‘Sigmund Waldes Collection’ - restituted on 7 March 2013

Remains of the ‘Sigmund Waldes Collection’ (159 volumes, approx. 3 linear metres) in the form of bibliophile prints, primarily from the 19th and 20th centuries, in the manuscript collection.

In 1941, the Saxon State Library in Dresden took over books from the estate of Sigmund Waldes (born 1877 in Prague, died 1961 in Maspeth/Long Island - USA). The brothers Sigmund and Heinrich Waldes were active and respected beyond Germany as button manufacturers with workshops in Prague, Dresden, Long Island and Switzerland. Sigmund Waldes had been one of the partners of the factory in Dresden, at Kleine Plauensche Gasse No. 37/43, since 1908. Immediately after the National Socialist government came to power in Germany, he went to Paris and later emigrated to New York via Barcelona, where he took over the branch there and expanded it into the headquarters. Sigmund Waldes died in 1961. The books owned by Sigmund Waldes are listed as ‘confiscated’ in the library's accession book from 1941. A later listing speaks of ‘acquired’. The circumstances of the acquisition in 1941 can no longer be ascertained following the loss of the relevant files during the war. It is known from the records of the State Library that 189 volumes were handed over to a Dresden haulage company in 1941 for forwarding to a Berlin lawyer.

Duplicates appear to have been weeded out. The remaining items were included in the alphabetical catalogue, although no shelfmarks were assigned. After considerable war losses, the remains of the collection (159 volumes, approx. 3 linear metres) can now be found in the manuscript collection in the form of bibliophile prints, mainly from the 19th and 20th centuries.