Treasure of the Month for December 2017
From their earliest days, global trade in goods and commodities from one part of the world to another was part of the daily life of the Rothschild businesses. As we approach the festive season with its vibrant colours and rich tastes, we reflect on the trade in exotic spices, dyes and textiles 200 years ago, with a price list of East India Company goods from 1815.
Posted on the 1st December 2017 | Read more…
EABH Annual Meeting 2018: The Social Aims of Finance
The eabh (The European Association for Banking and Financial History) 2018 Annual Meeting will be held in Turin on 14 and 15 June 2018. The event will be hosted in cooperation Fondazione 1563 per l'Arte e la Cultura della Compagnia di San Paolo.
The conference topic is: Social aims of finance: exploring alternative business forms for durable and financial services. This conference will explore how financial institutions have tackled it by developing alternative goals and business forms for durable financial services. The archival workshop topic is 'Good' archives. This workshop is designed for financial institutions' archivists, researchers and potential users and will reflect on the legacy of the social purposes that inspired the origins of many financial institutions and the role banks and finance played in society.
Posted on the 29th November 2017 | Read more…
Treasure of the Month for November 2017
November 2017 is the centenary year of the passing of Major Evelyn Achille de Rothschild. The second of three sons of Leopold (1845-1917) and Marie (1862-1937), Evelyn served in the Bucks Yeomanry. He was mobilised with his regiment on the outbreak of the First World War, served in Egypt and Gallipoli, and later fought and fell in the charge on El Mughar in November 1917.
Posted on the 1st November 2017 | Read more…
Treasure of the Month for October 2017
From their roots in the Judengasse in Frankfurt, The Rothschild family were imbued with a strong sense of the tradition of Zedaka, which places expectations on members of the community to work for social justice by offering material support for those in need. The education, encouragement and support of young people has been a core strand of Rothschild philanthropic activity for over 200 years. In March 1915, Nathaniel Mayer (‘Natty’), 1st Lord Rothschild (1840-1915) received this thank-you letter from Robert Baden Powell, concerning a donation he had made to the Endowment Fund of the Boy Scout Movement.
Posted on the 1st October 2017 | Read more…
Treasure of the Month for September 2017
The Rothschilds were dedicated collectors, and vied among themselves to develop the most spectacular collections. The great Rothschild houses were perfect settings for art, silverware, and porcelain. Some of the most priceless and stunning collections were of jewels. This month we take a look at designs for jewellery commisisoned by Adelheide von Rothschild (1853-1935) from Maurice Tripier of Paris.
Posted on the 1st September 2017 | Read more…
EABH Research Associate Opportunity, Oxford University
The European Association for Banking History (EABH) has announced an exciting new opportunity for a Research Associate - Uses of the Past in International Economic Relations. Faculty of History, George Street, Oxford.
Posted on the 7th August 2017 | Read more…
Treasure of the Month for August 2017
Mayer Amschel Rothschild (1744-1812), founder of the Rothschild business was born in the Judengasse, in Frankfurt, where he established a successful business as a merchant trader and court financier. He was a dealer in rare coins and won the patronage of Crown Prince Wilhelm I of Hesse This months' treasure is a copy of his catalogue of coins for sale.
Posted on the 1st August 2017 | Read more…
EABH Conference: Money in Africa, Monetary and financial decolonisation in Africa, Lisbon, 9-10 October 2017
The eabh (The European Association for Banking and Financial History) in in cooperation with Banco de Portugal and Banque de France. will host a conference on the topic of Money in Africa: Monetary and financial decolonisation in Africa in Lisbon in October 2017.
Posted on the 14th July 2017 | Read more…
Funding increased for Archive Research Bursaries
The Trustees of the Rothschild Archive are pleased to announce that with immediate effect, the maximum sum available for Archive Research Bursaries for international researchers has been increased to a maximum of £3,000 per applicant.
Posted on the 13th July 2017 | Read more…
EABH Workshop, 10 November 2017, Zagreb, Croatia
The European Association for Banking History (EABH) is pleased to invite submissions for its next workshop: The data dliemma: risk or asset?
Posted on the 11th July 2017 | Read more…
Reminder: Closure of the Archives Nationales du Monde du Travail, Roubaix, July 2017
Business records of the Paris House of de Rothschild Frères were deposited with the Archives Nationales in Paris; these papers are now located in the Archives Nationales du Monde du Travail at Roubaix, France. Researchers wishing to study these papers in the summer of 2017 should note that the Roubaix Reading Room will be CLOSED 1st-31st July inclusive.
Posted on the 5th July 2017 | Read more…
Treasure of the Month for July 2017
This summer is the 140th anniversary of the Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world. Tennis is played by millions of people all over the world, and is enjoyed as a spectator sport. Both lawn tennis and the older racket sport of real tennis have been enjoyed competitively and as a leisure interest by members of the Rothschild family. This month, read more about tennis playing Rothschilds.
Posted on the 1st July 2017 | Read more…
New Digital Archive of Rothschild bonds and prospectuses
The Rothschild Archive holds the evidence of a banking history dating from the early 19th century, documenting the innovations and evolution of the business of international finance. The Rothschild Archive has now completed a programme to digitise key documents concerning the loans business: all surviving prospectuses and most bond certificates for loans issued by the London house.
