Gross, Engel, & Co., Furs & Skins, 115-117 W. 27th St. (2005)

In 1910 the firm Gross, Engel & Co. moved to 115 W. 27th St. Their sign, just above the window, can be made out in the image above, reading Gross Engel / & Co / Furs / & / Skins. Above Gross, Engel is another sign reading Fried / Gross / & Co / Childrens / Juniors / Misses / Furs. Farther down the wall, cut by the window, is yet another sign reading Gross / Engel / & Co / Furriers / Supplies. (Only the GR in Gross and the E in Engel can be seen of the first two words: Click for image.)

In 1911 this ad for Gross, Engel & Co. appeared in Hunter-Trader-Trapper, October, 1911. In July, 1919, Fairchild's Women's Wear Directory ran this ad for Gross Engel Furriers' Supplies.

Before 1910 Gross, Engel & Co. were located on East 15th Street. This ad appeared in Fur News, v. 5, no. 1, Jan. 1907.

The cast of characters at Gross, Engel include:

Starring roles:

William M. Engel, born Austria, 20 Aug. 1870, arrived in New York 24 Jan. 1890, became a naturalized citizen 5 Jan. 1898. He was in business as Wm. M. Engel, Furs at 4 Bond St. ca. 1900. A year later Engel became a partner with Morris Gross and Max Gross to form Gross, Engel & Co., Furs at 160 Mercer St.

John Fried, born Austria/Hungary 28 March 1881, immigrated in 1893, became a naturalized citizen 19 July 1911. He joined with Samuel Gross and Albert B. Goldstein ca. 1913 to form Fried, Gross & Co. at 115-117 W. 27th St.

Albert Ben Goldstein (1880-1964), born Hungary 15 Aug. 1880, immigrated 1902, naturalized 1910, died Sept. 1964. He was a partner in Fried, Gross & Co. approx. 1913 to 1915. Around 1915 he joined with Maurice Goldstein to form M and A B Goldstein, Furriers, at 22 W. 27th St. This firm became M & A B Goldstein & Freed ca. 1917 and later Goldstein & Freed at 118 W. 29th St. It was Goldstein & Freed when Albert Goldstein registered for the World War I draft in 1918. He appears in the US Census of 1920, single, living with his brother, Max Goldstein, and sister, Rose Goldstein, at 14 E. 88th St. By 1930 he was living alone, still single, on W. 57th St.

Max Gross was William M. Engel's partner at Gross, Engel & Co. ca. 1900 to the early 1920s. He was also in business with John Fried and Samuel Gross at Fried, Gross & Co. ca. 1916 to the early 1920s. He was born Austria/Hungary 15 Mar 1873, arrived in New York 10 March 1890, and became a naturalized citizen 23 Jan. 1901.

Morris Gross (also Moritz Gross), born Hungary Feb. 1845, immigrated 1885/88. He was Max Gross's father. He was a partner in the original Gross, Engel & Co. at 160 Mercer St. ca. 1901 to 1903.

Samuel Gross, born Hungary May 1873, immigrated 1887/90. He was a partner with John Fried and Albert B. Goldstein in Fried, Gross & Co. ca. 1913 to 1916. Samuel Gross was of the generation of Max Gross, but it is not clear whether he was directly related.

Secondary roles:

Henry Freed (1877-1970) was a partner with Maurice Goldstein and Albert B. Goldstein ca. 1917 to the mid-1920s. His registration for the World War I draft in 1918 specified Martin Freed living Szikizo, Hungary as nearest relative, which suggests he was a recent immigrant from Hungary. However, his entry in the US Census of 1920 states place of birth as New York. Census data is often wrong...

Maurice Goldstein, born Hungary 27 Aug. 1885, immigrated 1900, naturalized 1915. Probably a brother of Albert B. Goldstein and Max Goldstein (he was living at 14 E. 88th St. at the time of his naturalization 30 July 1915). A partner with Albert B. Goldstein and Henry Freed at Goldstein & Freed 1916 to 1922/23.

