imagery. The brothers’ involvement in the photographic trade predated the agency itself. Their aunt, Regine Mattersdorf, operated the Magazin Metropol in Vienna, a postcard business financed by their father. Robert and Walter assumed responsibility for that activity in 1925 and renamed it Vienna Photo Kurier. Four years later, they established Schostal with the broader ambition of producing and distributing photographic material in Austria and abroad. The agency’s Vienna headquarters were located in Wieden, in the former Vienna Photo Kurier office. Schostal built an extensive network of representatives and offices in major European cities, including Paris, Milan, Berlin, and Stockholm. From 1929 it also acted as the Austrian representative of the Keystone Press Agency, which had operations in London and New York. Its principal customers were periodicals. Austrian publications supplied by the agency included Die Dame, Die Woche, Uhu, Moderne Welt, Die Bühne, Wiener Salonblatt, and Wiener Magazin. Schostal also served important Italian magazines, including Lei, Natura, Excelsior, Eva, and La Rivista Illustrata del Popolo d’Italia. Its distribution of work by photographers such as Paul Wolff helped connect the agency’s archive to the wider European illustrated-press market. The agency was notable not only for the size of its holdings but also for the breadth of photographers it represented. It is associated with 408 photographers, among them Trude Fleischmann, Kitty Hoffmann, Manassé, Paul Wolff, Karel Hájek, Imre von Santho, Heinrich Hoffmann, Georges Sand, Willem van de Poll, Bert Longworth, Germaine Krull, Yva, Madame d’Ora, and Lotte Jacobi. During the Nazi period, Schostal was one of the businesses that continued to provide a route for several Jewish photographers whose employment was restricted by the Reich Chamber of Culture. This role made the agency part of the complex and increasingly dangerous photographic economy of the period. The German invasion of Austria in March 1938 disrupted Schostal’s operations. Robert Schostal attempted to leave for Paris, where his brother was living, but was betrayed and arrested in Klagenfurt. He was later released following intervention by Studio Madame d’Ora, which helped secure a visa for Robert and his mother. Robert ultimately traveled to the United States. Walter attempted to preserve the international business by arranging for customers outside Germany and Austria to remit payment through the Paris office rather than Vienna. France’s entry into the Second World War in 1939 forced the Paris branch to close, and in 1941 the Schostal family reunited in New York. The Vienna agency was taken over during the Nazi period by Friedrich Gondosch, a photographer with close connections to officials of the Reich Press Chamber. Photographs from the agency’s holdings were subsequently used for propaganda and marked with the designation Wien Bild and the banner PPP, meaning Photos für Presse und Propaganda. After the war, the agency, then operating under Soviet control in Vienna, closed in 1948. Robert Schostal made unsuccessful attempts from the United States to recover the archive. The archive was partly rediscovered decades later. In 1992, a Swiss art dealer found approximately 130,000 well-preserved photographs carrying the Schostal stamp. The rediscovered material was dispersed among institutions and collections: the German Historical Museum acquir…

Schostal emerged from a Vienna family business dealing in photographic material and postcards. Robert and Walter Schostal took over their aunt Regine Mattersdorf’s postcard operation in 1925 and renamed it Vienna Photo Kurier. In 1929 they founded Schostal Photo Agency, intending to create and distribute photographs both within Austria and internationally. The agency operated from Wieden, Vienna, and grew into a major supplier for the illustrated press. During its active period, Schostal represented 408 photographers and assembled an archive of more than one million images covering culture, fashion, glamour, and other editorial subjects. Its clients included Austrian, German, and Italian magazines, while offices or representatives in Paris, Milan, Berlin, and Stockholm extended its reach. The agency also represented the Keystone Press Agency in Austria from 1929. Photographers associated with its network included Trude Fleischmann, Kitty Hoffmann, Manassé, Paul Wolff, Karel Hájek, Imre von Santho, Heinrich Hoffmann, Georges Sand, Willem van de Poll, Bert Longworth, Germaine Krull, Yva, Madame d’Ora, and Lotte Jacobi. Schostal’s history was severely affected by the Nazi annexation of Austria in March 1938. Robert Schostal attempted to escape, was arrested in Klagenfurt, and later reached the United States after intervention that helped secure travel documentation. Walter tried to keep the foreign business functioning through the Paris office, but that branch closed after France entered the war in 1939. The Schostal family reunited in New York in 1941. In Vienna, Friedrich Gondosch took over the agency. Some of the photographs were repurposed for Nazi propaganda and marked Wien Bild with the designation PPP, or Photos für Presse und Propaganda. The agency closed in 1948 while Vienna was under Soviet control, and Robert’s efforts from the United States to reclaim the archive did not succeed. Parts of the archive resurfaced in 1992, when a Swiss art dealer found roughly 130,000 photographs bearing the Schostal stamp. Institutions including the German Historical Museum, the Hamburg Museum of Arts and Crafts, and the Austrian National Library acquired portions. A large holding was later associated with IMAGNO Brandstätter Institute, and the Art Gallery of Ontario received an anonymous donation in 2008 containing more than 5,000 prints and related documentation. The surviving archive has made Schostal important to the study of interwar photography, magazine publishing, exile, Jewish photographers, and the politicization of visual culture under National Socialism.

