This collection of early 20th century opera librettos was donated to Indiana Universiy's Cook Music Library by Cary Herz in 2006. This collection originally belonged to her mother Gertrud Herz, who inherited them from her father Heinrich Weinreb.

Heinrich Weinreb (born Chaim Weinreb) was born in Poland but moved to Austria as an infant with his brother and parents in the late 19th century. As an adult, Heinrich owned a Vienna bank, which Herz believed was most likely a small stock bank at the time. Heinrich and his wife Rosa would have been considered part of the upper-middle class in today's standards, and one of their favorite pastimes was to attend the opera (where Heinrich then began collecting some of the librettos housed in this collection). Later, with the start of World War I, Heinich expected to be drafted into service. In an attempt to avoid service he inlisted the help of his brother, a dentist, to pull all of his teeth. This ruse however did not work, and he was later drafted and served in the Austrian army during the war and wore dentures for th rest of his life.

Years later, during the build-up to World War II, the Nazis took over Heinrich's bank. Heinrich and Rosa later escaped with their daughters Gertrud and Stella to Switzerland. The family had to leave behind most of their possessions in Austria. Among some of the possessions they took with them were cookbooks, lace linens, some large tapestries depicting Old Master paintings, Heinrich Kiddush Cup for Passover, and the opera librettos found in this collection. The family traveled next to Lichtenstein and then Versailles, France. It was here that Heinrich was able to send his daughters to the United States to live in the Bronx with his brother-in-law Oscar Steinhardt and his wife Rose. Shortly after the girld left, Heinrich was imprisoned by the Nazis in Paris. His wife Rosa, who did not speak any French, was able to somehow arrange for his release, though no one in the family knows exaclty how she accomplished that. Soon afterward, Heinrich and Rosa were able to escape Paris and join their daughter in the Bronx.

After emigrating to the U.S., Heinrich tried to get a job on Wall Street with his experience as a banker. He was unfortunately unsuccessful and instead found work at a printing plant, a very hard physical job. The family learned to speak english largely through listening to the radio and rarely spoke German except to each other. Cary Herz recalled that her grandfather was always very proper; he always wore a suit and was very strict.

Heinrich passed away in 1966, and his wife Rosa later followed in 1975. The librettos were passed down to their daughter Gertrud and, when she passed away in 2004, resulted in Cary's inheritance of the collection. This collection was a treasued reminder of the many performances Heinrich and Rosa attended at the Vienna opera house.

Heinrich Weinreb biographical information and collection's history provided by Cary Herz and Hollis Walker, friend of Cary Herz.