GOLDSCHMIDT, E. P. Papers and Memorabilia
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E. P. Goldschmidt & Co. Papers and Memorabilia

 

OCLC No. 
1102321067

Creator 
E. P. Goldschmidt & Co.

Title
E. P. Goldschmidt & Co. Papers and Memorabilia

Dates
1905-2006

Bulk dates 
1923-1954

Abstract
This collection contains correspondence, records, personal papers and memorabilia related to E.P. Goldschmidt’s life, shop and estate. 

Extent
5 boxes; approx. 6.5 linear feet

Language
Material is primarily in German and English, with additional material in Dutch and French.

Access Restrictions
Collection is open for research use. Copyright restrictions may apply; please contact repository for requests for copying and for authorization to publish, quote, or reproduce the materials.

Provenance
Material in this collection was part of the estate of Jacques Vellekoop; the collection was purchased by the Grolier Club in December 2018 at Dominic Winter Auctioneers, 12-13 December 2018 (13 Dec. lots 906, 907, 910 & 912).

Accruals
Accruals are not expected.

Location
Grolier Club, 47 East 60th Street, New York, N.Y. 10022-1098.

Preferred Citation
[Description and date of item], [Box/folder number], E.P. Goldschmidt & Co. Papers and Memorabilia, The Grolier Club of New York.

Finding Aid information
This finding aid was prepared using Microsoft Word by Kendra Meyer in April 2019.

Related Archival Materials
E.P. Goldschmidt & Co.: Financial Records, 1919-1981; RLIN ID No. NYGG01-A1; 7 boxes, 2.5 linear feet; The Grolier Club.

 Grolier Club Institutional Records, RG 8, Series IV: Grolier Club Oral Histories; OCLC No.: 1020680146; 3 boxes, 3 linear feet.  Includes 2001 interview with Jacques Vellekoop. Note that a typed transcript of the interview is in Box 2, Folder 12 of this collection.

Biographical/Historical Note
E.P. (Ernest Philip) Goldschmidt is considered one of the greatest 20th-century scholar-booksellers.  He was born in Vienna in 1887 into a wealthy Dutch family and obtained his degrees from Trinity College, Cambridge. After his studies he began his career with the project, Gesamtkatalog der Wiegendrucke.  In 1923 he purchased the Viennese bookselling firm Gilhofer & Ranschburg and established E.P. Goldschmidt and Co. in London at 45 New Bond Street.  He collaborated with Ernst Weil, who joined Goldschmidt at the firm between 1933 and 1943.  In 1948 Goldschmidt took on Jacques Vellekoop as assistant.  Upon Goldschmidt’s death in 1954, Vellekoop continued to manage the business until his retirement in 1993, at which point the firm closed.

Access Points:
Names
Goldschmidt, E. Ph. (Ernest Philip)
E. P. Goldschmidt & Co.
Vellekoop, Jaques‏ ‎(Jacques L.)‏
Weil, Ernst, 1891-1965.
Hunt, Arnold.
Keynes, John Neville, 1852-1949.
Margulies, Paul.
Breisach, Marianne.
Carter, John, 1905-1975.
Fearrington, Florence.
Bernhard, Otto.
Bernhard, Lili.
Jacques Rosenthal (Firm)
Gilhofer & Ranschburg (Vienna, Austria)

Subjects
Antiquarian booksellers. England. London. 20th century.
Booksellers and bookselling. England. London. 20th century.
Antiquarian booksellers. Correspondence.
Booksellers and bookselling. Correspondence.

Genres
Account books.
Address books.
Birth certificates.
Black-and-white photographs.
Bookplates.
Correspondence.
Diplomas.
Ephemera.
Shop signs.
Stamps (tools)

Occupations
Antiquarian booksellers. England. London. 20th century.

 Scope and Content Note
This collection contains papers and ephemera related to the antiquarian bookseller and scholar E. P. Goldschmidt and his firm E.P. Goldschmidt & Co.  It is a mix of personal and business records, and also includes material that was written about Goldschmidt after his death.  Personal documents include copies of his birth certificate and college degrees, including a degree certificate signed by Registrary at Cambridge John Neville Keynes. Correspondence is on the whole personal, and correspondents include Jacques Vellekoop, Paul Margulies (nephew), Marianne Breisach (sister), Otto and Lili Bernhard, and John Carter.  Some letters date to after Goldschmidt’s death and primarily deal with his estate.  Documents related to Goldschmidt’s early career include receipts for purchases from the Jacques Rosenthal firm, financial papers, and copies of the Memorandum and Articles of Association for his own firm.  Memorabilia includes a glass shop sign for the firm, a desk embosser and a box containing Goldschmidt’s personal bookplates. A large portion of the financial and business records dates to 1923 when Goldschmidt absorbed the Gilhofer & Ranschburg firm and established his own company. There are several letters written by Goldschmidt while traveling in 1952-1953 to Jacques Vellekoop, which includes both personal and business exchanges. Also included is "Reminiscences of Jacques Vellekoop," a printed transcript from the Grolier Club Oral History Project, 2001. The collection was part of the estate of Jacques Vellekoop.

