Wolbring, Barbara

English

Hochschulschriftenserver - Universität Frankfurt am Main

1 1 From Frankfurt to  Europe An  Exhibition documenting the ri se  of the  House of Roth schild "A v-_ from  r+.e Royal ExcI.onge" (Nomon RothKhild], Dtawittg by Richord Oig/ltO<l,  1918. 8at&o<o W..,Ibring 'NOS bom;., 1965. o.-dte poY fIvew )"l'O'J silo worlrl!d ftx the EI.H'Ope<1fI A..«iolion for Banking H;$IO"1, which me kft jn April 01 Ihis yeor 10 begin ~ au's1'r>nl>hfp Of  Thc lIisitor .... nln~ the  Roth.scllild  world dwt~oIf~.  through ;t blue currain  !O expc:rience a loueh  of ,h  ....  "gull!  ROfhschild" in  th ~ lavishly  furnishcd  salon ",hieb  awaits hirn.  The  roams,  togclhcr  wich  the rieees  [ tolll  thc:  RothK hild  Ht collecLions  in the displa)'  ClS('S,  testify to the sucngth or ,he claims or the mosl (amous 19rh-ccolllry  mnking firni))'  10 N' the  ~uaJ or Euro])(:'s  high""T nobility. :1$  do  pieces  from fhe  Rothschild  3rt colleetion  in  their  displ:lY cast S. Magnificent drinking v.... ssd s.  golden 22 -snuff-boxC5  seI  wi(h  diam o l1 d_~.  <"namd work amI  porcdai  n  Va.~ 5 show thaI  thc Rothschild collection  was  huilt-up  in aeeordancc  with  .he  jt\eals  of Renais­sance princes. In  ~ddit i on to this. clocks 3m] astrollomieal  mea$uring instru ­ments bear  witncss  to  the  fa mily's penchant for exacU1C!SS and precision. Both rooms  in  the  Rothschild  city palacc on Frankfurt's Untermainbi are fai thfully  reconstructcd according tO thc  originals  3nd in  the  Hyle of the previous occupams. T hese rooms sound a  fanfare 3( rhe  beginning of  [his  first exhibition. whieh documc ms in  full  thc ri$C of the famil)' :md thc m :lII)' f..u:r1Sof the  Ro.hschild legend.  Manyexhibil\  G are the fa mily's own and are on view  (1)  R \hc  publie  for the fi rst  time here. Th~ F ra nkfurt Jewish  M useum  o rganiuJ (he exhibilion on thc occasion of  M~"t1 Amschd Rothschild's 2)(),h :lIl lliwTS:Ity  A as  foundel  o r  t hc  d y naslY.  Thc  al o  hibi tion also  reprcscllIs a highlight  In  t\ Fr:l.tlkfurI' s  J200th  yea r cclcbration!.  0 Sil1C<~  there  is  a  h rge  i n  t e r nation~1  e, i nlUdt, t a  l S accomp<ln ying  the nhi·  f.l bits are both in G erman and ill EngJish.  i'\ I. cl Modest beginnings :11 h  was hett·,  in  ,he cr:unp<"d  conditiom  q of Ihe Jud ~ nß'lsse, Ihal rapid  aod  gidd~'  p; rise  oE the  Ro thsclJ ilds  bega n. Still  11 d~Z7 . I  l"d by  the SUlllp tuo usness or  the  :1 first  room s, the  visiror i5 i!HrOOucro 10 tlu:ir  modeS[  beginn  ings . The  offi ce,  C oceup)'ing only  a  few  sq uare metra.  f, wilh  irs  wrili ng  dcsk,  $1001  2nd bookcase, is sparscly  furn ishcd and  h.b  c been  restructurOO  ~ ceord jng to cont~m - d porary  plans. It was  here  in  this oflice,  n' typieal of  an  18lh-centu  ry  {i rm. rh,l{  b. Meyer Amschel  Rothschild  and his fj,"t  (( sons bt-gan an unpreccdenrcd carttr.  