The Schulman family

Jacob Schulman

Jacob was born on April 11, 1849 in Hilversum. In September 1873, Jacob joined his father David Schulman in the business. David was an antique dealer / jeweller and master clockmaker and his business was located in Hilversum. David and Jacob traded there in jewellery, gold and silver, corals, watches, clocks, antiques, coins and medals.

Jacob's main hobby was collecting coins from the former Dutch East Indies and medals. In 1880, Jacob Schulman's first catalogue of Dutch coins appeared. A catalogue with fixed prices 'c'est une nouveauté', as he himself wrote in the foreword. Many more would follow, but this event is seen as the official beginning of the J. Schulman company.

Jacob further focused on numismatics and established his own company on the Langestraat, corner of the Lieve Vrouwestraat in Amersfoort. Jacob built his numismatic business up from his hobby. His specialisations were Eastern coins, coins from Portugal/Brazil and the rest of South America. In 1889 he held his first coin auction in his own name. Jacob's reputation in the Netherlands and abroad grew, and Jacob was also very active in the social field.

Maurits & André Schulman

In November 1873, Jacob Schulman married in Zutphen Mina Frohwein from Wallenstein (Germany), with whom he had three sons and four daughters. Two of the sons (Maurits & Andreas) would later join the business and their descendants are still employed in our company  Laurens Schulman bv.

At the end of the 19th century, the two sons André and Maurits Schulman had joined their father Jacob in the business. The activities had now expanded to such an extent that the establishment in Amersfoort had become too cramped. That is why the business moved from Amersfoort to Amsterdam (Keizersgracht 448) in 1902. Here Jacob Schulman was able to carry out his numismatic hobby and business for another 12 years after the move. He lived at the Keizersgracht above the business. Jacob died in Amsterdam at the age of 64 and left his sons Maurits and André a thriving business.

Maurits Schulman expanded the business together with his brother, who was one year younger. The duo even managed to help the company through the First World War and the American stock market crisis. "L'Histoire se répète": Maurits shared the predilection for coins and medals from Portugal/Brazil and from the rest of South America with his father Jacob. In addition, he developed knowledge of Greek and Roman coins, which added a new dimension to the company. Maurits's son Hans (born 13 May 1913 in Amsterdam) emigrated to America in 1938 under the threat of the Second World War. In New York he started his own numismatic company under the name of Hans Schulman.

André Schulman was internationally highly regarded as a connaisseur of medals and, in the scientific field, was a member of merit of the Royal Dutch Numismatic Society and of the Royal Archaeological Society. André published several articles. For example, the Jaarboek voor Munt- en Penningkunde (Annual Numismatic Magazine) published a number of his articles on rare, mainly medieval Dutch coins, on Dutch and foreign lottery tokens and commemorative tokens from the Dutch East Indies. He also compiled the catalogues of a number of important Dutch and foreign collections of coins and medals, the auctions of which were entrusted to the company 'J. Schulman'. Many of those catalogues and prospectuses, that were compiled with such great care and accuracy, have proved to be of lasting value. André died in 1936.

Jacques Schulman

Jacques Schulman was born on April 6, 1906. On September 5, 1927, he joined his father André Schulman and his uncle Maurits Schulman in the business. After the death of his father, Jacques Schulman started his own company in The Hague in 1937. Due to the evacuation of Scheveningen (construction of the Atlantic Wall), he returned to Amsterdam in 1943 by horse and carriage. His uncle Maurits had meanwhile been transported to camp Westerbork by the occupying forces. Maurits eventually succumbed in Sobibor. That ended the firm by name of J. Schulman. Jacques moved back into the vacant building on the Keizersgracht, where he continued his company Jacques Schulman under the supervision of the Germans. Together with his wife Helena, he brought the company to great prosperity after the Second World War, each with their own contributions. Jacques had 4 children, 3 sons and 1 daughter. The youngest son Laurens Schulman is still active in numismatics (Laurens Schulman bv). Through his many studies, Jacques developed into a great international numismatic expert. He studied at the Cabinet de Medaille, the Ecole du Louvre and the Sorbonne in Paris. But also at the British Museum in London. Jacques also founded his own publishing house, and wrote a large number of publications himself, including the Handbook of Dutch Coins (for more information, see the page on the Schulman Number). Jacques was also very active in association life and co-founded the 1st Numismatic Circle of Collectors, was at the basis of the world association of dealers in numismatics (A.I.N.P) and was its chairman for 8 years and treasurer for 19 years. In addition, he was eight times chairman of the 'Old Art and Antiques Fair Delft' Foundation and co-board member of the Association of Dealers in Ancient Art in the Netherlands.