14 to 42 - 36th Street

Sable Bros. / Falcon Fabrics, 63-65 W. 36th St. (2004)

The Sable brothers numbered about a dozen, although the family relationships are not clear. All were not necessarily brothers, but all seem to have immigrated from Russia in the years 1895 to 1900 and all were connected in one way or another with the caps and hats industry. Among them were Aaron, Harry, Isaac, Joseph, Lazarus, Leon, Morris, Moses, Samuel, and Shepard. Primary among these were Aaron Henry Sable (1886-?) (immigrated 1895), Isaac Leon Sable (1884-?) (immigrated 1900), Joseph J. Sable (1879?-?) (immigrated 1895), Morris Sable (1878?-?), and Leon Sable (1871-?) (immigrated 1896?). Joseph and Leon were working in the caps and hats industry by 1898.

Sable Bros. seems to have been founded around 1902 and included Joseph and Morris Sable. They were located at 47 E. Houston St. By 1904 Aaron joined the firm. Then Isaac joined around 1906. Around this time they relocated to 209 Greene St. This ad for Sable Bros. appeared in Fairchild's Men's Wear Directory, 1907. Leon seems to have been in a separate partnership with Joseph until around 1911. The business moved again in 1917 to 616 Broadway. This ad for Sable Bros. appeared in Fairchild's Women's Wear Directory, July, 1919. From this point forward Aaron, Isaac and Joseph formed the partnership. In the 1920s they moved to the millinery district in midtown Manhattan, coming to 63 W. 36th St. in 1927. By this time the firm had developed a specialty in children's headwear. They stayed at this location until the early 1970s, then went out of business around 1973. The Sable Bros. sign appears in photos dated 1929 by Percy Loomis Sperr (1890-1964). These can be viewed on the New York Public Library's Digital Gallery, images 709434F and 709440F.

Falcon Fabrics was located at 63 W. 36th from 1954 to 1976. They were "Converters of Fine Fabrics," which means they converted basic cottons into finished goods. Converting embraced "bleaching, dyeing, printing, mercerizing, and a host of other treatments" (The Modern Textile and Apparel Dictionary. Fourth Revised and Enlarged Edition, by George E. Linton. 1973.).

Beneath Sable Bros. were a stack of 7 or 8 additional signs (some painted over, others considerably faded as of 2002) that included

Hirschensohn Hat Co. Trimmed Hats
Cinderella Hats, Childrens & Misses
J. Goldman & Co. Flowers & Novelties
N. Schweiger Hat Co. Manufacturers of Ladies Hats
Fred Tietig Inc. Hats
O. Rosenberg Ladies Hats
Arrow Hat Works
(Click here for early 1940s image. (Photo courtesy NYC Dept. of Records / Municipal Archives))

Hirschensohn Hat Co. Inc. was located at 63 W. 36th St. from 1929 to 1930. Jacob Hirschensohn (born Romania 29 July 1885, immigrated c.1901) in his earlier life sold life insurance. At the time of his registration for the World War I draft Hirschensohn lived on Hughes Ave. in the Bronx and worked as a insurance agent for Metropolitan Life Insurance Co., 1170 Broadway in Manhattan. A couple of years later he became a partner with David M. Berg (1894-1981) (born Philadelphia 15 May 1894) at D. Berg & Co., Hats, located at 36 Bond St. David Berg was the son of Peter Berg, a hat maker. David appears in the U S Census of 1900, age 6, living with father, mother and 2 sisters at 77 East 3rd St. The elder Bergs immigrated from Russia in 1892. David Berg was later president of Hab Hats Inc., 28 W. 38th St., which apparently had no connection with the "Bab" Hats for Growing Girls manufactured by Sable Bros...

N. Schweiger Hat Co. was founded by Nathan Schweiger (1889-?) around 1916. Schweiger was an immigrant from Russia in 1907. He manufactured ladies' hats at 11 W. 3rd St. (1916-1918), 28 E. 4th St. (1918-1922/23), and 111 Bleecker St. (1924-1926) before moving to 63 W. 36th St. in 1927. From around 1920 he was in partnership with Abraham Schweiger (ca.1897/98-?), an immigrant from Russia in 1909 (possibly a brother). In its earlier days, the company was also known as the City Hat Co. Later, while at 63 W. 36th St., Schweiger also did business as the Famous Hat Co. and the Famous Headwear Co. Schweiger was located here on 36th St. from 1927 to 1931. The company stayed in business at several later locations until around 1938.

Arrow Hat Works was a partnership between Louis Lebowitz (1885-?) and Haim Zalisch (1879-1972). They started out on Greene St. around 1914, moved to 626 Broadway near Houston St. in 1919, and then to 63-65 W. 36th St. in 1926. They left this location in 1933 and stayed in business at 51-55 W. 39th St. and later at 220 Mercer St. until the early 1960s.

