Collection Creator:

Jacques Seligmann & Co  Search this

Extent:

30.5 Linear feet (Boxes 290-357)

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

1910-1977

Scope and Contents note:

This series houses the large and complex financial records of Jacques Seligmann & Co., Inc. Although primarily the records of the New York office under the direction of Germain Seligman, a few records of the Paris office are scattered throughout many of the subseries. Most of the financial records of subsidiary companies, such as de Hauke & Co., Inc., and Modern Paintings, Inc., are arranged with the appropriate series housing the records of those companies, except where ledgers and account books share entries for all the companies. Additional receipts, invoices, and other financial documentation are also interspersed throughout Correspondence (Series 1), Auction Files (Series 3), and the Inventory and Stock Files (Series 6). Quite large and complex, the financial records contain comprehensive documentation of sales and purchases of both the New York and Paris offices. The records include fascinating and revealing information about sales, purchases, provenance, prices, clients, and shared commission sales with other dealers. Several subseries are of particular note. Purchase Receipts/Documentation (Series 7.1) houses a fairly complete set of documentation of the firm's purchases, including the 1937 acquisition of Madame Jacques Doucet's collection of Picassos, which included Les Demoiselles d'Avignon. Price Quote Notebooks (Series 7.3) is also interesting as it documents Germain Seligman's records of "sales calls," including commentary and notes about clients and their collecting interests. Many of the Invoice Books, Account Books and Ledgers (Series 7.8, 7.9, and 7.11, respectively) provide information about individual sales to clients as well as purchases. The earliest Invoice Book dates from 1910 and is from the Paris office; it contains lists of invoices detailing works of art sold to clients such as George Blumenthal, Condé Nast, Henry Walters, and other notable collectors.

Arrangement note:

This series contains a wide variety of financial records, and has been further arranged into eighteen subseries. The bulk of this series has been scanned with the exception of Series 7.7., and Series 7.12.-7.15. Blank pages of bound volumes have not been scanned and consequently there will be gaps in the page numbers of these volumes. Missing Title 7.1: Purchase Receipts/Documentation, 1925-1973 7.2: "On Approval" Journals, 1913-1958 7.3: Price Quote Notebooks, 1935-1970 7.4: Consular Invoices, 1920-1953 7.5: Consignment Invoices, 1932-1950 7.6: Credit Notes and Memoranda, 1925-1978 7.7: General Invoices, 1933-1950, 1970-1977 7.8: Invoice Books, 1910-1972 7.9: Account Books, 1913-1953 7.10: Daily Journals, 1921-1952 7.11: Ledgers, 1913-1976 7.12: Audit Reports and Balance Sheets, 1913-1959 7.13: Banking Records, 1969-1978 7.14: Tax Records, 1913-1975 7.15: Insurance Policies and Records, 1926-1960 7.16: Shipping Records, 1923-1977 7.17: Paris Office Financial Records, 1913-1957, undated 7.18: Miscellaneous Financial Notes and Files, circa 1924-1950s

Collection Restrictions:

Use of original papers requires an appointment.

Collection Rights:

The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.

Collection Citation:

Jacques Seligmann & Co. records, 1904-1978, bulk 1913-1974. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

Processing of the collection was funded by the Getty Grant Program; digitization of the collection was funded by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation and the Terra Foundation for American Art. Glass plate negatives in this collection were digitized in 2019 with funding provided by the Smithsonian Women's Committee.

Identifier:

AAA.jacqself, Series 7

See more items in:

Jacques Seligmann & Co. records

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw970a90b05-4317-4b7f-b6d3-e330d015d69f

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-aaa-jacqself-ref15168