Arrangement note
Items in the collection were purchased at auction and arranged in lots for sale.  Current arrangement was devised by archivist.  Collection contains four series:
Series I: Personal and estate papers
Series II: Financial and business records
Series III: Correspondence
Series IV: Memorabilia/ephemera

Container list (note that some descriptive information was taken from auction catalog entries):

Series I: Personal and estate papers
Scope and Content note: This series contains papers related to Goldschmidt’s personal life and education, as well as material related to his estate and photographs.

Box

Folder

Description

Date

1

1

Address book with notes, letters and postcards interleaved

c. 1932-1952

1

2

1882 birth certificate, Vienna; 2 copies

Issued 1905, 1909

1

3

1908 Bachelor of Arts degree certificate, University of Cambridge Trinity College, with envelope

Issued 1918

3

1

Master of Arts Degree Diploma. University of Cambridge

1927

1

4

Papers, notes regarding family naturalization and father’s military service.

1919-1933

1

5

Draft, Ernst Weil obituary, possibly written by Vellekoop.

c. 1965

1

6

‘In Memoriam: Ernst Philip Goldschmidt 1887-1954’, reprinted from The Times; 4 copies

1954

1

7

‘Ernst Philip Goldschmidt 1887-1954’, Jacques Vellekoop, reprinted from the summer edition of “The Book Collector”; 3 copies

1954

1

8

‘Foreign Dealers in the English Trade’, signed by Arnold Hunt

2006

1

9

‘Out of print and into profit’; photocopy of cover and p. 386-389

2006

1

10

‘Reminiscences of Jacques Vellekoop,’ printed transcript from Grolier Club Oral History Project with note card from Florence Fearrington; papers removed from original storage in plastic case

2001

1

11

2 black and white 6x8 photos, Jacques Vellekoop and unknown subject.

Undated

2

The Stock and Reference Library of E. P. Goldschmidt and Co. Ltd., Christie’s sale catalog bound in modern half morocco with leather-entry slipcase

1993

2

The Stock and Reference Library of E. P. Goldschmidt and Co. Ltd., Christie's sale catalog, unbound and annotated [by Jacques Vellekoop]

1993

 

 

Series II: Financial and Business Records
Scope and Content note:  This series includes bank account books, receipts, ledger sheets and other financial communiques.  Much of this series dates to 1923, when Goldschmidt absorbed the Gilhofer & Ranschburg firm and established his own bookselling company.

Box

Folder

Description

Date

1

12

Purchase receipts, Jacques Rosenthal and 1 p. bibliographic notes

1914-1916

1

13

‘Memorandum and Articles of Association of E.P. Goldschmidt and Company Limited Incorporated the 7th day of October 1919;’ 2 copies

1919

1

14

Austrian credit agency for commerce and industry; correspondence and papers

1923

1

15

Balance Sheets

1923

1

16

Insurance share certificate

1923

1

17

Accounts book, Lloyd’s Bank

1926-1928

 

 

Series III: Correspondence
Scope and Content note: The bulk of this series is correspondence to and from Goldschmidt, largely personal. It also contains letters to and from Jacques Vellekoop about Goldschmidt’s estate. Of note are letters written by Goldschmidt while traveling in 1952-1953 to Vellekoop, which includes both personal and business exchanges. 

Box

Folder

Description

Date

1

18-22

Correspondence

Undated; 1916-2001

 

 

Series IV: Memorabilia/Ephemera
Scope and content note: This series contains business effects from Goldschmidt and the E.P. Goldschmidt & Co. firm.

Box

Description

Date

3

Pedimented glass-fronted 2-tier small wooden bookcase; 32.5 x 42 x 11 cm

Undated

4

‘E. P. Goldschmidt and Company Limited’ blind stamp desk embosser with gilt painted floral decoration; 16.5 x 8 x 21 cm

Undated

4

Brass-inlaid rosewood box containing numerous copies of Goldschmidt's personal gilt morocco bookplate; 12 x 6.5 x 4 cm

Undated

n/a

E.P.Goldschmidt & Co. Ltd. Old and Rare Books shop sign, Glass, Brilliant Sign Co., Ltd.

c. 1920s

 

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