Jacob Hertz & Son, 37-39 W. 28th St. near 6th Ave. (2003)

Jacob Hertz & Son can be read fairly clearly here. However, in a photo ca. 1940 from the "Tax Photos" in the New York City Municipal Archives it is clear that by 1940 Jacob Hertz & Son had been painted over with "Harry H. Hertz Co. Furs." (Click for Archives photo.) This is an instance when the later sign has faded into obscurity allowing a glimpse of the older sign beneath.

Jacob Hertz (ca.1858/59-1926) was born in Budapest in 1858/59, immigrated to the US in 1888 and became a naturalized citizen in 1895. He was in business as Jacob Hertz Co., Furs, by 1897 and moved to 37 W. 28th St. in 1916, specializing in popular priced misses' and children's furs. By 1916 he had been joined in the business by his son, Harry Howard Hertz (1889-1938).

However, at this time both Hertzs withdrew from Jacob Hertz Co. and formed a new company, Jacob Hertz & Son. As announced in Women's Wear, 20 Jan. 1916, "New York - J. Hertz & Son in Business Alone. - Jacob Hertz and Harry H. Hertz have withdrawn from the Jacob Hertz Co., Inc., and have started the manufacture of misses' and children's furs at 37 West 28th street, under the style of J. Hertz & Son." This ad appeared in American Cloak and Suit Review, August, 1916. Jacob Hertz & Co. (established 1890) was now located at 25-29 W. 31st St., and officers were Edward I. Grossman, Alex S. Mandel and Sam Mandel.

Jacob Hertz & Son was in business until 1924/25. They were located here at 37 W. 28th St. until 1922/23, then moved for the remaining years to 322 7th Avenue. This ad for Jacob Hertz & Son appeared in Fur Trade Review, Jan. 1920. Jacob Hertz's obituary in Women's Wear, 15 July 1926, read, "Jacob Hertz, pioneer in the children's fur coat business, who had been head of Jacob Hertz & Son for many years, died last night in his 67th year at his home, 4802 12th avenue, Brooklyn, after a brief illness. He had recently gone on vacation to Sharon Springs, N. Y., and had caught cold there, returning to his home last Friday when it became aggravated. Mr. Hertz leaves three sons in the fur business. They are Harry H. Hertz, head of Harry H. Hertz Co., and Al and Leo Hertz, both associated with Gross, Hertz & Cohen. In addition, he is survived by his widow, two sons, David and Manfred, and four daughters, Mrs. Julia Grossman, widow of the late Edward Grossman, of Grossman & Mandel, Mrs. Sadie Watner, Mrs. Ethel Robinson, and Mrs. Helen Jacobs. Mr. Hertz had been associated with the fur industry for many years. For 40 years he was an important factor in the children's fur coat business, and before that had spent several years in the fur dressing branch. Two years ago, he retired from the manufacturing business and since that time had acted as a fur commission broker. Funeral services for the deceased are to be held at 2 o'clock this afternoon at his late residence."

Harry H. Hertz continued in the fur business until his death in 1938. He was a partner with his father at Jacob Hertz & Son until 1919, then joined Kaye & Einstein, Furriers: "Harry H. Hertz, vice-president of Kaye & Einstein, Inc. Mr. Hertz, recently withdrew his interest from Jacob Hertz, Son & Co., manufacturers of misses' and children's furs at 37 West Twenty-eighth Street and became associated with one of the leading ladies' fur houses, Kaye & Einstein, Inc., 38 West Thirty-second Street, and was recently elected vice-president of the corporation. He will cover the Middle West for his new connection as he did for his old house. The line will be shown on the road early this Spring" (American Cloak and Suit Review, January 1919). Kaye & Einstein was run by the Heilbroner family, and Harry Hertz had married Rae Jeanette Heilbroner in December 1917. Rae Heilbroner was the younger sister of Alexander Heilbroner, president of Kaye & Einstein from 1910 to 1916. Harry Hertz withdrew from Kaye & Einstein in 1923 and formed Harry H. Hertz Co. at that time. They were initially located here at 37 W. 28th St. This ad from Women's Wear, 1923, shows them at this address.

Harry Hertz's obituary in Women's Wear Daily, 10 February 1938, read, "Funeral services for Harry H. Hertz, 48, one of the leading wholesale fur distributor[s] in the market, who died yesterday at Mt. Sinai Hospital after a long illness, will be held at 2 o'clock tomorrow from Riverside Chapel, 76th street and Amsterdam avenue. He is survived by his widow, Ray; a son, Louis; his mother, Rosalie; his brothers, Manfred, Al, David and Leo; and his sisters, Julia Grossman, Ethel Robinson, Sadie Wapner and Helen Jacobs. Mr. Hertz entered the fur business with his father in the firm of Jacob Hertz & Son. In 1918 he became vice-president of Kaye & Einstein, Inc., and in 1923 withdrew from that firm to form Harry H. Hertz. In 1927 he combined with Harry Metzger in Harry H. Hertz-Metzger & Co., but on Feb. 1, 1928, again formed the present firm of Harry H. Hertz. His son, Louis, is with the firm, while his brother, David, operates his own fur house of David Hertz."

The 1916 ad for Jacob Hertz & Co. listed Edward Ignatz Grossman (1871-ca.1925) as president of the company. Grossman worked with Jacob Hertz at Jacob Hertz Co. at least as early as 1902, and he married Jacob Hertz's daughter, Julia Hertz, in 1905. Grossman took over Jacob Hertz Co. in 1916, along with the Mandels. By 1917, however, they renamed the business Grossman Mandel Co., and they were in business under this name through 1925. In the 1930 U. S. Census Julia Grossman was living as a widow in Elizabeth, New Jersey. Edward I. Grossman probably died approximately 1925.

