These corner buildings were rented from the city's department store magnate Rudolf Herzog.[29] Initially, it employed seven members of staff.[29] Reflecting Wirth's fixation on the idea of an ancient Aryan script, the organisation's early focus was upon what Wirth called "script and symbol studies".[21] One of its researchers, Yrjö von Grönhagen, was for instance tasked with collecting the Finnish wooden calendars which were engraved with various symbols.[21]