The history of Rudolph Lepke's Kunst-Auctions-Haus dates back to 1812, when N. L. Lepke founded it. His two sons, Eduard and Julius Lepke, continued the family business after his death. However, the auction house's renown is primarily attributed to Rudolph Lepke (1845-1904), the son of Eduard and nephew of Julius. He began working as an art dealer in the 1860s and took over the company in 1885. During these years, the auction house gradually expanded and became one of the most prominent in Berlin. Although Rudolph Lepke left the company in 1900, some of his employees, including Hans Carl Krüger, Gustav Wolffenberg, and the brothers Adolf Wolffenberg, took over the business and elevated its status within the art market. In 1912, they moved to a new building at Potsdamer Straße 122a/b (Berlin). However, during the First World War (1914-1918), the auction house lost significance and was overshadowed by others. Despite this, they continued to hold auctions under the auspices of the Soviet government, which became the most important partner of the house. In 1936, they began to liquidate the assets of Jewish citizens for auction, and in 1939, they fled Germany.