The history of stamp collecting 20, The origins of Schaubek

Inspired by a series of articles by K. Kouwenberg that appeared in the monthly magazine Philatelie in the late 1970s, Rob Smit rewrites the history of stamp collecting in biweekly installments. This is part 20, Gustav Wuttig and Gustav Bauschke. The name of Gustav Bauschke can still be found in philately today, however with the letters somewhat scrambled to form Schaubek. How this came about and the role Gustav Wuttig played is discussed in this episode. Gustav Wuttig was a bookseller in Leipzig who dealt in stamps as well as books. He owned the 'Literarisches Museum', not a museum but a very well-known bookstore in Leipzig, which also served as a publishing house and lending library. He published a stamp album and a stamp catalogue, the latter being a continuation of the catalogue by Zschiesche and Köder described in volume 17 of this series. In 1864, Wuttig, then about 55, fell ill and sold his 'Literarisches Museum' to Gustav Bauschke. Gustav Bauschke seems to be a somewhat mysterious figure. Bauschke was born in 1840 and had already died by 1879. Bauschke was therefore 24 when he took over Wuttig's business. In 1867, Bauschke suddenly disappeared from the scene. It is unclear what happened, but apparently something was going on that made him feel better, or forced him, to temporarily step aside. During that period, Julius Kümmel managed the affairs. Kümmel emigrated to America in 1875, but in the meantime, after a return in 1869, Bauschke was once again at the helm of the Litararisches Museum. Apparently, something had happened that caused his name to lose its reputation, because in 1870 a new trade journal and a large-format stamp album were published under the name Schaubek. A swapping of some letters in Bauschke's name. Schaubek albums became a household name in philately and are still published to this day. Click here for a historical overview on the Schaubek website. Bauschke was certainly not alone in the release of his albums. Well-known collectors such as Th. Claudius, Dr. Joseph, SF Friedman, and Alfred Moschkau assisted him with advice and support.

In the mid-seventies, partly due to mental illness, things went wrong for Bauschke again, and he came into contact with the law. He sold his business in 1876 for 10.500 gold marks to the Senf brothers, who managed to bring it to great prosperity. Bauschke continued to decline and was admitted to an institution in Colditz, where he died in 1879.

Published so far:

1. Introduction and start 2. The first collectors 3. The first catalogueOscar Berger Levrault is the first to provide an overview. 4. Alfred Potiquet, The first commercially published catalogue. 5. Booming 1862, The most turbulent year in philatelic history. 6. Edard de Laplante, the first to live exclusively from the stamp trade. 7. Natalis RondotThe first true philatelic literature appeared in a family magazine. 8. Henri Justin Lallier, Publisher of the first stamp album. 9. Frederick W. Booty, The first catalogue in English. 10. Mount Brown, A successful English catalogue. 11. Dr John Edward Gray, Inventor of the postage stamp, the very first collector, or merely a good cataloguer? 12. The first stamp magazineFirst a failed attempt, but then a sheet of stamps after all. 13. Edward Pemberton, Active philatelist with descendants in philately. 14. Dr. C.W. Viner, Father of English philately. 15. Jean Baptiste Moens, The greatest trader of all time. 16. Moens' publishing house, of great importance in the early days of philately. 17. Germany in 1862, The slow start of an important philatelic country. 18. The Netherlands in 1862, The first Dutch catalogue and album. 19. The Netherlands in 1864, PH Witkamp