Anybody ever heard of the New York firm Erdrich?

I just listed this suit and its REALLY well made. I have never heard of them before so I was wondering if anybody else had...

 

I have no idea whether these many iterations of "Erdrich & ____" are related, but I note that the earliest one mentioned "M. Erdrich" and the latest House of Erdrich ones mention the head Mark S. Erdrich...

NY Times (Sept 3, 1919): "Sixty new corporations...were chartered today. They include: M. Erdrich & Julius, Inc., Manhattan, women's wearing apparel, $10,000; S.S. and G. Erdrich, H. Julius, 1,170, Broadway."

NY Times (Mar 1921): "DISSOLUTIONS: Erdrich & Julius, Manhattan"

NY Times (Nov 1922): "Wholesale Only; Dance Frocks in every wanted fabric; To ship to-day; $14.75 to $39.50; ERDRICH & ENGELBERG; 36 East 31st Street, New York"

NY Times (Jan 1923): Ad for Custom Made Genuine Swansdown Coats; "the best in Sports and Steamer Coats" by Hurowitz & Erdrich (and a year later was a similar ad for the same company at 247 West 37th Street, NY)."

NY Times (Dec 10, 1929): "Attention! Retailers, Cloak and Suit Buyers; Spring and Style Show of Coats and Ensembles; The following are some of the fifty firms that will exhibit: Erdrich & Berman"

NY Times (Jan 1930): "SPRING STYLES BAN THE SHORT SKIRT; 140 Models Display New Fashions of 43 Creators, Including Some Paris Originals, at the Astor; The creators who presented their respective interpretations of the Spring mode were: Erdrich-Berman, Inc."

Cleveland Plain Dealer (Sept 1946): The first mention I found of the House of Erdrich, in an ad for suits.

NY Times (Mar 1948): "OFFERS PLAN TO AID COAT, SUIT SALES; Retailers can step up their unit sales of women's coats and suits nu a positive mechandising approach on prices and styling, Joseph L. Dubow, executive director of the Merchant Ladies Garment Association, pointed out last night at the annual meeting of the organization at the Hotel Astor...Newly elected members to the board of directors included...Mark S. Erdrich, House of Erdrich, Inc."

NY Times (Feb 1950): Ad for a suit by Erdrich

NY Times (Aug 1950): Ad for a suit "masterfully tailored by the famed House of Erdrich in Matson Mills wools..."

NY Times (Aug 1951): Ad for suit of "fabric by folker mills, designed by the house of erdrich"

NY Times (Aug 1953): Obit: ERDRICH, Mark S. The Merchants Ladies Garment Association, Inc. records with profound sorrow the passing of Mark S. Erdrich, a member of the board of directors and a highly respected leader in the coat and suit industry..."

NY Times ad (Jan 1958): Ad for a "luxury jersey suit wrapped in magnificent natural ranch mink...styled by House of Erdrich."

The Cleveland Plain Dealer (Sept 1961): Mr. Nick Altiero of the House of Erdrich would be there "to advise and assist you."

 

What a gorgeous suit... The designs on the skirt (and that pinky-brown color) are wonderful...

I just took a look at the listing and am cursing my luck that it's not a teeny bit bigger!

 

Mark Smink Erdrich was born in Romania in 1888 and a 1924 passport application noted that he was traveling to Europe "for commercial business for Hurowitz & Erdrich; 31 East 32nd Street; New York City" so I guess he was part of that firm before he was associated with the House of Erdrich.

 

Sorry for the dribbles and drabs here...

A WWI draft application for Mark S. Erdrich, born in "Austria Hungary" in May 1889 (his naturalization record says he was born in Romania in 1888) notes that he was self-employed in the "Cloak & Suit Business" with "Hurowitz & Erdrich."

 

Nothing substantial to add, other than that I really like the beauty of the boucle, and that this is a wonderful suit!

 

C'mon Linn, you could wear it when you visit San Francisco!

 

I have never had anything with this label before so it sounds like part of the reason for that Lynne is because it was only around (in the form of house of Erdrich) for a dozen years. I wonder if he bought out the Horowitz part and renamed it house of Erdrich. He might have been making suits under contract for department store or shop before that, so it could be the first time a line of clothes with his name appears. It makes sense he was born in Europe - there is just a little something about the suit which is a bit unusual - not typically American, although the finishing on the inside has classic 7th avenue finishing techniques.

 

Whenever I have a minute I look for more Erdrich info, but haven't found anything useful, other than a slightly later ad for the House of Erdrich (I edited my prior post to reflect that)...and a passport photo of Mark Smink Erdrich:

 

Stunning, Jonathan, and the Forstmann wool is superb! I think the quality and the many different weaves of wool that Forstmann had are often overlooked in how they enhance a design. This is a great example, IMHO, of wonderful design coupled with "the" perfect fabric for it! Both of high quality.

 

House of Erdrich

I stumbled across this site and this particular thread purely by accident. My father (Harold G. Erdrich) and grandfather (Mark S. Erdrich) were joint owners of The House of Erdrich. Mark S. died in 1953 and his share in the firm passed to his wife (Maybelle); also Harold's mother. Maybelle died in the 1970s. The firm had its design studio and showroom in NYC (500 7th Avenue) and a factory in Lakewood, NJ. run by a (junior) partner, Simon Nash. The firm was quite well known in "The Garment District" in the 1940s, 50's and 60's. They manufactured nicely tailored garments at reasonable prices and sold to most major department and lady's wear stores. They did some advertising on The Price is Right.

I have quote fond memories of hours spent in the showroom and factory doing a variety of tasks that felt quite grown up.

The label was quite distinctive. The stylized script for "Erdrich" was actually taken from my father's signature (when he was young; later you would not have recognized it). I had a 3 foot by 4 foot version of the label that used to be on the wall in the NYC showroom but it disappeared during one of our moves. Too bad, it was quite a nice keepsake.

The firm dissolved in the early 1970s; Harold G moved to Michigan where he managed a large territory for Russel Taylor (furs and lady's coats). Harold G. died in 1989.

I can try to answer any questions about the firm.

 

MWE - How wonderful. It's always exciting and illuminating when family drops in to comment. Thank you. And Jonathan -

 

Today, I found a lovely suit jacket with the identical House of Erdrich label.
Seeing the name Erdrich rang a bell, so I've returned to this informative thread.

I'll post photos once I have it cleaned and photographed. The jacket has a super nice classic look, in 100% wool, black and white. Sharp.
As you've said Jonathan, the quality is a cut above.

MWE, thank you for the family back story. They did a very fine job of it!

 

I think your grandfather was my grandmother's, Adele Erdrich, brother. I remember her talking of the House of Erdrich. My father was also Harold, middle name Eliot. My grandmother lived in California. She passed away in 1976.