with his
monogram and a
heraldic coronet symbolising his rank as a
baron Art, science and academy Edmond de Rothschild inherited
Château Rothschild in Boulogne-Billancourt and, in 1877, acquired the
Château d'Armainvilliers in
Gretz-Armainvilliers in the
Seine-et-Marne département. Edmond took little active part in banking but pursued artistic and philanthropic interests, helping to found scientific research institutions such as the
Institut Henri Poincaré, the
Institut de Biologie physico-chimique, the pre-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, the Casa Velázquez in
Madrid, and the French Institute in London. In 1907, as a cofounder member, he also provided funds and support for the foundation of the
Friends of the French National Museum of Natural History Society. He served as a member of the French
Académie des Beaux-Arts and through it sponsored the archaeological digs of
Charles Simon Clermont-Ganneau in
Egypt, Eustache de Lorey in Ottoman Syria, and
Raymond Weill in Palestine. Edmond de Rothschild acquired an important collection of
drawings and
engravings that he bequeathed to the
Louvre consisting of more than 40,000 engravings, nearly 3,000 drawings, and 500 illustrated books. Included in this gift were more than one hundred engravings and drawings by
Rembrandt. A portion of his art collection was bequeathed to his son James A. de Rothschild and is now part of the
National Trust collection at
Waddesdon Manor. However, in 1882 Edmond cut back on his purchases of art and began to buy land in Ottoman Palestine. Rothschild also sponsored archaeological excavations, including those undertaken by
Judith Marquet-Krause at
Et-Tell.
World Travel In 1898 he commissioned naval architect
George Lennox Watson of
Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company to build the huge luxury steam yacht SY 'Atmah' (1665 tons) in which he and his sons used to tour the world until 1939.
Zionism and Edmond James de Rothschild to
Palestine in 1914 ,
Palestine, 1920 Although he remained separate from the
Zionist movement, and "rejected institutional and ideological Zionism," The Baron Rothschild became an avid supporter of Jewish settlement in
Palestine financing the site at
Rishon LeZion. In his goal for the establishment of Palestine as a home for Jewish settlement, he promoted industrialization and economic development. In 1924, he established the
Palestine Jewish Colonization Association (PICA), which acquired more than of land and set up business ventures. Edmond de Rothschild also played a pivotal role in establishing the
Yishuv's wine industry. Under the supervision of his administrators in
Ottoman Palestine, farm colonies and vineyards were established, and two major wineries were opened in Rishon LeZion and
Zikhron Ya'akov. Rothschild funded a glass factory that would supply bottles for his wineries. Rothschild met
Meir Dizengoff in Paris and chose Dizengoff to launch and manage the new factory, called Mizaga. Dizengoff opened the factory in
Tantura in 1892 and managed the factory for approximately two years. Mizaga was the first Jewish-owned factory in
Ottoman Palestine. Rothschild also backed research in electricity by engineers and financed the development of an electric generating station. According to historian
Albert M. Hyamson, "Rothschild recognised that the overriding interest of Palestinian Jews was the confidence and the friendship of their Arab neighbours. The interests of the Arab cultivators of the land he bought were never overlooked, but by development he made this land capable of maintaining a population ten times its former size." While Edmond de Rothschild was not always supportive of an inclusive government—he suggested in 1931 to
Judah Magnes that "We must hold them (the Arabs) down with a strong hand"—he acknowledged the importance of co-governance and peaceful coexistence in a 1934 letter to the
League of Nations, stating that "the struggle to put an end to the
Wandering Jew, could not have as its result, the creation of the Wandering Arab." ==Personal life==