Another vintage photograph of this building can be seen on the New York Public Library's Digital Collections. This is dated 1921 and shows an entirely different assemblage of signs as follows:

J. R. Palmenberg's Sons Inc. / Window Fixtures / Display Forms
Chas Isaacs & Scheer / Suits & Coats
John Traina / Dresses
Heffer - Waldner Co Inc / Feather Hats
L. Schlinger / Fine Infants / Dresses
Vogel & Boxer Inc / Ladies Hatters / Aerial Hat Co. Trimmed Hats
Mendelson, Greifer / Manufacturers Co / Tailored Dresses
Leading / Dress and / Costume Company
Chas. Kibel / Trimmed Hats / Feathers & Ostrich
Peter Campomenosi / Millinery Novelties

Among this list faint traces can be found for

L. Schlinger / Fine Infants / Dresses (click for image). Louis Schlinger (1878-1948) was the son of Ignatz Schlinger (1846-?), an immigrant from Hungary in 1873. Ignatz with wife and 8 children can be found in the U. S. Census of 1900 living on E. 85th St. in Manhattan. Louis, age 21, is a "Cutter of Dresses." He started in infants' wear around 1906. First there was Schlinger & Weil at 136 Prince St., then Schlinger & Lenchner at 61 E. 11th St. These partnerships seem to have lasted about one year each. Trow's New York City Directory in 1909 has Louis Schlinger Infants' Wear at 61 E. 11th St. in 1909, then at 41 E. 8th St. from 1910 to 1917. The business moved to 63-65 W. 36th St. in 1918 and stayed here until 1923. Schlinger registered for the World War II draft in 1942 when retired and living in Ridgefield, New Jersey. His business seems to have been taken over by his brother, Barney B. Schlinger (1883-1953), around this time. Barney B. Schlinger, Infants Wear, at 1350 Broadway was listed in the Manhattan telephone directory from 1944 to 1960.

Chas. Kibel / Trimmed Hats / Feathers & Ostrich (click for image). Charles Kibel was born in Kutno, Poland, 24 Dec. 1888. He immigrated to the U. S. in 1913 and became a naturalized citizen in 1920. His name appears on a list of men who enlisted in the U. S. Army in 1917, and he applied for passports to travel to Europe in 1922 and 1924. The 1922 passport included attachments with letterheads for Chas Kibel Trimmed Hats 63-65 W. 36th St. (1922) and Chas Kibel Ladies Trimmed Hats 1 W. 39th St. (1923). Kibel was located at 65 W. 36th St. from 1921 to 1923. He was also in business under the name Juanita Hat Co. at 1 W. 39th St. from 1924 to 1928. He seems to have closed down when the Depression hit in 1929, although his wife, Sarah Kibel, continued to be listed as a milliner at 21 W. 39th St. until 1937.

Peter Campomenosi / Millinery Novelties (click for image). In the 1910s Fort Lee, New Jersey, became a center of film production. The Fort Lee Film Commission website gives tons of information about famous (and otherwise) productions that took place there.

Pietro (Peter) Campomenosi (1869-?) lived in Fort Lee at an even earlier date. The New York City Directory for 1903 lists Campomenosi as a dealer in artificial flowers at 544 West Broadway living in Fort Lee, New Jersey. A few years earlier the U. S. Census of 1900 recorded P. Campomenosi (born Italy July 1869, immigrated 1882, Manufacturer Flowers) living at 51 Washington Square South in Greenwich Village. His family consisted of his wife, Elvira, 2 daughters, Arminia age 5 and Clori age 2, and a son, Fred age 4 (Fred became Alfred in later listings). At an even earlier date (1888) Peter Campomenosi worked as a cigar maker and lived on Sullivan St. (also in Greenwich Village). His business was described as flowers beginning in the mid-1890s and was located in and around West Broadway and West 3rd St. until moving in 1918 to 63-65 W. 36th St. The earliest description at this address in the Manhattan telephone directory called the business "Millinery Novelties." Artificial flowers were commonly used on women's hats around this time. It was also in 1918 that Campomenosi's son, Alfred Campomenosi (1895-1976), registered for the World War I draft. He lived at 126 Waverly Place, and worked as a salesman at Peter Campomenosi, 55 W. 3rd St. Alfred Campomenosi probably took over the business in the early 1920s. In 1923 his sister, Clori, applying for a passport, stated that her father, Peter Campomenosi, now resided in Italy. On the same passport application Alfred Campomenosi (signing as a witness for his sister) gave his occupation as "Artificial Flowers, 63-65 West 36 St NYC" and his address as 50 Parker Ave., Fort Lee, NJ. The business stayed on 36th St. until 1931, then re-surfaced in 1934 back at the old haunts of West Broadway near W. 3rd St. This continued in the Manhattan telephone directory through 1941. In 1942 Alfred Campomenosi registered for the world War II draft when his business, Peter Campomenosi Sons, was located at 149 Main St., Fort Lee, NJ.

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