Phaidon Press - Company History

Company History

Phaidon was founded in Vienna, Austria, in 1923 by Dr Bela Horovitz and Ludwig Goldscheider, with the objective of delivering high-quality books at affordable prices. They were able to achieve this as pioneers of the international co-edition and with large print-runs. Their first titles were not art books, but books on literature, philosophy and history. Phaidon's large-format art books first emerged in 1936 with plates on Van Gogh, Botticelli, and the French Impressionists.

The Nazi's annexation of Austria forced the company to move to England. After the war, Phaidon launched a program of both popular and scholarly art book publishing. This included the critical catalogue of drawings in the royal collection at Windsor Castle and the 'pocket' series of art history texts (now known as the Arts and Letters series).

In 1950, Phaidon published The Story of Art, a one volume survey of the history of art by Ernst Gombrich, originally intended as an introduction to the field for children. Since its first publication, it has become one of the best-selling art books ever, selling more than 7 million copies in 16 English-language editions and in translation in more than 30 other languages.

In 1967, Phaidon was acquired by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. The company changed ownership several times in the 1970s and 1980s before being acquired by Richard Schlagman in 1990.

Since 1995, Phaidon's The Contemporary Artists Series has published monographs on important and emerging contemporary artists.

In 2006, Phaidon entered the cookbook business by publishing their English translation of the Italian Il cucchiaio d'argento (The Silver Spoon). It was later released in French and German editions and followed by several other cookbook releases.

In 2009, Phaidon acquired the film magazine Cahiers du cinéma.

In 2012 the company was acquired by Leon Black.