page_title: Ludwig Nissen
section_title: Emigration and early years in New York
hierarchical_section_title: Ludwig Nissen / Early life and career / Emigration and early years in New York
caption_attribution_description: English: Portrait of Ludwig Nissen, German diamond merchandiser and art collector. The painting is the work of Princess Vilma Lwoff-Parlaghy, whose paintings were purchased on an auction by Ludwig Nissen himself after the artist's death.Magyar: Ludwig Nissen, német gyémántkereskedő és műgyűjtő portréja. A képet Lwoff-Parlaghy Vilma hercegnő készítette, akinek művészeti hagyatékát éppen Ludwig Nissen vásárolta fel egy aukción a művésznő halála után.
context_page_description: Ludwig Nissen was a New York gemstone dealer and philanthropist. He lived in Brooklyn for many years and was well known in the Brooklyn community, particularly for the lavish mansion he built on St. Mark’s Avenue. He is also known for founding the Nordsee Museum in Husum, Germany.
context_section_description: On August 28, 1872, 16-year-old Ludwig left his hometown with his parents' permission and traveled on the steamer Westphalia from Hamburg to New York. On September 11, 1872 Nissen arrived at his new home. Portraits from the period show a confident young man who, despite his small-town background, was able to make his way in New York. Certainly his older brother Fritz was helpful to him at first. Fritz had already arrived in New York on the Harmonia in August 1869. Altogether, four of the ten Nissen children emigrated. Three died at a young age, and only three remained at home in Husum.
  Nissen first settled in the neighborhood known as "Little Germany," in Manhattan. His first job was at a German barber's as a bootblack. He then worked at a hotel, as a shoe shiner, waiter, cashier, and accountant, before eventually opening a German restaurant with a man from Hamburg. Nissen got his American citizenship in 1879, and sold the restaurant to become a merchant.
caption: Portrait of Ludwig Nissen by Vilma Lwoff-Parlaghy
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