File NLW MS 18122C. - Letters of Berta von Schiltberg,

Identity area

Reference code

NLW MS 18122C.

Title

Letters of Berta von Schiltberg,

Date(s)

  • 1912-1939 / (Creation)

Level of description

File

Extent and medium

183 ff. (67 items, numbered 2-68) ; 250 x 200 mm. Guarded and bound at NLW in 1966.

Context area

Name of creator

Biographical history

Archival history

Immediate source of acquisition or transfer

Mrs F. J. Griffin (née Violet Reeks) (per Major Herbert J. Lloyd-Johnes, Coates, near Cirencester); Monmouth; Donation; July 1962

Content and structure area

Scope and content

Sixty-seven letters, 1912-1939, nearly all in German, mostly from Berta von Schiltberg, Munich, to the sisters Lilian and Violet Reeks at Appleton Manor, Berkshire, and Oxford, and later to Violet at Bristol and Monmouth. Schiltberg ran a pension (boarding house) for young ladies in Munich and the correspondence follows the two girls' stay with her.
The letters reflect Schiltberg's active and happy life before 1914 with many references to Munich high society and the music scene. There are numerous references to acquaintances such as the pianist Anna Hirzel-Langenhan (items 3-66 passim) and the composer and conductor Ludwig Berberich (items 8, 38, 43, 45-66 passim). Schiltberg writes on the social and economic misery in Germany during the First World War, the financial crisis of the 1920s and 1930s and her own increasing poverty. The post-war political upheavals and the disappointments and confusion of the time are also described (item 53). A frequent social guest at this time was a Herr Drexler (items 43-53 passim), possibly to be identified as Anton Drexler, founder of the German Workers' Party (DAP). Among Schiltberg's tenants from 1918 to 1923 was Leutnant Rudolf Hess, the future Nazi Party deputy leader, who is mentioned in two letters, dated 16 May 1919 (item 54) and 29 December 1935 (item 63); his future wife also lived at the pension. Six group and individual photographs, 1915-1919, mostly identifiable, are also included (items 38, 41, 44, 54).

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling

Accruals

System of arrangement

Arranged chronologically at NLW.

Conditions of access and use area

Conditions governing access

Readers consulting modern papers in the National Library of Wales are required to abide by the conditions noted on the 'Modern papers - data protection' form issued with their readers' tickets.

Conditions governing reproduction

Usual copyright laws apply.

Language of material

  • German
  • English

Script of material

Language and script notes

German, English.

Physical characteristics and technical requirements

Finding aids

Allied materials area

Existence and location of originals

Existence and location of copies

Related units of description

Related descriptions

Notes area

Note

Title based on contents.

Note

Preferred citation: NLW MS 18122C.

Alternative identifier(s)

Virtua system control number

vtls004534462

Access points

Place access points

Genre access points

Description control area

Description identifier

Institution identifier

Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru = The National Library of Wales

Rules and/or conventions used

Description follows NLW guidelines based on ISAD(G) 2nd ed.; AACR2; and LCSH

Status

Level of detail

Dates of creation revision deletion

August 2008.

Language(s)

  • English

Script(s)

Sources

Archivist's note

Description compiled by Rebekka Schmich, Alexander Diethard and Rhys Morgan Jones;

Accession area