Kind of like the trucker-hat fixation among urban hipsters a few years ago, kid gloves were a style must for men in the 1860s, according to a neat little anecdote in Herbert Asbury’s All Around the Town. And they continued to be trendy for decades. This 1890s ad from the Brooklyn Daily Eagle has them on sale for $2.
Abraham and Straus has been dead since 1995, but from the 1880s throughout the 20th century it was the most opulent department store in Brooklyn, headquartered in a gorgeous five-story building on Fulton Street. I guess that Manhattan Mall idea really bled them dry. RIP, A & S.
Ephemeral New York 
June 26, 2008 at 10:18 pm |
The Fulton street location is now a Macy’s. It’s situated in the middle of the Fulton Mall. It was pretty surprising to me when I walked in off the Fulton Mall and discovered what a beautiful space it was.
February 5, 2010 at 4:34 am |
Actually, A&S is very much alive. It gave up it’s corpaorate name when it’s parent company, Federated Deprtment Stores, acquired Macy’s. Since the 34th St. retailer had incredible name recognition, the Brooklyn name was retired on behalf of the better identified brand.