Jacob Hirsch

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Jacob Hirsch (born June 17, 1874 in Altenkunstadt ; † June 24, 1955 in Paris ) was a German-Swiss numismatist and art dealer .

Life

Jacob Hirsch got the inspiration for numismatics from his uncle Enrico Hirsch in Rome. He studied history and archeology and received his doctorate from the University of Freiburg im Breisgau in 1896 . His dissertation dealt with the so-called Pactum Otto I of 962 , an agreement between church and state that led to the coronation of the emperor. "M. Jacques Hirsch ”from Reichenbachstrasse 15 in Munich was appointed a corresponding member of the Royal Belgian Society for Minting on September 26, 1896.

Hirsch founded a coin shop in Munich's Arcisstraße 17 within sight of the Pringsheim Palace , the Collection of Antiquities and the Glyptothek , which in 1905 had already presented more than a dozen exhibition catalogs. The “numismatic store” and the second-hand bookshop enjoyed a “good and generally valued name”.

His friends included the archaeologists Wilhelm Froehner , Theodor Wiegand and Paul Arndt . In 1905 his 13th auction catalog was published with a "highly significant collection of Greek coins from the estate of a well-known archaeologist". The work presented the almost five thousand Greek coins from the estate of the archaeologist Athanasios Rhousopoulos .

In addition to the coins, Greek and Roman antiquities as well as excellent works of art from the Classical, Middle Ages and Renaissance periods were soon on offer. A gallery was opened on the Place Vendôme on Rue Saint-Honoré in Paris . As early as 1913, Hirsch invited those interested in New York to visit the exhibitions in the main Munich store and in the French branch.

Collectors like the Pennisi di Floristella in distant Sicily studied the richly illustrated, carefully described offers from Munich's Königsplatz .

After the First World War began, Hirsch went to Switzerland and settled in Geneva , where he also acquired Swiss citizenship in 1920. The first Swiss catalog from 1921 became a generally valid reference work for Greek coinage. Between 1921 and 1938, the Ars Classica company carried out a total of 18 auctions in Lucerne and Geneva, and Hirsch wrote their catalogs.

After the end of the war, the main focus of his activity was on the Rue Royale in Paris and then also overseas. In 1950 he traded with "Antiques" in New York at 30 W. 54th Street. His clients included the wealthy art lover Calouste Gulbenkian . Hirsch lived on the 12th floor of the Dorset Hotel near the Museum of Modern Art . He advised the Metropolitan Museum and its curator Gisela MA Richter on completing their collection and helping to set up young museums in Cleveland, Philadelphia, Washington and Kansas City.

Publications (selection)

  • Auctions catalog contains antique coins in mostly brilliant condition from the possession of two outstanding foreign amateurs. Munich 1901. (digitized version)
  • Auctions catalog of an important special collection of Greek coins from Hispania, Gallia, Italica, Sicilia, Carthago owned by a Nordic collector. Munich 1906. (digitized version)
  • Auctions catalog of a beautiful collection of Roman coins including a find of gold coins by Constantine the Great and his family from the property of a foreign architect. Munich 1908. (digitized version)

literature

  • Herbert A. Cahn : Jacob Hirsch. In: Die Weltkunst , Munich, September 1, 1955, pp. 7–8, (= Herbert A. Cahn: Small writings on coinage and archeology. Archäologischer Verlag, Basel 1975, pp. 158–162).
  • Leo Mildenberg : Dr. Jacob Hirsch †. In: Schweizer Münzblätter. Vol. 17, 1955, pp. 105-107, ( digitized version ).

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Revue Belge de Numismatique , Brussels 1897, p. 139. ( digitized version )
  2. ^ Karl Schwarz : Jewish art dealers, collectors and artists in Munich. In: Hans Lamm (Ed.): Past days. Jewish culture in Munich. Langen-Müller, Munich et al. 1982, ISBN 3-7844-1867-8 , pp. 293-298, here p. 294.
  3. ^ Auctions catalog of an important collection of Greek coins from the estate of a well-known archaeologist. Public auction ... Monday, May 15, 1905 and onwards. Munich 1905 ( digitized ).
  4. ↑ American Art News , New York February 15, 1913, p. 1. ( digitized version )
  5. ↑ Felice Saporita: Per la storia del Monetario Pennisi di Floristella. In: Accademia di Scienze, Lettere e Belle Arti degli Zelanti e dei Dafnici, Acireale. Memorie e rendiconti. Series 4, Vol. 10, 2000, ZDB -ID 430432-9 , pp. 293-319, here p. 310, ( digitized ; PDF; 808 kB).
  6. ↑ Catalog 16: Catalog de Monnaies Antiques Grecques et Romaines. Geneva 1933 ( digitized ).
personal data
SURNAME Hirsch, Jacob
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Hirsch, Jakob (alternative spelling)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German-Swiss numismatist, archaeologist and art dealer
DATE OF BIRTH June 17, 1874
PLACE OF BIRTH Altenkunstadt
DATE OF DEATH June 24, 1955
Place of death Paris