B)' dca l;ng in an tique co  ins,  he becamr court  fac tor 10  the  L1ndgravc  WiJhdm  A von Ha  nau,  who  laler  became  [> riner Elt"ClOr  von  HCSSC'n-K:usc1.  Br 1800. ht was  sufficicndy pfospemus 10  bccom~  T " Iof ;IS '"  'he .cd y" "y ,,, on II  S. l aI hi­,h. -) IlS Idr lill th  c I w lee. reS. Ind lias ~m­·jec. .11:" fivc . Ur une d1l1 Inec­,  hc ;,mc involved  in  the  lunHive  uusiness  ur CovernruefH  IO,H1S  Thc  HO llse  01' Ror hschild  had  on ~ advantage  over  its compcu rors  us  EUrOp C<l 1I di11lcn ~ io n, a  J etisiv<:  characreristic uf (he family  business  in  ils  prime.  Mcycr Amscllcl's  third SOll,  Nathan,  had ~lre;ldy been in England sinet"  1798. At first  he scu led  in Manchcsltr. ( ( 11m: of t he English textile industry. where he could  ho pe  10  mak(' ;, casier for  his farher  to imp0r!  dmh (rom  Engbmd. Nathan's  pauern  bonk.  kepf in the LondOI1  ROl hschild  Archivc.  shows cle;lrly  d'e  yOll ng  sa leslI1 :t n·s consciellliousne5s.  In Ihis  book hr not only notC"d  his  clIswmcrs· orders, bllt also  anachcd  a  sampk  of the cloth  in qlll·qion  .I howing  its  (I ualit )'  anJ pattern.  As  :t  rCSll 1!  of Nadl.1n·s  work. rhc  fami ly  career  progrcHeJ  by  Icaps ~nd  bOllnd  s .  Thc  cloth  trade  w as hLerarivc.  espccially  during  Ihe Conlinent,,1  System  sina: few  wucs tound  th  ..ir wa)'  aCTOSS  the Channd. As J  result or  his  m <lrrlage to  Hannah Collen. N:nhall mOl.naged  10 riSt'  among thc Jcwish flnJIl Cial  cliu: ;n  l ondon. He m{)veJ  I{)  I..ondon :md opcnro his own b.l.llk.  ~he N.M.  Rmhschild  &  Sons of todOL)'. AEuropean fomily business Thc- London  office.  likc its  Fr~llkfUTl p.mnl.  graduJl1y evolveJ  from a trading ho usc  ~ O:t  hOLnk.  In  18 10.  Mey  C" r Anlschel  Rothschild  inlnKluced his SOllS ill!O  dll'  husiness:ls  partners.  In  this W;'I)"  he avoidc:d  (he b u ~illCSS bei ng split l1p  b C lwCC Il  his  sons  and,  more sign ili c~ lltl)',  lhrough  thc  Parwcrship Agretl1lent. CVCIHu3l1y  crcltcd  tbc basis fü r  furure  $uccesscs. The cOnll)a ny's fOIl Il<ler made;lll his SOllS  p~r(lI Crs. wllo wue [0 n12ke :l1l  im p0rl3lH  bus in ,,~s decisions  [og<:lh<:r ;and  \\we 10 Ix: ("t\lIll owners of Ihc  comp;lI1Y·s  cap;t:!!. O lt U g IH(r~  aud  S OIl ~- ill - I ;l W were p redudcd from cmering Ihl' busil1l'SS or recetvtng fel's  from  Ih ..  company·s COl pilll. The high-slandillg  position th;lt Mq·cr A.mschcl  Rothschild  had  rcach~-d when he  eliee!  in  t 81 2  is  reneeted dcarly  in hi,  gr.LI'C"St<me.  st ill  visible  today In  th" Jewi5h  grlveyard  in  frankfurt  It  CJn also  hl' deul)'  seen  frutn  rhe elltry  fot hilll  ill  the  Me mnrblleh  (Jewish eO l1lmuni ry  prayrr böokl;  it  is  thr longest  in  rhe  whule  book.  