Pinkus Family Collection 1500s-1994, bulk 1725-1994

The collection contains papers including vital documents, membership cards, awards, medals, diaries, memoirs, diaries, manuscripts, legal papers, correspondence, business records, wills, genealogies and family histories regarding the Pinkus family, notable textile manufacturers in Neustadt (now Prudnik, Poland) in Upper Silesia, and their personal and business affairs. The family was also highly regarded for its support of civic and cultural affairs in the area, and corresponded with several notable cultural figures.The Pinkus family were textile manufacturers. The factory in Neustadt, Upper Silesia (now Prudnik, Poland), was one of the largest producers of fine linens in the world. Joseph Pinkus became a partner in the firm S. Fraenkel when he married Auguste Fraenkel, the daughter of the owner. Their son Max Pinkus (1857-1934) was director until 1926. His son Hans Pinkus managed the company thereafter under increasingly hostile circumstances as the 1930s wore on. He emigrated to Great Britain with his family in 1939, and in the 1950s he unsuccessfully attempted to rebuild the family firm in Augsburg. He died in Great Britain in 1977.A 26-page inventory is available at the front of the collection.digitizedHeuser, Frederic