Schaubücher was the brand name of a photographic book series published between 1929 and 1932 by the Swiss publishing house Orell Füssli.

History

The editor of the series, and also the editor of several individual volumes, was Emil Schaeffer. Trained as an art historian, Schaeffer conceived a book series that sought to respond to changing reading habits and consumer behavior made possible by advances in photography and reproduction technology. According to a publisher’s prospectus, the series was aimed at an audience that “cannot spare seconds,” has no time for studying scholarly books, and therefore wishes to be informed quickly but thoroughly.

The primary focus of the volumes was to combine education with visual pleasure through outstanding photography. In contrast to the long-established series Die Blauen Bücher, published since 1912 by Langewiesche, the Schaubücher were intended to have a strong contemporary orientation. Six thematic categories were defined during planning: culture and society; art, film, and theater; technology and architecture; sport and physical culture; humanity and race; and nature and research. The size and external design of the books were standardized, and each thematic group was assigned a distinct color on the book spine.

The graphic designer Willy Burger was likely responsible for the book design. The volumes were bound in half-cloth, with a photo-illustrated front cover and a gray-brown paper back cover. The colored cloth spines included the author’s name, a short title, and, at the base, the series abbreviation “SB” and the volume number. Some volumes deviated from the standard format. At the point of sale, the books were wrapped in transparent cellophane covers.

The size of the first print runs is unknown, but estimates range between 6,000 and 12,000 copies. Only a few volumes received additional printings. The uniform retail price was three Swiss francs, or 2.40 Reichsmarks, or 4.30 Austrian schillings.

Each volume consisted of a text section of 16 to 24 pages and a photographic section containing between 56 and 90 images with captions. In some cases, the image captions were written by authors other than those who wrote the main texts. In most volumes, the photographs were not the work of a single photographer; instead, the publisher assembled images thematically from photographers, archives, and agencies.

The publisher licensed volumes 6, 17, 28, 30, 31, and 33 for English-language editions, which were released by Routledge under the series title Seen by the Camera.

The effects of the global economic crisis led Orell Füssli to discontinue the series. The publishing director Zutt was dismissed, and editor Emil Schaeffer returned to Germany. Remaining stock was sold off at reduced prices.

At the same time as the launch of the Schaubücher series, Orell Füssli also began publishing the series Was Jungens erzählen, which ran until 1933 and comprised fifteen volumes. These books, written and photographed by young authors, were aimed at a youthful readership. The first volumes were translated licensed editions from the United States.

Reference List

Schaubücher. (n.d.). Wikipedia. Retrieved January 19, 2026, from https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schaubücher