There is another Hertz Furs sign on the west wall of this same building. I am not sure whether this one reads Harry H. Hertz Co. or Jacob Hertz & Son, but likely there is over-painting of the two names on this one too.

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Also readable on the NYC Municipal Archives photo are Mandl & Hecht, Cloaks & Suits just above Harry H. Hertz and Thomas Young Nurseries Inc., Orchids on the narrow horizontal area further down the wall. A fragment of the Thomas Young Nurseries sign was still visible as of Nov. 2003. (Click for detail.)

Mandl & Hecht were Alexander Mandl (c.1867-?) and Isadore Hecht (1874-?). Mandl immigrated from Hungary with his father and mother, Samuel Mandl and Rosa Mandl, in 1885. Apparently Alex Mandl never married: he appears in the 1920 U S Census, age 52, still living with his father and mother, now 80 and 79 years old respectively. Hecht immigrated from Austria in 1892. He registered for the World War I draft in 1917 while employed as a "Cloaks & Suits Mfr" at 37 W. 28th St. In fact, Mandl & Hecht were located here between 1915 and 1917. By 1919 Mandl left to form his own company Mandl Cloak Co. at 1216 Broadway, and Hecht formed a new partnership Hecht & Pitofsky. In 1920 the Mandl Cloak Co. became Mandl & Alper, a partnership with William Alper (1880-?). Alper immigrated from Russia in 1901 and began manufacturing cloaks on Lispenard St. as early as 1907 under the business name Alper & Fruman. Max Fruman (1873/74-?) was yet another immigrant from Russia (1890). Alper & Fruman stayed in business on Lispenard St. from 1907 to 1913.

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These same signs appear clearly in the background of a photo by Berenice Abbott dated 2 Nov. 1938. This can be seen on the New York Public Library's Digital Collections. In the Abbott image the following are visible:

Freedman & Glotzer / Manchurian Furs (see west wall)

Morgenstern & Denker / Mfrs of Raccoon Coats. Jacob Morgenstern (1865?-?) and Aaron Denker (1867-1947) were partners from 1899 to 1932. They were located here at 39 W. 28th St. from 1922 to 1927. Both were immigrants from Austria (probably Galicia) in the early 1890s. They were located downtown on Bond St. near Broadway from 1900 to 1909 and then on University Place near 9th St. from 1909 to 1916. Very possibly Morgenstern died around 1932, although I have not been able to find a death notice. Aaron Denker remained in the fur business until his death in 1947 as Denker & Sons. The sons were Herman Denker (1896-1966) and Joseph Denker (1902-1975). Denker & Sons were in business from 1934 to 1957.

Richter & Franklin / Furriers. The partners were Bernard Richter (1889-1980) and Irving Franklin (1886-1942). Both men registered for the World War I draft while employed at the furriers, Hahn & Tolleris, 35 W. 31st St. Their own business started here at 37 W. 28th St. in 1920. They were partners from this time until Franklin's death in 1942. The business (located here from 1920 to 1926) survived more than 50 years, finally closing in 1972.

Brucker Bros & Aronof / Dresses & Costumes (see west wall)

Louis Noschkes. Louis I. Noschkes (1883-1975) was in business here to manufacture coats and dresses with his brother, Joseph Noschkes (1890-1991), from 1915 to 1922. The brothers appear together in the 1910 U. S. Census. They lived at 91 Clinton St., Manhattan, with their father and mother, Moses and Zelda Noschkes, and both are identified as "commercial salesman." In 1917 Mr. & Mrs. Sigmund Levy of 547 W. 157th St. announced the engagement of their daughter, Beatrice F., to Mr. Joseph Noschkes, and Mr. & Mrs. Louis Stern of 133 W. 113th St. announced the engagement of their daughter, Doris V., to Mr. Louis Noschkes (New York Times, 25 March 1917, p. 21). Possibly these back-to-back engagement notices imply a double wedding was planned. The brothers were born in Lemberg, Austria (in 2010 this would be the city Lviv in western Ukraine) and immigrated to the U. S. in the early 1900s. Louis Noschkes appears in New York city directories as early as 1903 as a tailor and manufacturer of skirts. In Jan. 1911 the New York Times recorded that L. Noschkes had leased a loft at 57-59 E. 11th St. The business stayed at this address until 1915, when they moved to 37 W. 28th St. Around 1914 Joseph Noschkes seems to have taken over the skirt manufacturing side of the business, which was now called the Quiterite Skirt Co., while Louis Noschkes was used for coat manufacturing.

In the early 1920s both Joseph and Louis Noschkes changed their names from Noschkes to Nash. In the 1930 U. S. Census Joseph Nash lived with his wife, Beatrice, and their two daughters, Ruth B. and Norma H., at 211-213 W. 106th St. Joseph's occupation was "Proprietor, Real Estate." In the same census Louis Nash lived with his wife, Doris, and their two daughters, Rite H. and Marion J., at 505 West End Ave. Louis's occupation was "Banking." By 1942 when he registered for the World War II draft Joseph Nash had returned to garment manufacture at the Gay Apparel Corp. at 307 W. 36th St., and Louis Nash was self-employed as Louis I. Nash at the same address.

I Rand & Co. Dresses. Immediately below Louis Noschkes was this sign for Isidor Rand. Rand was a cousin of the Noschkes brothers and probably was born in the same Lemberg, Austria. For more on Rand see the west wall of 37-39 W. 28th St.

Mandl & Hecht / Cloaks & Suits

Harry H. Hertz / (incorporated) / Furs

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