1. 2008Anonymous donation reaches the Art Gallery of Ontario

   The Art Gallery of Ontario received thousands of Schostal gelatin silver prints together with information sheets and photograph envelopes dated from 1927 to 1945.

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2. 1995German Historical Museum acquires Schostal photographs

   The German Historical Museum acquired 40,000 photographs from the rediscovered material.

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3. 1992Photographic archive rediscovered

   Approximately 130,000 photographs bearing the Schostal stamp were discovered by a Swiss art dealer more than four decades after the agency closed.

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4. 1948Agency closes

   The Vienna agency, then under Soviet control, ceased operations after the Second World War.

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5. 1941Schostal family reunites in New York

   The Schostal family reunited in New York after the disruption and persecution associated with the Nazi takeover of Austria and the war.

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6. 1939Paris branch closes

   The Paris office was forced to close after France declared war, ending an important wartime route for Schostal’s international operations.

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7. 1938Anschluss disrupts the agency

   Germany’s invasion and annexation of Austria exposed the agency and its founders to persecution, flight, and loss of control over the Vienna business.

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8. 1929Schostal Photo Agency founded

   The Schostal brothers founded the agency in Vienna to produce and distribute photographs locally and internationally.

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9. 1929Keystone Press Agency representation begins

   Schostal became the Austrian representative of the Keystone Press Agency, linking its business to an international press-image network.

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10. 1925Vienna Photo Kurier established

    Robert and Walter Schostal took over their aunt’s postcard business and renamed it Vienna Photo Kurier, creating the immediate commercial predecessor to Schostal.

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A Vienna-based interwar press photography agency positioned between local photographic production and international illustrated-media distribution, with a broad roster of represented photographers and offices or representatives across major European markets.

• Editorial press photographyPress photography1929

  Schostal produced and distributed photographs for newspapers and illustrated magazines. Its editorial output covered public life, culture, fashion, glamour, and other subjects demanded by the interwar press. The agency’s value lay both in its own production and in its role as a distribution intermediary for a large group of photographers.

• Fashion and glamour photographyMagazine photography1929

  Fashion, society, and glamour images formed an important part of Schostal’s magazine business. The agency supplied Austrian and Italian periodicals and represented photographers whose work circulated through the European illustrated-media market. Surviving fashion prints are now held in museum and archival collections.

• Schostal photographic archivePhotographic archive1929

  The archive comprised a very large body of photographs, reported during the agency’s active period as exceeding one million images. Rediscovered portions include prints, information sheets, and photographic envelopes. Holdings are distributed among museums, libraries, historical picture agencies, and private or institutional collections.

• Postcards and photographic reproductionsPhotographic reproductions1925

  Before the creation of the agency, the Schostal family was involved in selling postcards and photographic material through the Magazin Metropol and Vienna Photo Kurier businesses. This trade provided the commercial foundation from which the later international press-photo agency developed.

• 1938Attempt to preserve international operations after the AnschlussStrategy

  The German invasion of Austria placed the Vienna agency and the Schostal family under severe political and personal pressure.

  What changed. Walter Schostal arranged for customers outside Germany and Austria to invoice the Paris office rather than the Vienna office, while Robert attempted to flee to France and later traveled to the United States.

  Aftermath. The Paris branch closed after France entered the war in 1939, and the family reunited in New York in 1941.

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• 1929Creation of an international press-photo agencyStrategy

  The founders sought to move beyond local photographic sales and serve the expanding illustrated-press market.

  What changed. They established Schostal to produce and distribute photographs in Austria and international markets, later developing offices or representatives in several European cities.

  Aftermath. Schostal became a significant interwar supplier to magazines and represented hundreds of photographers.

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• 1925Expansion from postcard sales into photographic distributionStrategy

  The Schostal family already operated in the sale of postcards and photographic material through Magazin Metropol.

  What changed. Robert and Walter Schostal assumed the business and renamed it Vienna Photo Kurier, establishing a platform for broader photographic commerce.

  Aftermath. The operation became the direct predecessor to the Schostal Photo Agency founded in 1929.

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• 1938Nazi takeover and propaganda use of the Schostal archiveControversy

  After the annexation of Austria, Friedrich Gondosch took over the Vienna agency. Photographs from the Schostal holdings were subsequently used for propaganda and marked with Wien Bild and the PPP designation, standing for Photos für Presse und Propaganda. The episode also occurred alongside the persecution and displacement of the Schostal family and Jewish photographers represented by the agency.

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1. Schostal