Wilhelm Frick Buchhandlung

Wilhelm Frick Buchhandlung — commonly known simply as Frick — is a Viennese bookshop and former k.u.k. Hoflieferant (imperial and royal court supplier) located at Graben 27 in Vienna's first district, Innere Stadt. Its roots reach back to the eighteenth century: the bookshop's first documented opening dates to 1752, when Johann Thomas Trattner received permission from Maria Theresia to open a bookshop that soon became the city's first. After passing through several owners — Tendler, Pötzelberger, Fromme and Grosser — the business was bought out of Julius Grosser's bankruptcy estate on 26 October 1868 by Wilhelm Frick and Georg Paul Faesy, who opened as Faesy & Frick at Graben 22. The firm built its reputation on agricultural specialist literature and foreign-language (especially French, English and Italian) books, and in 1872 it was granted the title of k.u.k. Hoflieferant and moved to its present address at Graben 27. Frick took over the retail side alone in 1881, and after his death in 1886 the business passed to his widow and his brother-in-law Albert Köhler. In 1992 Wilhelm Sotsas acquired Buchhandlung Frick together with the Volksbuchhandlung in Vienna, the Buchhandlung Alpenverlag, the Mayrische Buchhandlung and the Höllrigl bookshop in Salzburg, the oldest in Austria. Today Frick presents itself as an owner-managed Austrian family business with six bookshops in Vienna and Upper Austria. It combines traditional bookselling with a lively events programme — author readings, book presentations and competitions — and maintains an online presence at buchhandlung-frick.at. The company's long history, its Graben flagship and its family ownership make it one of the best-known book-retail names in Vienna.

The origins of the bookshop now known as Wilhelm Frick Buchhandlung reach back to Johann Thomas Trattner, born around 1719 in Jahrmannsdorf near Güns. Orphaned early, he was apprenticed to the S. Müller printing house in Wiener Neustadt, where he learned his trade and adopted the motto 'Altius labore et favore' ('Upward through work and favour'). Trattner was an ambitious figure who reformed printing practice and pursued privileges and monopolies; shortly before his death he ran seven bookshops, five printing houses, 18 book depots and two paper factories. In 1751 Maria Theresia appointed him court bookseller, and on 28 January 1752 he was granted permission to open his own bookshop, which soon became the first bookshop in the city. After losing all his children, Trattner left his fortune and property to his grandchildren Franziska and Johann Thomas Edlen von Trattner, born 1776, who was designated as his successor. The latter sold the bookshop as early as 1805 to Josef Kalefanz Tendler, who later passed it to his son Franz. Over the following years the firm was renamed several times: Tendler & Sohn, Tendler & Co, Tendler & Schäfer and finally Tendler & Co again. When Tendler's widow Dominica Veronica took over the bookshop in October 1854, business flourished and the publishing house gained importance; the catalogue included works by Anna Dorn, Luise Ebersberg and Franz Stelzhamer. On 24 October 1858 Sylvester Pötzelberger, manager and partner since 1855, and Carl Fromme, the authorised signatory, became the new owners. Pötzelberger left the business at the end of 1861 for health reasons. Fromme retained the retail range and promoted his own calendar publishing venture; he sold the Tendler & Co publishing house to Carl Gerold's son and later bought the Winternitz printing house. In 1868 Fromme sold to Julius Grosser, who went bankrupt through daring speculation. On 26 October 1868 Wilhelm Frick and Georg Paul Faesy bought the bookshop out of Grosser's bankruptcy estate. Wilhelm Johann Carl Frick (18 November 1843 – 8 November 1886) was born in Charlottenthal near Güstrow in Mecklenburg. Orphaned early, he was raised by foster parents and apprenticed at the Stiller'sche Hofbuchhandlung in Rostock. In 1864 he left his homeland and took a position as assistant at Credner's Hofbuchhandlung in Prague, where he stayed on after Credner's successor Satow acquired the business. Already during his apprenticeship he had taken over the editorship of the 'Stenographisches Unterhaltungsblatt'. In 1867 Frick moved to Vienna to take sole charge of the retail side at Tendler & Comp. Georg Paul Faesy, born 1844 in Zurich and died 1887 in Vienna, trained as a bookseller with Schulteß in Zurich, Nuremberg, Leipzig and Prague, and had met Frick at Credner's in Prague. When Tendler's firm had to close in 1868 after publishing speculation, Frick saw his chance for independent activity, and together with Faesy he opened a retail bookshop under the name Faesy & Frick at Graben 22 on 26 October 1868. The publication of a large agricultural specialist catalogue and the founding of an agricultural and forestry literary journal, followed by the publishing of the 'Mittheilungen des k. k. Ackerbau-Ministeriums' and a number of agricultural works, gave the agricultural retail side a firm foundation; this segment soon expanded enormously, with customers throughout Austria. As a second pillar, Faesy & Frick successfully specialised in foreign-language literature, especially French, English and Italian. In 1872 the firm received the title of k.u.k. Hoflieferant, and in the same year the first 'Illustrierter Lagerkatalog', skilfully compiled and enthusiastically received, appeared — a novelty at the time. In 1875–76 the journal publishing business began: the Oesterreichisches landwirtschaftliches Wochenblatt, the Centralblatt für das gesammte Forstwesen and the Wiener Obst- und Gartenzeitung (later merged with the organ of the Horticultural Society). In 1886 Fricks Rundschau was founded, also with great success. In 1875 the bookshop moved to larger premises in the newly built house at Graben 27. In 1877 and 1878 the firm took on the Austrian world's fair reports from Philadelphia and Paris, adding significant publishing projects. In the summer of 1881 Frick took over the retail business on his own account, while Georg Paul Faesy, with whom he remained on friendly terms, sought his own sphere of activity in publishing. After Frick's death in 1886 the business passed to his widow, who had meanwhile taken on her brother-in-law, the then authorised signatory Albert Köhler, as a partner. The bookshop continued to operate at Graben 27, and in 1988 the Graben entrance was redesigned, creating the 'Brücke zum Buch' ('Bridge to the Book'), which was opened with considerable media attention. In 1992 Wilhelm Sotsas acquired Buchhandlung Frick together with the Volksbuchhandlung in Vienna, the Buchhandlung Alpenverlag, the Mayrische Buchhandlung and the Höllrigl bookshop in Salzburg, the oldest Austrian bookshop. Today the company describes itself as an owner-managed Austrian family business with six bookshops in Vienna and Upper Austria, and it continues to run a busy programme of author events and book presentations.

