Mayer Alphonse (Alphonse) de Rothschild (1827-1905)
Mayer Alphonse de Rothschild, the eldest son of James de Rothschild and was born in the rue Laffitte on 1 February 1827. Alphonse married his cousin Leonora on 4 March 1857 at Gunnersbury Park, in a large extension built for the wedding.
Alphonse was educated to take his place at the head of de Rothschild Frères, and spent time in the other Rothschild houses in Europe, learning his 'trade'. In 1846, aged 19, he appointed to a position on the Board of the Chemin de Fer du Nord. In 1848, he was sent to the United States, from where he sent back enthusiastic reports about the prospects for a Rothschild House in that country. It was not to be. In France, Alphonse felt secure, that 'notwithstanding the many new banking houses, the governments always turn to us'. In 1854 he became regent of the Bank of France.
Alphonse became head of the Paris house on death of James in 1868. There were difficult years. During Seige of Paris, 1870, he and his brothers donated 300,000 francs to the poor to purchase clothing. Alphonse led the handling of France's war indemnity in the wake of the Franco-Prussian war of 1870-1871. He personally provided 2.75 billion francs, almost three fifths of the indemnity demanded of France by Germany, making it possible for the country to pay off the sum two years early and free France from Prussian troops. Alphonse weathered the anti-Semitic 1890s, in spite of serious physical threats.
Alphonse as a collector of art
Alphonse inherited Ferrières on the death of his father in 1868. Here and at his Paris home on the rue Saint Florentin, he developed his collections of paintings, favouring Dutch and Flemish masters, Rubens, Rembrandt, Frans Hals, and acquiring Vermeer's The Astronomer. He was one of many members of his family who formed precious collections of Sèvres. In 1885, Alphonse was elected a member of l'Académie des beaux-arts.
A great patron of the arts and literature, Alphonse was deeply interested in scientific matters. Alphonse was also a lover of horse-racing, and he was a perennially familiar figure on all the leading courses, if only because of his fine moustache. His many successes included the 1898 Paris Grand Prix; the prize money of 250,000 francs was distributed among the poor. He was President of the Consistoire Central for more than 30 years. Alphonse died on 26 May 1905.
