Herta Leab and Leo Leab Collection

This collection is comprised of the papers of Herta and Leo Leab, and consists of correspondence, notes and notebooks, official papers, reports, clippings, and photographs. Popular topics among the papers are the cosmetics industry in Germany and the United States, the Leabs' immigration experiences, and the Liebeskind and Marcus families. Other subject of interest include the former East Prussian town of Gilgenburg where Herta Leab's family resided and World War I. Researchers should note that Herta Leab's name is often spelled Hertha in the papers of the collection, even among her family members; to avoid confusion, this finding aid uses the spelling given on her official documents.

The most prominent subject of this collection is the cosmetics industry, primarily composed of the material in Series V. From 1922 until emigrating in 1938, Herta Leab worked for the Firma Scherk, a cosmetics producer in Germany. Papers related to this firm make up the first subseries of Series V, and include cosmetic formulas, production reports, and advertising pamphlets for the firm's products. Material on Herta Leab's own business, Hedda Maar Cosmetics, will be found in Subseries 2 of Series V; included are extensive correspondence with customers, retailers, and suppliers as well as advertising and other general papers related to the business. In addition, Herta Leab's correspondence with Helena Rubenstein in Series II provides her opinions of trends in American cosmetics during the 1940s and 1950s, and she frequently wrote to Helena Rubenstein with suggestions for new products or services.

The Leabs' immigration experience and restitution for their emigration and related losses is detailed in several areas of the collection. One area particularly strong in this area is Series IV: Restitution, which contains descriptions of the family losses, including not only the loss of family property in the former East Prussia, but also mentions the deaths of family members and the difficulties of the Leabs' early years in the United States and Herta Leab's health conditions that derived from these experiences. Documentation on Herta and Leo Leab's immigration experience can also be found in Subseries 1 of Series I containing official papers, inventories of property, and some correspondence. In addition, some of Herta Leab's aforementioned letters to Helena Rubenstein in Series II discuss some of the family's difficulties after their immigration. Attempts to bring family members to the United States, especially Herta Leab's sisters Erna Sgaller and Else Tichauer, is evidenced in the correspondence related to the emigration of family members in Subseries 1 of Series II. It also includes a few letters written by Leo and Herta Leab to government officials, including President Roosevelt, about the difficulty of bringing their relatives to the United States. Herta and Leo Leab's correspondence with their families is located in Series II, Subseries 1 and with their son Daniel in Series VI, Subseries 1; papers of family members comprise Series III and Series VI, Subseries 2.

Some information on the former East Prussia, especially the town of Gilgenburg, may be found in several places in the collection. Postwar correspondence between Herta Leab and individuals she knew in Gilgenburg is located in Subseries 1 of Series II, and some correspondence with Gustav Lattoch in Series IV also discusses the changes in Gilgenburg after it became part of Poland. Material on World War I includes some military papers of Leo Leab in Series I, Subseries 1 containing official papers on his military service. In addition, Subseries 1 of Series II holds a folder of letters between Herta Leab and friends who fought in World War I.

Subseries 3 of Series VI includes some additional documentation added to the collection. Included are two books about the early life of Herta and Leo Leab's son Daniel, along with draft pages of a memoir by Herta Leab regarding the family's departure from Germany and brief remniscences about her life there. Some family photographs, including of family members and of family graves, are also included, as is documentation on the Scherk family. Other family documents in this subseries include German passports for family members, a wedding song for Herta and Leo Leab, and documents from the ship S.S. Statendam that took the Leab family to New York, among various other papers.