Jump to Content

Collection Guide
Collection Title:
Collection Number:
Get Items:
Guide to the J. Paul Getty Museum, Department of Manuscripts, Photographs of Unpacking the Ludwig Collection, 1983
IA20002  
View entire collection guide What's This?
Search this collection
Collection Details
 
Table of contents What's This?
  • Descriptive Summary
  • Administrative History
  • Administrative Information
  • Scope and Content of Collection
  • Indexing Terms

  • Descriptive Summary

    Title: Photographs of unpacking the Ludwig Collection
    Date (inclusive): 1983
    Number: IA20002
    Creator/Collector: J. Paul Getty Museum. Dept. of Manuscripts
    Physical Description: 0.1 linear feet (1 box)
    Repository:
    The Getty Research Institute
    Institutional Records and Archives
    1200 Getty Center Drive, Suite 1100
    Los Angeles, California, 90049-1688
    (310) 440-7390
    archives@getty.edu
    Abstract: Records comprise photographs, and photocopies of the photographs, of the opening and unpacking of the Ludwig Collection of illuminated manuscripts purchased by the J. Paul Getty Museum, 1983.
    Request Materials: To access physical materials at the Getty, go to the library catalog record  for this collection and click "Request an Item." Click here for general library access policy . See the Administrative Information section of this finding aid for access restrictions specific to the records described below. Please note, some of the records may be stored off site; advanced notice is required for access to these materials.
    Language: Collection material is in English

    Administrative History

    The early 1980s were a pivotal moment in the Getty Trust’s development. The settlement of J. Paul Getty’s estate precipitated lengthy discussions about the future directions of the Museum's collections. In 1983, the J. Paul Getty Museum was offered one of the finest private collection of illuminated manuscripts in the world, that of German chocolate manufacturer Peter Ludwig and his wife, Irene Ludwig. It provided the opportunity to acquire a world-class collection with a single purchase, and broadened the scope of collecting by the Getty Museum. The collection consisted of 144 illuminated manuscripts, selected with the advice of book dealer Hans P. Kraus, covering more than eleven hundred years and representing virtually every region of Europe. Particularly strong in German, central European, and later Flemish manuscripts, the collection was among the few private collections of manuscripts formed in the second half of the twentieth century that was still intact. The Trustees approved the purchase in 1983, and the Department of Manuscripts was formed with Thomas Kren, formerly Associate Curator of Paintings, as its head.
    [Source: John Walsh, Deborah Gribbon. The J. Paul Getty Museum and its collections : a museum for the new century. Los Angeles : J. Paul Getty Museum, c1997.]

    Administrative Information

    Restrictions on Access

    The records described in accession 1986.IA.33 are available for use by qualified researchers.
    The following types of records are permanently closed: records containing personal information, records that compromise security or operations, legal communications, legal work product, and records related to donors. The J. Paul Getty Trust reserves the right to restrict access to any records held by the Institutional Archives.

    Publication Rights

    Preferred Citation

    [Cite the item (as appropriate)], Photographs of unpacking the Ludwig Collection, 1983, Dept. of Manuscripts, J. Paul Getty Museum. Institutional Archives, Getty Research Institute, Research Library, Finding aid no. IA20002.

    Acquisition Information

    The material originated in accession no. 1986.IA.33.

    Processing History

    Initial inventory created by intern post-2003; records were processed and finding aid was created by Sue Luftschein, April 21, 2005.

    Scope and Content of Collection

    Records comprise 42 3x5 inch color photographs, and 41 photocopies of the photographs, of the opening and unpacking of the Ludwig Collection of illuminated manuscripts donated to the J. Paul Getty Museum, 1983. Pictured in the photographs are the Ludwigs, Hans P. Kraus, Hanni Kraus, and Mary Ann Mitchell, New York representatives in the sale of the Ludwig Collection; Jake Zeitlin, Los Angeles book dealer who represented the Getty in the sale, and partner of H.P. Kraus in the sale; and Thomas Kren, Associate Curator of Paintings, John Caswell, Registrar's Office, and Jimmy Evans, museum preparator, J. Paul Getty Museum.

    Arrangement

    The photographs are organized in no apparent order.

    Indexing Terms

    Subjects - Names

    Kraus, Hanni
    Kraus, Hans Peter, 1907-1988
    Kren, Thomas, 1950
    Ludwig, Irene
    Ludwig, Peter , 1925-1996
    Zeitlin, Jake, 1902-

    Subjects - Corporate Bodies

    J. Paul Getty Museum
    J. Paul Getty Trust

    Subjects - Topics

    Art objects--Collectors and collecting
    Art--Collectors and collecting
    Art--Handling
    Museums--Acquisitions

    Genres and Forms of Material

    Administrative records
    Manuscripts
    Photographs