Jacques Seligmann & Co. records, 1904-1978, bulk 1913-1974

This subseries houses receipt files for purchases made by the Paris and New York offices of Jacques Seligmann & Co. Inc., which provide a detailed overview of many of the firm's purchases from 1925 through 1973. The files contain a variety of receipts, invoices, notes, correspondence, bank transfers, and shipping invoices that document purchases, prices, and detailed physical descriptions of artworks, decorative art objects, and antiquities. Found here are important and often fascinating provenance information and documentation of negotiations, commissioned and shared sales, shipping, and banking transfers. For example, the 1937 purchase of Madame Jacques Doucet's collection of Picassos is well documented in these files. Many of the files also note on whose behalf a purchase is being made.

This subseries houses journals that list works of art sent out to clients "on approval" for sale and items received by the firm "on approval" for purchase. Information includes names of clients, such as museums, galleries, dealers, and individuals, titles of artwork or decorative art objects, and stock inventory numbers. Entries also indicate whether the piece was sold or returned, along with date of sale or return. Several of the journals also include name indexes in the front. Black entries appear to indicate items the firm sent out to clients for approval; red entries indicate items the firm received on approval. The last journal in the subseries exclusively lists "on approvals" for Paris and Geneva, 1926-1939 (Jacques Seligmann & Fils, Paris, and Jacques Seligmann & Co., Inc., Geneva).

This subseries includes three dismantled notebooks of typed and handwritten notes documenting prices quoted to clients for specific works of art. Each notebook records dates and details of conversations, meetings, and correspondence with individual clients. The notebooks are divided into sections based on geographic area and either state, city, or city museum. These internal notes provide rich insight and important information about negotiations and clients' interests. Overall the notebooks document the building of many museum and private art collections within the United States.

This subseries houses consular invoices of the American Consulate General in Paris and Brussels that declare ownership in relation to tariffs and exporting works of art "more than 100 years old." These official government documents detail all works of art exported to the United States (or other countries) by Jacques Seligmann & Co., between 1920 and 1953. They provide important provenance information, such as physical description, (often in great detail), age, from whom acquired, date of acquisition, and assessed market value. They also contain information about shipping. The invoices provide researchers with a perspective of the overall quantity and nature of the firm's purchases and shipments for this period.

This subseries houses notes, memoranda, correspondence, receipts, shipping receipts, insurance documents, scattered catalogs, and other documentation for works of art and antiquities on consignment either to Jacques Seligmann & Co. or from the firm for possible sale. The files contain scattered information about prices, price negotiations, sales, potential clients, commission percentages, exhibition arrangements, and provenance. The first group of files, 1932-1944, represent consignments to the firm and are arranged alphabetically by name of gallery, firm, or individual. The second, smaller group represents consignments from Jacques Seligmann & Co., 1933 to 1950. It is arranged chronologically.

This interesting subseries of financial records provides additional details concerning numerous sales and financial transactions of Jacques Seligmann & Co., in the form of correspondence, notes, and memoranda to clients. Although not all the firm's sales are represented in these files, some very important sales and provenance information are documented in these credit notes. Scattered throughout are also routine notes and correspondence concerning financial transactions other than the sale of artwork, particularly in the bound volumes arranged in the subseries. The bound letterpress volumes were originally filed with Correspondence (Series 1) but were refiled in this subseries because of the similar nature of the documents. Scattered throughout the bound volumes, however, are a few notes and letters that are slightly different in nature. The first bound volume is labeled "Mr. Germain's Private Book" but contains the same type of information as found in the credit notes. The name of the series is based upon the terminology used by Jacques Seligmann & Co. and can be defined as credits back to the firm's various accounts. Many of the notes also detail a "debit" on the same document.

This subseries includes loose general invoices for incidental expenses such as packing, shipping, insuring, restoring, and framing associated with selling a work of art for individual clients and galleries.