• 1992

  Wilhelm Sotsas acquires Buchhandlung Frick and several other Viennese and Salzburg bookshops.

• 1988

  Redesign of the Graben entrance creates the 'Brücke zum Buch'.

• 1886

  Death of Wilhelm Frick; business passes to his widow and Albert Köhler.

• 1881

  Frick takes over the retail business on his own account.

• 1875

  Bookshop moves to larger premises at Graben 27.

• 1875

  Journal publishing begins with the Oesterreichisches landwirtschaftliches Wochenblatt and others.

• 1872

  Firm receives the title of k.u.k. Hoflieferant; first 'Illustrierter Lagerkatalog' published.

• 1868

  Wilhelm Frick and Georg Paul Faesy buy the bookshop out of Grosser's bankruptcy; open as Faesy & Frick at Graben 22 on 26 October.

• 1858

  Sylvester Pötzelberger and Carl Fromme become new owners.

• 1854

  Tendler's widow Dominica Veronica takes over; business flourishes.

• 1805

  Johann Thomas Edler von Trattner sells the bookshop to Josef Kalefanz Tendler.

• 1752

  Trattner granted permission to open his own bookshop, soon the city's first.

• 1751

  Johann Thomas Trattner appointed court bookseller by Maria Theresia.

Traditional Viennese family-run bookshop combining a centuries-old Graben address with a multi-branch, events-driven retail model.

• General books

• Agricultural and forestry specialist literature

• Foreign-language literature (French, English, Italian)

• Journals and magazines (historical publishing programme)

• Illustrated stock catalogues

1. 1FRICK - Ihre Buchhandlung (official website)buchhandlung-frick.at
2. 2Wilhelm Frick Buchhandlung – Wikidatawikidata.org
3. 3Wilhelm Frick Buchhandlung – Wikipedia (German)de.wikipedia.org