Gustav von Klemperer commissioned Ludwig Georg Schnorr von Carolsfeld to catalogue the collection and to write detailed art-historical descriptions of the individual objects. As Gustav von Klemperer died in December 1926, he did not live to see the publication in print. His eldest son Victor took over responsibility for the opulent catalogue, which was published in 1928 by the Hellerau firm of Jakob Hegner in an edition of 150 copies. It documented a total of 834 items.
Preserved in the archive of the Dresden Porcelain Collection are a total of 60 proofs made for the illustrations section prior to the catalogue reaching the form in which it finally went into print. They are of particular importance for the reconstruction of the Gustav von Klemperer Collection for two principal reasons: firstly, they provide depictions of a number of porcelain objects not accorded illustrations in the 1928 catalogue, and secondly, they show objects that cannot be matched with any items in the catalogue. On the basis of the proofs alone, an additional 44 objects have been identified as belonging to the Klemperer Collection.
Fritz Fichtner was Director of the Dresden Porcelain Collection from 1933 to 1945. The six photographs that are relevant to the reconstruction of the Klemperer Collection were taken by Fichtner in October 1939. On the photograph sleeves Fichtner noted not only the dates when the photographs were taken but also the fact that the respective objects were part of the Klemperer Collection. On the basis of these six historical photographs alone, a further 37 objects have been identified as belonging to the Klemperer Collection.
