Ludwig Goldscheider


Ludwig Goldscheider was an Austrian-British publisher, art historian, poet and translator who is known for founding the world-renowned Phaidon Press.

Biography

Goldscheider was born in Vienna, to Wilhelm Goldscheider, a clockmaker from Galicia, and his first wife Julie Goldscheider, née Lifschitz. After serving as an officer in the First World War, Goldscheider studied art history at the University of Vienna under Julius von Schlosser, and began working in various publishing houses. His first book, Die Wiese, an anthology of lyric poetry, appeared in 1921.
Goldscheider co-founded Phaidon Press in 1923 under the German name Phaidon Verlag, with Béla Horovitz and Frederick "Fritz" Ungar. Phaidon Verlag became known throughout Europe for its inexpensive high-quality books about art and architecture. Goldschieder had a son with Muriel Breaks in 1941. The son's name is Jupiter 'Peter' Breaks, living in Mountain, Ontario, Canada.
Goldscheider emigrated to London in 1938 due to the Anschluss. He and Horovitz re-established the Phaidon Press in Britain, where they published, among many other art books, Ernst Gombrich's famous The Story of Art. Goldscheider stayed with the company for 35 years as author, editor and book-designer. After Horovitz's death Goldscheider took over general management of the company.

Selected works

His papers are held at the Getty Research Institute.