Roth~ch il d is panicularly rClllCtnlx:rl-d  for  using his wealth  and con nec tions  w  m~kc a suhHUHi:d  eonrrihllt ion  10  thc 3chicI·emt·IH ()f Je,,'ish  civil  ,·igllls  in FUlikfuII  in HIlI. More thon jus, 0  bonk The  visilor's undcrslancling of the  rise nf rhe Rothschilds  Jt:t: Pt ~ I1S,:.lS he dimbs the  historie marble s[airC".Isc  tu rh.:  m::H noor.  On  display  here  ~Je .he  OI.e li~itics of the  Rorhsehild  brot her)  in  rhos.: Euro!'<:an  Illetropoliscs  wk·re- lmlllChes of the bnnk wcre  set up:  N~th a n Meyer had already seuled in Londol1. Salomon Mcyer  went  to Vienna.  C~ lIm ;l nll  to Naplc:s anJ Jakob Mcyt;r  tu Pu i"  whac he  exe hanged  his Ge rnun  Christian name  fOT  ]all1 es.  TJH:  cld(·H  SOll, AU\$Chc1  Meyer. ren13.inoo  al rhe parent" braneh in  Frankfurt. Thc oil portrlits, :Lnributcd to M{)rin O:lIIic! Oppcnhci m, po rrray fhe  brorhefs  in  ~he style of 1111': Eurolx-;ln  nobililY,  tO whieh  they  Iatcr belonged .  Sodal  succ.ess  followed CC"onom;e succcss. The  e xhibition  follows  the  family's progress  in  more chan  JU St  an «onomic .sense. The Rothschild legend i$  porrrnycd in  CJriCl w re and  in  ehe ;IIHi-s("llIi tic propagJmla nf rhe  NarionOl.I  Soeillists. The  fa mily  uscd  its  wea hh  OLnd connections 10  S:Lve  co-rcligionislS. EJmond  d e"  ROlh ~eh i ld  be ea me invol\'oo  in building up Jewish eolonies in  I'a[esüne. .  md used a large  POLft  of his a.\.'>C" fS 10  rhi .~  end.  OfheT  mernhers of t he  fOLmily  beclllle  i n vo l ~ed in science, Jrt and culmre, or in  win('  growillg,  in which  the  name Rothschild  hcc.ame  d synonym  fur :I  refill(·d  lifestyle.  T he Ro rdc;J ux  win e,~ fro m Ch.1teau  MOlHon and Chateau Lafite  hJVC  Oeen  among.lt the  fineSI  In  the  world  for Illore  [kill 100 ye:m. Alongside  CldtUT;d  invo!vClllcnt . p;Jtronage  or the urs i5 also  I)art  01"  fhe fal11ily  tradition.  In  Frankfurt,  ~C I·e r~1 foundations,  the  Rothschild  Park  and fhe  ROIhschild  libr.Lry, werc (c-minders or the  ranlily  cVe"n  after  fhe Bank  h3d gone ftom  Ihe  Cil Y.  (n  t901 ;1  was d osed as mett ~n' no male heilS.  Ir was o nly a few yaTS ago  t!J;lt  rhe ban k onee again sough~ COlllIl'CI iOIlS with the eil)' o f iu origin and opm ed a braitch  . • HiUoricaI room in ~ 'I)"fe 01 toui. XN wid. <I bcry c  ..  iIit.g;" 110.. Roff,Kf,iIdpGIo<J Oft If,e (/flHTm<lWcCJi in  ,""""". I~ ;  e<>toIogue] Silk dolf"  printe<J  1836, in TTIftI7Iory cf NalhGn Mr:.yor, ~wing hi, .lKkIen deGlh. 11 >hows tf,. IOmovs si~he 01 lfHI pt/IGr in Ihe /loyal &.c~. 

From Frankfurt to Europe : an exhibition documenting the rise of the House of Rothschild

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