Uhr & Schneider, etc., 50-52-54 W. 17th St. (2004)

Uhr & Schneider / Ladies & Misses / Coats & Suits moved to 50 W. 17th St. in 1912. The partnership between David Uhr (1873-?) and Samson A. Schneider (1870-?) began around 1909 at 111 Bleecker St. Earlier David Uhr had manufactured cloaks with Rose Cohn as Uhr & Cohn Cloak Mfg. Co. on W. 3d St. By 1906 this had become David Uhr, Cloaks & Suits on W. 4th St. and a little later on Bleecker St. This ad for Uhr & Schneider appeared in Fairchild's Women's Wear Directory, July 1911, when they were at 34-36 E. 10th St.

Both Uhr and Schneider were immigrants in the 1890s, David Uhr from "Austria" (likely the area of the world we would now call Poland) in 1890 and Samson Schneider from Russia in 1896.

Uhr & Schneider left 50 W. 17th St. in 1915, re-locating to 134 W. 29th St. The partnership dissolved around 1918. Uhr joined Michael Dreyer to manufacture cloaks and suits as Uhr & Dreyer at 35 W. 35th St. (click for Uhr & Dreyer ad, 1918), then later teamed up with Morris E. Cohen as Cohen & Uhr at 110 W. 26th St. Schneider formed his own company, Samson A. Schneider & Co, Cloaks, at 22 W. 32nd St. (click for Schneider ad, 1918).

Guinzburg & Gross / Misses & ? / Dresses: In 1910 William Guinzburg, born Maryland, July 1865, was 44 years old and living at 494 14th St., Brooklyn, with his wife Mamie, 41, daughter Amy, 15, and Delia McHugh, 20, servant, born Ireland. This address is close to Prospect Park in Brooklyn. Further west on the other side of the Gowanus Canal, Guinzburg's partner, Hyman Gross, 48, born New York, May 1861, lived at 294 Carroll St., Brooklyn, with wife, Lillian, 42, and sons, Walter, 19, and Howard, 12.

In 1910 Guinzburg and Gross were in business together to manufacture clothing at 149 Wooster St. They had been together on Wooster St. since about 1903. The business moved to 50 W. 17th St. in 1912, then closed around 1916/17.

Rubin Bros. / Cloaks & Suits began around 1906 as Rubin Bros. "skirts" at 110 Greene St. The brothers were Benjamin H. Rubin and Morris J. Rubin. Both appear in the US Census of 1910 living with in-laws on 53d St. in Brooklyn. Morris was 42 and Benjamin 32 at the time. Both had immigrated from Russia in the 1880s. The business moved to 50 W. 17th St. in 1912 as cloak and suit manufacturers. The partnership, however, lasted only until around 1915. Morris continued at this address as M. J. Rubin Cloak Co., while Benjamin became Benjamin H. Rubin, Ladies Coats at 124 W. 24th St.

Around 1917/18 Morris Rubin joined with Hyman Feder as a partner in M. J. Rubin Cloak Co. and with the Ulius brothers in Rubin & Ulius Bros.. Both companies were located at 50 W. 17th St., but disappeared within a year or two. The Ulius brothers were Charles B. Ulius and Julius Ulius (the name suggests a pseudonym, but in 1918 he registered for the World War I draft as Julius Bernard Ulius, age 33, born Russia, May 28, 1885, employed manufacturer of cloaks, Ulius Bros. 37 W. 32 St.). They began as cloak manufacturers around 1912 and continued together until the late-1920s. This ad for Rubin & Ulius appeared in the New York Times 9 May 1916.

Benjamin Rubin, Ladies Coats, continued until around 1926/27. One of the last versions of Benjamin's business was a partnership with Harry M. Rossoff: Rubin & Rossoff at 142 W. 24th St. in 1925.

Beneath Rubin Bros / Cloaks & Suits is a very faded sign for L. Wohl & Co. / Childrens Dresses (click for image). The sign dates from 1911 to 1913. The founder was Lazarus Wohl (1861-1928?), an immigrant from Hungary around 1895. Wohl appears in the U. S. Census of 1900 living on East 5th St. with wife and three children. He gives his occupation as Neckwear. And the earliest listings in the New York city directory (1903-1907) give neckwear as the nature of his business. In 1908, however, this changed to Infant's Dresses, and the L. Wohl & Co. that moved to 50 W. 17th St. was engaged in the manufacture of children's dresses. The stay on 17th St. was brief, but the company continued to make children's wear in New York until 1962. This ad for L. Wohl & Co. on 4th Ave. appeared in Fairchild's Women's Wear Directory, July, 1919. From 1911 until his death in 1958 Wohl's partner in the business was Leo Julius Goldberger (1886-1958). Goldberger like Wohl was an immigrant from Hungary in the mid-1890s. Towards the end of his life Leo Goldberger lived at the Dorset Hotel, 30 W. 54th St. The Dorset sign (click for image) for many years was seen from the sculpture garden at the Museum of Modern Art.

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