Recovery of Assets in Paris
name: label: Collection Creator
content: Jacques Seligmann & Co
setName: label: See more items in
content: Jacques Seligmann & Co. records
label: See more items in
content: Jacques Seligmann & Co. records / Series 1: Correspondence / 1.6: Legal Correspondence Files
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1940-1952
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.jacqself, Subseries 1.6.4
objectType: label: Type
content: Archival materials
arrangement: label: Arrangement note
content: This series has been scanned in entirety.
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents note
content: This section of Subseries 1.6 includes mostly letters to the U.S. State Department and Paris attorneys J. A. Tout, M. Chauveau, M. Besson, François Bazin, and Claude Perles concerning the recovery of family and company financial and art assets either frozen or stolen during World War II. The 1940 correspondence is with the U.S. State Department and concerns the filing of documents and affadavits in order for the State Department to afford protection to the firm's assets in Paris. The remaining files postdate World War II and concern the very complicated recovery of art stolen from the Paris office. Found here are interesting letters regarding the European state of affairs at the time, comments and notations about other dealers, names of individuals associated with the sales of stolen art, and detailed information about works of art belonging to the Seligmann family. The 1952 file also contains an interesting letter that outlines the firm's previous liquidations and family financial settlements. Two files at the end of the subseries provide further information regarding the recovery of specific works of art. They contain detailed lists of assets and relate to the importation into France of artwork from other European countries such as England and Switzerland. Much of the correspondence is in French.