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| Schiffer Publishing | |
|---|---|
| Name | Schiffer Publishing |
| Founded | 1974 |
| Founder | David A. Schiffer |
| Country | United States |
| Headquarters | Atglen, Pennsylvania |
| Publications | Books |
| Topics | Antiques, Collectibles, Military history, Regimental histories, Architecture, Art |
Schiffer Publishing is an independent American publisher founded in 1974, known for illustrated books on antiques, collectibles, military history, decorative arts, and restoration. The firm produces regional and specialized monographs, catalogs, and reference works for collectors, historians, and museum professionals. It operates multiple imprints and distributes titles across North America and Europe, serving audiences that include curators, reenactors, dealers, and hobbyists interested in material culture and historical research.
The company was founded in 1974 by David A. Schiffer in Pennsylvania amid a revival of interest in Americana and Antiques Roadshow-era collecting, paralleling developments involving institutions such as the Smithsonian Institution, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Victoria and Albert Museum, The British Museum, and Winterthur Museum. Early publications focused on American Civil War relics, World War II memorabilia, and press photography archives, linking to scholarship associated with figures like Ken Burns, Shelby Foote, John Keegan, Max Hastings, and Antony Beevor. During the 1980s and 1990s the publisher expanded into European antiques, decorative arts, and military regimental histories that attracted contributors affiliated with Imperial War Museum, National Archives (United States), National Army Museum, Royal United Services Institute, and Harvard University. The firm weathered market shifts provoked by the rise of Amazon (company), digital photography trends related to Kodak, and changing trade-show circuits including Antique Week and Brimfield Antique Show.
Schiffer operates several imprints and divisions catering to niche markets and collectors, comparable in strategy to publishers such as Rizzoli International Publications, Osprey Publishing, Bloomsbury Publishing, Thames & Hudson, and HarperCollins. Imprints have included specialized lines for militaria reference, folk art, architecture, and restoration manuals used by practitioners associated with Historic England and National Trust (United Kingdom). The company has collaborated with museums, galleries, and private collections including those of The Frick Collection, Guggenheim Museum, Carnegie Museum of Art, and regional historical societies like Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.
The publisher’s catalog includes illustrated reference books, price guides, identification manuals, and monographs. Notable subjects covered in specific titles range from American Revolution weaponry and Napoleonic Wars uniforms to Art Deco furniture, Arts and Crafts movement ceramics, and Folk art quilts. The list of topics intersects with scholarship on figures and works such as George Washington, Napoleon Bonaparte, Frank Lloyd Wright, Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Louis Comfort Tiffany, Gustav Stickley, and institutions like The National WWII Museum. Popular titles have been used as reference by librarians at Library of Congress, curators at Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and dealers listed by Antique Trader.
Editorially, the press emphasizes visual documentation, provenance research, and collector-oriented scholarship that complements academic studies from Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, and Yale University Press. Specialties include militaria guides, regimental pictorials referencing units associated with Battle of Gettysburg, Somme (1916), Waterloo Campaign, and D-Day (World War II), as well as restoration manuals used by conservators working with frameworks developed at Getty Conservation Institute. Other emphases are on regional material culture, such as Pennsylvania Dutch furniture, New England ceramics, and European folk traditions connected to institutions like Folklore Fellows' networks and the Smithsonian Folklife Festival.
The company began as a family-owned private press and has retained independent ownership models similar to other mid-sized specialty houses like Chronicle Books and Storey Publishing. Leadership has included editorial directors, production managers, and sales executives with prior experience at trade publishers and museums, interfacing with rights agents, literary scouts, and distribution partners comparable to Ingram Content Group and Baker & Taylor. Financial decisions have been shaped by the collectible marketplace, auction houses such as Sotheby’s, Christie’s, Bonhams, and appraisal networks including Antiques Roadshow experts.
Distribution channels combine trade sales to independent bookstores, museum shops, and specialty dealers with online retail through platforms comparable to Amazon (company) and direct-to-consumer sales at shows like Brimfield Antique Show and conventions such as World Stamp Expo. Marketing leverages collaborations with museums, appearances at conferences hosted by Southeastern Museums Conference, partnerships with historical reenactment groups tied to Civil War reenactment circuits, and reviews in periodicals such as Antique Trader, The New York Times Book Review, Publishers Weekly, and Kirkus Reviews.
Works published by the firm have been cited in museum catalogs, auction lot descriptions, and scholarly bibliographies alongside research from Johns Hopkins University Press and Princeton University Press. The press has influenced collecting practices, identification standards used by dealers, and public interest in material culture topics also addressed by media projects like Antiques Roadshow and documentary series by PBS and BBC. While not typically the subject of mainstream literary awards, its titles are frequently referenced in exhibition catalogs for institutions such as Smithsonian Institution, Victoria and Albert Museum, and regional historical societies, reflecting an outsized impact on niche fields of antiquarian study and collector communities.