Ilse Arnhold Maron Correspondence Collection

The collection holds a single series of extensive correspondence showing mostly the personal lives of the Arnhold family throughout the first half of the 20th century. Most of the letters are addressed to Ilse Arnhold and her husband Ernst Maron.

The majority of letters discuss personal or family affairs like the engagement of Ilse, her honeymoon, or the birth of her children. Some of them also mention the family business. Furthermore, the letters and postcards show the travels of family and friends throughout Europe as well as some family members studying or working abroad like Hans-Georg in Amsterdam in the 1930s. His letters home describe his work in different departments and his life in the Netherlands.

Folder 1/1 holds the letters of Georg Arnhold to his wife Anna (née Bayer) writing about his work and travels in Europe. There is also a letter from 1913 congratulating Anna on the engagement of her daughter Ilse.

Folder 1/2 holds mostly letters written to Ernst Maron, the husband of Ilse (née Arnhold). There are several letters to Ernst and his parents about his engagement. Also included is a letter from Ella Arnhold to her parents writing about her time in Switzerland in 1900 together with a paragraph from Margarete Busch about the improvement of Ella’s health. Two postcards addressed to Cecilia Maron are written in Italian. In addition, the folder holds a photograph of Ignatz Maron with two daughters as well as a funeral speech from 1921.

Folders 1/3 to 2/3 hold correspondence that is mostly addressed to Ilse Arnhold / Maron. Nonetheless, there are also a few other recipients.

The official engagement announcement of Ilse Arnhold with Ernst Maron from September 1913 as well as many letters and cards from family and friends congratulating her can be found in folder 1/3. A lot of them seemed to be very surprised by the announcement as they did not tell anyone beforehand.

Folder 1/4 holds letters and a few postcards, and it includes a letter from the sculptor Ambrosi (probably Gustinus Ambrosi) who wrote to Ernst Maron about his current work in Cologne in 1927. It seems like Maron asked Ambrosi to make a sculpture of his wife. In another letter from 1928, Ambrosi wrote to Ilse about the planned sculpture of her daughter which he wanted to make in July / August in Dresden.

Folder 1/5 contains more letters and postcards from vacations including Bavaria, Stuttgart, Bautzen, and Vienna. The folder also holds a postcard from “Deuli” from Dresden to Ilse Maron in 1967. The card shows a part of Dresden that the writer describes to Ilse.

Many letters and cards congratulating Ilse on the birth of her son in December 1914 are in folder 1/6. It also includes a few postcards from friends as well as a field postcard from Walter Schultz sent to family Kaiser and Schmidt in January 1918 in which he thanks them for their package.

Folder 1/7 holds letters related to the engagement of Ilse’s brother and a letter from Ilse during her time in Nice (France). There are also documents from a silk shipment that Ernst Maron ordered at “Au bon marché” in Paris.

Folder 1/8 holds more congratulations to Ilse on her engagement and a letter from Ilse who wrote her parents about it and all the flowers she received. It also contains a few negative answers to her wedding invitation, for example from Grete who was expecting a child and therefore was not able to attend. Furthermore, it includes condolences presumably after the death of Ernst Maron in 1935.

Folder 1/9 contains more letters to Ilse after the announced engagement, among others from her cousin Alfred Behrend as well as messages regarding the birth of her son in 1914. It also holds correspondence between Ilse and Ernst and her mother Anna during their honeymoon in Italy and France. In addition, the folder includes a letter from Dr. med. Rudolf Steiner who congratulated Ernst Maron on the engagement and wrote that it would have been a crime against humanity if Ernst would not have married because he possessed all the preconditions for a good husband.

Folder 2/1 holds a card to Irmgard Maron and the card from her funeral dinner as well as an undated poem and the hotel bill from the honeymoon stay of Ilse and Ernst in Florence. Also included are two letters from Ernst Maron to Ilse in 1925.

Letters from Hans-Georg in folder 2/2 to his mother Ilse about his life in Amsterdam, London, and Manchester in the 1930s describe his work as a trainee as boring and provide details about his hobbies, Dutch lessons, and friends as well as people from home he wanted to contact. In a letter from October 1934, he described the exciting atmosphere in Amsterdam at the end of the MacRobertson Air Race. He also mentioned the death of his father in 1935.

Folder 2/3 holds two letters from N.M. Graham who worked as a teacher in Brighton, England. She asked Ilse if her sister could come and stay with the Maron family in Dresden for a few weeks to improve her German for an exam. It also includes a letter written briefly after the death of Ernst Maron describing his last days.

Many postcards addressed to Ilse show the travels of family and friends throughout Europe (folders 2/4 and 2/5). Some of the destinations were Great Britain, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, and the Netherlands as well as different parts of Germany. Included are a card from Aunt Anna in the United States and many cards from Hans-Georg, Ella, and Irmgard. Their cards contain birthday wishes or greetings from vacations.

Correspondence addressed to Ella Arnhold / Lewenz can be found in the folders 2/6 to 2/9. Some of the letters contain newspaper clippings that seem to pertain to the royal family in Saxony (folder 2/6). Several letters include pressed plants, sometimes carefully attached to the paper (folder 2/7). Almost all the letters in folders 2/7 and 2/8 were written by her mother and her siblings during Ella’s stay in Switzerland, mostly giving details about their everyday lives back home.

Folder 2/9 also holds letters from Ella’s daughter Erika who lived in Palestine and briefly mentioned the situation in 1948 with people preparing for the possibility of war.