Lady Emma Louise von Rothschild. The Rothschild House, Frankfurt am Main.

The ancestral home of the Rothschild family - the House of the Red Shield - was located on the Judengasse in the Old City of Frankfurt am Main. Purchased around 1780 by the dynasty’s founder, Mayer Amschel Rothschild, the building dates to the 17th-century. In 1884, the surrounding buildings were demolished, suggesting the present watercolor was executed prior; although it does bear a striking resemblance to the photograph by (Carl?) Hertel, c. 1880. Lady Emma Louise von Rothschild (1844-1935), who composed this picture, was married to Lord Nathaniel Mayer (“Natty”) Rothschild (1840-1915).