Veit-Simon Family Collection
Scope and Content Note
This collection contains papers of several generations of the Veit and Simon families, including passports, letters of protection, contracts, testaments, a few photographs, and a real-estate deed signed by Moses Mendelssohn, father-in-law of Simon Veit. The folder of commemorative poems has both elegiac poems for funerals, including Dorothea Schlegel's original handwritten poem for Simon Veit, her first husband, as well as celebratory wedding poems.
Business correspondence of the banking firm Gebrüder Veit includes letters from the Rothschilds, as does some of the correspondence of partner Uhde Veit located in folder 7. The folder of Moritz Veit's correspondence includes business correspondence with Karl von Savigny. Folder 7 comprises smaller collections of correspondence by various Veit and Simon family members, including Simon Veit, Uhde Veit, Philipp Veit, and Carl Berthold Simon. Johanna Veit's correspondence includes two letters from Prince George of Prussia, and the family documents contain two letters from Kaiser Frederick William's office denying a Jewish man entry into the Prussian civil service. Finally, the Arnold Otto Meyer correspondence includes a letter from Aby Warburg and other notable figures in the museum and cultural spheres. Most items are originals, a few are photocopies.
Two items, a letter by Dorothea Schlegel of 1819 August 28 and a document regarding power of attorney given by Fromet (Guggenheim) Mendelssohn, widow of Moses Mendelssohn, to Simon Veit on 1789 September 3 are missing as of 2010 July 21.
Dates
- 1763-1965
Creator
- Simon family (Family)
- Veit family (Family)
Language of Materials
This collection is in German, Hebrew.
Access Restrictions
Open to researchers.
Access Information
Readers may access the collection by visiting the Lillian Goldman Reading Room at the Center for Jewish History. We recommend reserving the collection in advance; please visit the LBI Online Catalog and click on the "Reserve" button.
Collection is digitized. Follow the links in the Container List to access the digitized materials.
Use Restrictions
There may be some restrictions on the use of the collection. For more information, contact:
Leo Baeck Institute, Center for Jewish History, 15 West 16th Street, New York, NY 10011
email: lbaeck@lbi.cjh.org
Biographical Note
The Veits and the Simons were families of prominent Jewish businessmen and booksellers in eighteenth- and nineteenth- century Berlin.
The banker Simon Veit was married to the prominent salonniere Dorothea Schlegel née Brendel Mendelssohn, daughter of Moses Mendelssohn; their son Philipp Veit became a prominent painter. This Philipp Veit is not to be confused with two other family members named Philip Veit, one of whom was Simon's brother, and another of whom was Simon's nephew. For more detailed information, consult the family trees located in folders 1 and 5.
Moritz Veit was a prominent publisher and bookseller, as well as a member of the 1848 National Assembly in Frankfurt.
The banking firm Gebrüder Veit was founded by Solomon, David, and Simon Veit, sons of Juda Veit Singer, the family patriarch. According to the Encyclopedia Judaica, the firm 'specialized in money-market and securities arbitrage,' enjoying 'the highes reputation both in Germany and abroad.' The firm stayed under family control for nearly 150 years, before the depression of 1931 brought on its demise.
Arnold Otto Meyer was the head of an eponymous export firm in Hamburg.
Extent
0.25 Linear Feet
Abstract
This collection contains papers of several generations of the Veit and Simon families, including passports, letters of protection, contracts, wills, official and financial documents, and a few photographs. Some of the prominent individuals featured in this collection include Moses Mendelssohn, Dorothea Schlegel, and Meyer Amschel Rothschild.
Other Finding Aid
10-page inventory reflecting original arrangement is available in folder 1/1.
Separated Material
Photographs have been removed to the LBI Photograph Collection.
- Archival materials
- Assimilation (Sociology)
- Bankers
- Berlin (Germany)
- Booksellers and bookselling
- Domestic life -- 19th century
- Economic history
- Enlightenment
- Genealogy
- Germany -- History -- Revolution, 1848-1849
- Jewish community centers
- Jews -- Germany -- History -- 1800-1933
- Marriage
- Mendelssohn, Moses, 1729-1786
- Merchants
- Meyer, Arnold Otto, 1825-1913
- Politicians
- Prussia (Germany)
- Rothschild, Meyer Amschel, 1773-1855
- Savigny, Karl Friedrich von, 1814-1875
- Schlegel, Dorothea von, 1764-1839
- Schutzbriefe (letters of protection)
- Schutzjuden -- Protected Jews
- Simon family
- Veit family
- Veit, Johanna, -1891
- Veit, Moritz, 1808-1864
- Veit, Philipp, 1793-1877
- Veit, Simon, 1754-1819
- Wills
- Title
- Guide to the Veit-Simon Family Collection, 1763-1965 AR 4015
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Processed by Turnheim and Timothy Ryan Mendenhall
- Date
- © 2009
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English.
Revision Statements
- March 2012: Links to digital objects added in Container List.
- May 2012: Links to digital objects added in Container List.
Repository Details
Part of the Leo Baeck Institute Repository