Albert B. Gross, born Austria/Hungary 20 Oct. 1860, arrived in New York 3 June 1886, and became a naturalized citizen 13 Jan. 1896. He was a partner in Gross, Engel & Co. ca. 1916 to the early 1920s.

Higher on this same wall are signs for:

Henry Hunvald, Childrens Juniors Dresses (Click for image.) Henry Hunvald (1869-1923) was born in Budapest, Hungary Jan. 1869 and immigrated to the U. S. in 1898. He appears in the U. S. Census of 1900 as a manufacturer of children's dresses, and he continued in this line until his death 9 March 1923. His business was located here at 115 W. 27th St. from 1911 to 1923. This ad ran in the Times Jan. 1917.

Kruskal, Malvin & Co., Furs (click for image) was originally Kruskal & Malvin at 31 E. 10th St. in 1908/1909. They moved to 115 W. 27th St. in 1910 and became Kruskal, Malvin & Co. in 1911. Kruskal was Joseph Bernard Kruskal (1885-1949), an immigrant from Lithuania in the early 1890s. Malvin was Louis Malvin (1877-1961), a native New Yorker. The partnership lasted until 1913. At that time Louis Malvin formed Louis Malvin & Co., and Kruskal formed a partnership with his brother, Eugene Kruskal (ca.1888-1944), as Kruskal & Kruskal. Louis Malvin & Co. lasted only a couple of years. In 1918 when Louis Malvin registered for the World War I draft he was working as a salesman for Green & Porges (Julius Green, William Porges) fur trimmings at 134 W. 29th St. Around 1920 Louis Malvin formed a short-lived partnership with Harry Herzog, Malvin-Herzog Fur Co. Then from 1926 to 1940 there was a Louis Malvin, Furs. In 1942 Louis Malvin registered for the World War II draft as "retired." Meanwhile, Louis Malvin's brother, Samuel Malvin (1883-1953), was in business as Malvin & Goldman, Furs, a company that survived from 1941 to 1975. On the Kruskal side, the firm Kruskal & Kruskal, Inc. had an incredible run from 1913 to 1986. This want ad from the New York Times appeared when they were still located at 115 W. 27th St. in 1919. This business lease notice appeared when they moved to 150 W. 30th St. in 1932. Kruskal & Kruskal stayed at this address 54 years (until they closed in 1986). This want ad for a model dates from 1956. An undated photograph by the Wurts Brothers shows a billboard with "KRUSKAL FURS / 150 W 30th St. / Wholesale Only" on top of a four-story building at the corner of 7th Ave. & 30th St. The image can be seen on the New York Public Library's Digital Collections.

Friedman & Herskovitz, Furriers (Click for image). (At the very top in this image appears another Gross, Engel Furriers sign.) The furriers Louis Friedman (1869-1936) and Frank Herskovitz (1879-1968) were located here at 115 W. 27th St. from 1910 to 1924. According to Louis Friedman's obituary in the New York Times, 7 June 1936, p. 22, "Mr. Friedman came to the United States from Hungary in 1880 and until his retirement in 1932 had been senior partner in the firm Friedman & Herskovitz, 115 West Twenty-seventh Street, for twenty-five years." Frank Herskovitz was also an immigrant from Hungary (either in 1890 or 1895). He became a naturalized citizen in 1904. His name appears in the manifests of three ships returning from Europe in the 1920s, once traveling alone and twice traveling with his wife, Katie. The Friedman-Herskovitz partnership broke up in 1930. Friedman was in business as L & W Friedman, Inc. at 333 7th Ave. for a couple of years until his retirement. The "W" here presumably was his son, William Friedman (1894-1981). Herskovitz stayed in business at 224 W. 30th St. as Frank Herskovitz, Inc. and then Frank Herskovitz & Gottlieb until 1937. The original Friedman & Herskovitz was located at 17 W. Houston St. in 1903. The business moved to 60 E. 11th St. in 1905, then here to 115 W. 27th St. in 1910. Frank Herskovitz had his own business on Greene St. in 1902, before joining with Friedman in 1903.

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