This firm was the first foreign branch of the Viennese Schostal, dealer in linen and underclothing, and was established in Rome, in 1870. Other branches followed later on in Milan, Florence, Bologna and Naples. Since the head office was Austrian, with the outbreak of World War I, the Rome firm was taken over by the Bloch family, who had run the activity from the beginning. It is interesting to know that in the period when racial laws were in force, the shop managed to keep its signboard thanks to its owner Giorgio Bloch, who asserted that Schostal wasn't a Jewish family name, but a foreign acronym standing for Societé Commerciale Hongroise Objects Soie Toile Article Lainage (which obviously wasn't true).
The firm closed down for two years, in the post-war period, when black market ruled the city and it became impossible to sell in an honest way. This choice was a further demonstration of Schostal's reliability, and it definitely fastened the firm's popularity among Roman costumers; popularity which still lasts today.