The cosmopolitan antiquarian

Fellheim in the Allgäu. A small town on the trade route between Ulm and Memmingen. Jakob Rosenthal is born here in 1854, the youngest of nine children in a Jewish family. His mother, Dorlene, is the daughter of Fellheim butcher Samuel Bacharach.

His father, Joseph Rosenthal, trades in antiques, old books and prints. He is cosmopolitan, open-minded and assertive - character traits that benefit him in business, but also in his voluntary work in the Jewish community. There has been a Jewish community in Fellheim since 1670, but it becomes increasingly impoverished in the 19th century due to discriminatory laws. This is also evident in the synagogue, which becomes increasingly dilapidated. Joseph Rosenthal campaigns for its preservation. He succeeds in raising the enormous sum of 2,000 guilders for the renovation - mainly through donations from relatives and Jewish communities in the USA.

His children's education is extremely important to Joseph. He sends his son Ludwig to Buxheim Monastery three times a week to learn English. The boy covers the ten-kilometre distance on foot, whatever the season.

In 1858, the family suffers a an unexpected tragedy: their mother Dorlene dies unexpectedly at the age of 44. She is laid to rest in the Jewish cemetery in Fellheim. Jakob is only four years old when he becomes a half-orphan.

Now there is nothing keeping Joseph Rosenthal in Fellheim. He, who travels a lot for work and has many interests, is drawn to Munich. Since the middle of the century, the royal seat has developed into a centre for art and science. Here, Joseph Rosenthal can count on a large clientele for his antiques, art and book trade.

His son Ludwig, who is now a qualified bookseller and antiquarian bookseller, also wants to settle in Munich.

After the last immigration restrictions for Jews were lifted in 1861, this goal is finally within reach. Ludwig realises his dream: he establishes the „Rosenthal Antiquarian Bookshop“ in the heart of Munich, on Promenadeplatz.

While Ludwig had to walk from Fellheim to Buxheim to receive English lessons, Jakob enjoys the privilege of being taught French, English and „etiquette“ by a private tutor. After training in his brother's antiquarian bookshop, he receives the finishing touches in antiquarian bookshops in Heidelberg and Karlsruhe. He then returns to Munich and becomes a partner in the „Rosenthal Antiquariat“.

In 1878, Ludwig sends his brother to Paris for an extended period of time. Alongside London, Paris is the most important European trading centre for valuable and rare books. But Paris is not only interesting as a market; the scientific study of manuscripts and early printed works has also developed at the universities and libraries. And of course it is a special experience to be in Paris during the Belle Époque. Jacob educates himself, makes contacts - and falls in love with the city on the Seine, so much so that from then on he no longer calls himself Jacob, but Jacques.

Thanks to his curiosity and instinct, Jacques manages to make many a spectacular purchase in Paris. The Rosenthal brothers' antiquarian bookshop quickly gains an excellent reputation. Academic institutions and libraries, private individuals and government circles all buy from the Rosenthals. Their most prominent customers include King Ludwig II of Bavaria and Emperor Wilhelm I.

It will be a very special house that radiates opulence, taste and learnedness. From the street, you enter a large exhibition hall with walls covered in blue textile wallpaper. An adjoining room is designed like a chapel, with a three-winged altar in an imitation apse. Tasteful showcases display valuable books and works of art behind glass, precious carpets lie on the floors and antique globes are displayed on tables.