These bound volumes have copies of invoices to clients attached. Each includes an alphabetized index of names. Books are missing for the years 1926, January through November 1927, 1929, and January through September 1930. The invoices contained within the books are quite detailed and provide valuable information about sales to individual clients and galleries, purchase prices, commission percentages, and specific titles and descriptions of works of art.

This subseries houses financial account books and journals that cover a wide variety of sales and purchase transactions and other costs associated with sales and purchases. The account books are arranged primarily according to the firm's record system of "credit" and "debit"; a few are organized according to "sales" and "purchases"; others are arranged according to specific genre or office. Within each set, the journals are arranged chronologically. Also found are brouillard,or scratch account books, which appear to contain temporary entries. Although duplicate, complex, and often difficult to read, the account books have valuable information about sales, purchases, consignments, travel, and general expenses. Most of the account books contain client names, dates of purchases and sales, prices, and titles of individual works of art. Some have name indexes.

The daily journal entries in this subseries cover a wide variety of financial transfers and transactions, such as salaries, general expenses, insurance, travels, account transfers, purchases, sales, etc.

This subseries houses various ledgers, including general ledgers of accounts, sales ledgers, general combined ledgers, client account ledgers, and a special ledger for a contract dated July 8, 1940, among Germain Seligman, César M. de Hauke, and Robert M. Levy.

This subseries houses ledgers divided into various accounts for Jacques Seligmann & Co., Inc., Jacques Seligmann & Fils (Paris company), sales account, loan account, Germain Seligman account, Modern Paintings, Inc., account, suspense account, cash account, commission account, J. P. Morgan account, Fifth Avenue Bank, New York, account, tax account, and additional special client accounts. Of special interest in each ledger is the works of art account, which provides lists of works bought or sold. The accounts documented in the ledgers vary somewhat from year to year. Most of the ledgers have an alphabetized index of the accounts. The last two ledgers from the early to mid-1970s are somewhat different in composition, including not only various account transactions but also more routine accounting data, such as taxes, accounts payable and receivable, salaries, etc. Note that there are no general ledgers for 1942-1943, 1953-1969, or 1972-1973.

In this subseries are two disbound sales ledgers covering 1931-1947 and 1949-1973, arranged alphabetically by name of client and listing each sale. Many sales to museums are listed according to a particular individual associated with the museum. Many entries also note from whom the work was acquired.

This subseries houses general combined ledgers, which list all financial transactions by month. The ledger for 1926-1928 is bound; the others have been disbound for storage. Ledgers for 1929 and 1948 are missing.

The valuable indexed ledger in this subseries lists the accounts for each client and details works of art sold and prices.

This subseries includes audit reports and balance sheets for Jacques Seligmann & Co., Inc., de Hauke & Co., Inc., and Modern Paintings, Inc.

In this subseries are bank statements and canceled checks for various accounts with the Bank of New York, Bankers Trust Company, Morgan Grenfell & Co., Ltd., and Morgan Guaranty Trust.

This subseries houses federal, state, and city tax returns and supporting documentation.

In this subseries are insurance policies and contracts, record books, and miscellaneous documents related to the firm's stock, shipping, and overall business.

This subseries houses records, receipts, logs, and related correspondence concerning shipping artwork to and from Europe and within the United States.

This small subseries houses financial records of the Paris office. It includes credit notes, invoices, statements, lists, consignment invoices, approval notes, lists of sales, and miscellaneous notes. The files primarily document sales and accounts of the Paris office. Of particular interest is a list of sales to Henry Walters between 1913 and 1917 and a general list of sales between 1926 and 1929, which includes the names of many notable collectors.

This small subseries houses miscellaneous lists, statements, and notes concerning financial matters. A few files concern special accounts for artworks held jointly with other family members, such as Georges Seligmann. There are also two files containing financial information about consignment sales of tapestries with Georges Haardt & Co. Most of the remaining files contain miscellaneous lists and financial information. The folder for "Miscellaneous Lists of Sales and Inventory, 1924-1943" includes inventories of Modern Paintings, Inc. from 1938 and 1940.