Enrique Lerdau Family Collection

The Enrique Lerdau Family Collection consists of documentation that centers on the lives of Barbara (née Elkan) and Fritz Lerdau, including their papers that describe their childhood, courtship, marriage, children, emigration, and later lives. In addition the collection also has a large focus on the Elkan family and the related Rée family, which provide many details of life in an upper middle-class family in Hamburg. Some information is available on the history of the hops industry in Germany. Genealogical information on the related Lerdau, Elkan, Rée and related families is also present.

Barbara and Fritz Lerdau and the life they built together are the main focus of this collection, documented in each series of the collection. Their official documents, such as birth and identification papers, will be found in Series I, along with financial, educational, legal, and military documentation for them, in addition to a few official documents of their daughters. Included are both German and Peruvian official documents. Series I also holds papers pertaining to their wedding and eulogies for both of them. Much of Series II consists of their correspondence to one another, with their letters clearly displaying their affection for one another, in addition to providing details of their daily lives and Fritz Lerdau's travels in Europe and South America. Series II also includes a small amount of correspondence with their children and annual letters sent by Barbara in her later years that document some of her activities. The writings in Series III include memoirs by both Barbara and her son Enrique (born Heinz) as well as childhood remembrance books created by Barbara for her two eldest children; these provide numerous details of the lives of Barbara and Fritz and their children, including their lives in both Hamburg and Peru and the tragic loss of their eldest daughter. Series IV, which contains the collection's photographs, includes many pictures of Fritz and Barbara Lerdau and their children.

The history of the Elkan and Rée families, from which Barbara Lerdau descended, and the lives of their members are another topic well-documented in this collection. Among the many eulogies and obituaries for family members in Series I, most are for members of the Elkan and Rée family. In addition, Series I holds some official documents and other papers for family members. Included are official documents for Barbara's father Otto Eduard Elkan; identification, professional, and educational documents for her brother Edward Elkan; and official and legal documents for her mother, Ingeborg Bandler. Documentation on the deaths of her stepfather and half-sister are also present in Series I. A small amount of correspondence between Barbara and other members of the Elkan family is present in Series II, as is some genealogical research correspondence and letters concerning the Elkan family gravesite.

Less documentation is present on the family of Fritz Lerdau, previously the Levy family of Hamburg. Included in Series I is some documentation of his grandfather, Alexander Martie Levy, and a eulogy for his sister, Emmy Hamberg. Documentation of the change to the family's surname will be found in a note on the birth certificate of Fritz Lerdau in Series I. Series II includes a few letters and postcards sent by Rudolph and Elsa Lerdau to their children.

Some information on the hops industry in Germany prior to World War II, and about the company J.F.U. Scheibel, bought by Fritz Lerdau's grandfather, may be found in this collection as well. Some letters from Fritz Lerdau in Series II briefly mention customers or interactions he had while on business trips, with his frequent travel showing the range of customers of the company. In addition, the memoirs of Barbara Lerdau and of Enrique Lerdau in Series III discuss the hops industry in general, the history of J.F.U. Scheibel, and Fritz's duties in particular.

A small amount of material on the family genealogy is also present in this collection. Several folders in Series II contain correspondence regarding the history of the family, and Series III includes a family tree for the Danish businessman Hartvig Philip Rée. The memoirs in Series III also discuss the background of the Elkan, Rée, and related families.