François-Henri Schneider

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François-Henri Schneider

Jean-François-Henri Schneider (1851-1929/1930?), often shortened to François-Henri Schneider or F.H. Schneider, was a French printer, publisher and photographer. He is considered a person who made many important contributions to the early publishing industry in French Indochina.

François-Henri Schneider, who made important contributions to the early publishing industry of Indochina

Jean-François-Henri Schneider was born on December 1, 1851, the son of a French–German bricklayer. However, he soon chose to pursue a career in printing, and although he was of German descent, he served as a volunteer militiaman defending Paris during the Siege of Paris in 1870.

He arrived in Cochinchina around August 1882 under a three-year contract with the French Navy, which he imagined would be a long period of exile. Schneider himself did not think he would stay in the Far East for so long. Until he retired and returned to France, in the early 1920s, he lived and worked in Indochina for nearly 40 years.
After more than a year working at the Government Printing House (Imprimerie du Gouvernement), he was transferred with this printing house to Hanoi to establish a new printing house at the end of 1883, named the Protectorate Printing House (Imprimerie du Protectorat). ). Two years later, following the advice of the protectorate government, Schneider resigned from his job to open his own commercial printing house and was also the first private printing house in Tonkin. This cooperation raises questions about the benefit agreement between the government and the private sector, as well as the preferential treatment of certain individuals or private businesses. For, just two years after inaugurating his own printing press, Schneider bought the Protectorate Printing House with all the machinery, as well as the Chinese fonts, in 1886, for a relatively bargain price of 14,000 French francs and enjoyed many benefits. Other preferential conditions, such as bidding for all printing of government papers and gazettes, tasks previously undertaken by the Protective Printing House. His newly expanded facility was named F.-H Typo Printing House. Schneider (Imprimerie typographique de F. H. Schneider).
With a verbal agreement with Governor-General de Lanessan, François-Henri Schneider published the first gazette in Chinese characters in Tonkin, the Dai-nam Dong Van Daily Newspaper (late 1891-December 31, 1907). ), to post news and articles prepared by the Local Affairs Department. Schneider’s exclusive contract with the colonial government lasted until 1905, when another printer requested a bid for the publication of the gazette. Ernest Babut, owner of the newspaper Dai-Viet tan-bao (May 5, 1905 – May 25, 1908), was the only person who won the contract to publish the gazette from Schneider. At the same time, every three years, the colonial government was forced to auction off the job of printing gazettes. However, the above work is only formal and procedural because with the close relationship with the government and the basic equipment that Schneider has, he easily surpassed his competitors to win the contract.
Therefore, during his time working in Tonkin, Schneider had seven newspapers in his hands, including 5 newspapers (Dai-nam dong-van-daily (late 1891-December 31, 1907), Nam -Viet official-newspaper January 1, 1908-1913), Nam-Viet official gazette (January 1, 1911-December 31, 1913), French-Vietnamese official announcement (January 1, 1914-December 31 /1918), Cong-thi Bao (November 1914 – late 1915)) were printed on one side, large format, to be posted in public places such as village communal houses, to disseminate information to the people; Two other newspapers printed as regular newspapers are Indochina Magazine and Trung Bac Tan Van.
By 1909, out of a total of seven private printing houses in Tonkin, F. H. Schneider owned the two largest factories, in Hanoi and Hai Phong and a paper factory. After many years of building a business in the North, Schneider intends to expand the market in the South. With government backing, he bought Luc-province tan-van from Pierre-Jeantet Sombsthay and received an annual subsidy from the government, like the newspapers he published in Tonkin.
In 1909, François-Henri Schneider sent the young intellectual Nguyen Van Vinh, a man he supported, trusted and had collaborated with, to Saigon to work as an advisor for the Luc-province tan-van newspaper from 1909 until 1909. in 1913. After that, he returned to Hanoi to be in charge of Indochina magazine, a publication written in the national language, but without prior permission, thanks to the intelligence and cleverness of boss Schneider.
In the early 1920s, Schneider sold all his assets in Indochina to return to retire in France. He died in 1929(?)

Today, on a protruding promontory on the south bank of West Lake, there is a villa built by Schneider in 1898. When the Lycée du Protectorat School was established, the house was used as the residence of the students. the family of the French principal. During the war, it was abandoned. It was not until 1999 that it was restored with funding from the province of Ile-de-France and became the library of Chu Van An school.