Posted on the 27th June 2017 | Read more…
Treasure of the Month for June 2017
The London house has a long history of involvement in Brazil dating back to the early nineteenth century; there are letters from Brazil in the archive dating from 1812. Brazil secured recognition from Portugal in 1825 following negotiations brokered by Great Britain. Part of the price of independence was that Brazil should take over repayment of the principal and interest on a loan of £1,500,000 made to the Portuguese government in 1823. This arrangement was managed through the offices of N M Rothschild, the London bank founded by Nathan Mayer Rothschild (1777-1836), the debt of 1823 finally being paid off through a further loan to the Brazilian government in 1852. Read more about this loan here.
Posted on the 5th June 2017 | Read more…
Business Archives Council Bursary for business history research
The Business Archives Council has instituted a trust fund, the income from which is used to offer annually a bursary to help an individual to further their research into business history through the study of specific business archives. In 2017 the value of the award will be up to £1000. Follow the link below to find out more about this award.
Posted on the 18th May 2017 | Read more…
Treasure of the Month for May 2017
In 1882, Nathaniel von Rothschild (1836-1905) began to acquire land in Vienna to create his famed park and botanical gardens. In doing so, he also imported football from England, and thus introduced the new sport to Austria. Read more about the history of the First Vienna Football Club.
Posted on the 1st May 2017 | Read more…
EABH Lunch Hour lecture, 'Populism and Financial Markets', Frankfurt am Main, 25 April 2017
The European Association for Banking History (EABH) in co-operation with Allianz Global Investors announces 'lunch hour' lectures and discussions: Populism and Financial Markets.
Posted on the 21st April 2017 | Read more…
Treasure of the Month for April 2017
In 1926, the Compagnie Internationale des Wagon-lits celebrated 50 years since its foundation, producing a commemorative booklet to mark the achievement. The company operated some of the most luxurious trains in Europe, and many of its elegant dining cars and sleeper services ran on lines built by the French Rothschilds. Read about the history of Rothschild investment in continental railways.
Posted on the 1st April 2017 | Read more…
EABH Annual Meeting 2017: The Legacy of Finance
The eabh (The European Association for Banking and Financial History) 2017 Annual Meeting will be held in Paris, 23 June, The event will be hosted in copoeration with BNP Paribas and Banque Lombard Odier. The Conference following the meeting willl consider the topic 'Did the global financial crisis have its true origins in the decline of relationship banking? The legacy of the 'haute banque' in the world'.
Posted on the 27th March 2017 | Read more…
The EABH publishes the latest contribution to its Working Papers Series
The European Association for Banking History publishes the latest contribution to its Working Papers Series on 'Ottoman stock returns during the Turco-Italian and Balkan Wars of 1910-1914' by Avni Önder Hanedar and Elmas Yaldız Hanedar. This and other papers in the series are free to download from the EABH website.
Posted on the 14th March 2017 | Read more…
Closure of the Archives Nationales du Monde du Travail, Roubaix, July 2017
Business records of the Paris House of de Rothschild Frères were deposited with the Archives Nationales in Paris; these papers are now located in the Archives Nationales du Monde du Travail at Roubaix, France. Researchers wishing to study these papers in the summer of 2017 should note that the Roubaix Reading Room will be CLOSED 1st-31st July inclusive.
Posted on the 6th March 2017 | Read more…
Treasure of the Month for March 2017
The Rothschild Archive holds one of the largest private autochrome collections in the world. The autochrome, the first widely available colour photographic process, was launched in Britain in September 1907. Read more about this fascinating glimpse into the Edwardian world.
Posted on the 1st March 2017 | Read more…
New Gallery: Birthday testimonials of the first Lord Rothschild
Nathaniel Mayer, 1st Lord Rothschild (1840-1915) took his responsibilities and duties as head of the family and as lay head of Anglo-Jewry seriously. Throughout his life, he and his wife Emma, Lady Rothschild (1844-1937) made donations to a staggering range of charities, organsisations, societies and groups encompassing health, education, social welfare, and leisure, both Jewish and non-Jewish alike.
Posted on the 6th February 2017 | Read more…
New Gallery: The Rothschild autochromes
The autochrome, the first colour widely available photographic process, was launched in Britain in September 1907. The invention of the French Lumière brothers, the process had first been demonstrated publicly in Paris. Lionel de Rothschild (1882-1942) had a passion for photography, and The Rothschild Archive holds the largest single collection of autochrome plates by an individual British photographer to have survived.
Posted on the 3rd February 2017 | Read more…
Bonds Online
The Rothschild Archive holds the evidence of a banking history dating from the early 19th century, documenting the innovations and evolution of the business of international finance. The Rothschild Archive has begun a programme to digitise key documents concerning the loans business, beginning with all surviving prospectuses and most bond certificates.
Posted on the 3rd February 2017 | Read more…
Treasure of the Month for February 2017
The Rothschild houses in continental Europe operated a diverse number of businesses. This month we take a look at the saltworks in Venice owned by Salomon von Rothschild, and the historic linlks between Austria and Venice.
Posted on the 1st February 2017 | Read more…
Treasure of the Month for January 2017
This January we take a look at some of the enduring symbols of the Rothschild family and business, investigating the significance of the ornamental shield that has greeted visitors to New Court for over 150 years.
Posted on the 1st January 2017 | Read more…