Archives of the general partnership Mayer & Cie

Collection description

Holding institution:: National Archives of Belgium 2 – Joseph Cuvelier Repository

Holding institution (official language):: Archives Générales du Royaume 2 – Dépôt Joseph Cuvelier

Title (official language):: Archief van de vennootschap onder firma Mayer & Cie

Scope and content:: In this fonds we find i.a. correspondence (with trade representatives, bankers, clients, suppliers), various types of bookkeeping records, files concerning the daily management of the company, sequester files. The (commercial) correspondence and debtor ledgers are of particular importance for studying the implantation of the international fur and pelts trade and the trade in luxury goods in Belgium in the first quarter of the 20th century.

Administrative/biographical history:: The general partnership Mayer & Cie, created from the company Müller & Cie (1895-1903), was founded on 1 January 1904 by Bernard Mayer and Richard Katz, both Germans of Jewish origin. Before the First World War, Mayer & Cie was one of the largest wholesalers of furs in Belgium. Mayer himself was colourful figure, known for his anti-imperialist and anti-militarist views, his sympathy for left-wing and anarchist groups, and his interest in art. Mayer & Cie was sequestered on December 18, 1918. Its branches in Paris and Lille were also sequestered. (K. Carrein & T. Lambrecht, “Inventaris van het archief van de vennootschap onder firma Mayer & Cie (1894-1930)”, in K. Carrein, T. Lambrecht & S. Soyez, Fonds van sekwesterarchieven – Fonds des archives des séquestres VI: Inventaris van het archief van de vennootschap onder firma Mayer & Cie (1894-1930), Inventaris van het archief van Theo, Hugo & Louis Wurzburger (1904-1918), […], T 538-541, Brussel, ARA-AGR, 2000, pp. 2-11.)

Subject terms:: Financial records; Trade and commerce; Trade and commerce--Clothing and textile trade

Finding aids:: K. Carrein & T. Lambrecht, “Inventaris van het archief van de vennootschap onder firma Mayer & Cie (1894-1930)”, in K. Carrein, T. Lambrecht & S. Soyez, Fonds van sekwesterarchieven – Fonds des archives des séquestres VI: Inventaris van het archief van de vennootschap onder firma Mayer & Cie (1894-1930), Inventaris van het archief van Theo, Hugo & Louis Wurzburger (1904-1918), […], T 538-541, Brussel, ARA-AGR, 2000, pp. 2-11. A contemporary inventory of the bookkeeping records of Mayer & Cie can be found in no. 804.