- Creator
- Gruenberg, Ernst, 1902-1971
- Call number
- JOB 07-1
- Physical description
- 0.75 linear feet (100 postcards in 2 boxes)
- Preferred Citation
- Ernst Gruenberg collection of autographed postcards, Music Division, The New York Public Library
- Repository
- Music Division
- Access to materials
- Some collections held by the Dance, Music, Recorded Sound, and Theatre Divisions at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts are held off-site and must be requested in advance. Please check the collection records in the NYPL's online catalog for detailed location information. For general guidance about requesting offsite materials, please consult: https://www.nypl.org/about/locations/lpa/requesting-archival-materials
The Ernst Gruenberg collection of autographed postcards contains ninety-nine autographed picture postcards and one autograph musical quotation from musicians and actors in Vienna.
Biographical/historical information
Ernst Gruenberg (1902-1971) was an avid opera and theater goer and collected autographed pictures of his favorite stage stars. He built his collection by writing letters to them requesting their autographs and more often than not, he received not only their actual signatures but their pictures as well delivered to his home address. After graduating from college, he had a successful career in the movie business.
In 1939 Gruenberg and his wife, Erna (née Krumholz), came to the United States to escape the perils of World War II. They fled the Nazis by literally skiing to safety in Switzerland. Most of his family perished in the war. He must have valued his autograph collection quite highly since it was one of the few items that he brought with him to his new country. He died in July 1971 in Queens, New York.
Administrative information
Custodial history
The Ernst Gruenberg collection of autographed postcards were a gift from his son, Michael Gruenberg.
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Location
Music DivisionNew York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center
40 Lincoln Center Plaza, New York, NY 10023-7498
Third Floor