Courtesy of Tom Tryniski’s Old Fulton History © Brooklyn Eagle
What a great font!
The sign company was owned by a Frederick W. Kurtz.
© Caroline D. Roswell
John A. Schwarz was born in New York in the late 1850’s to German immigrants. He began as a clerk in a furniture store. In 1876 He opened his first store in Brooklyn, at the 838-40 Broadway address on the ad. When he started out he only had a 20 foot space in the 838 building, but business grew until he took over the entire building and the building next store. So the 838-40 address refers to building numbers 838 and 840 Broadway.
John died in 1906 and the business was taken over by his sons, John Jr. Edward and Frank.
In 1910 they opened another location at 1321 and later 1319 Broadway.
The 334 Livingston Street store was opened in 1922 and the 16601 Jamaica Avenue store around 1925, so one can guess the ad was painted in or around 1925. (since another store was opened in 1926 at 1535 Broadway, which took over Phelan’s Furniture Company.
According to a 1921 ad from the Broklyn Daily Eagle, John was quite a friendly guy, and when his first store opened people were more than happy to buy furniture from him, which was instrumental in growth of the business. – Caroline D. Roswell as taken from My Old NY Just Ain’t What She Used to Be
CLICK TO SEE Tom Tryniski’s Old Fulton History – Brooklyn Eagle
Wagnerowicz @ My Old NY Just Ain’t What She Used to Be did a fantastic job researching this sign. I was notified by Caroline about the sign on the day I broke my ankle and was unable to get to it in time. It was covered up in just two days.
© Caroline D. Roswell
Thanks for the research and photo. My family grew up in queens and then LI. I always wondered how we were related. I showed this website to my elderly
Dad who stated “that’s my Grandpa John’s store. The brothers listed fit in the family tree. Thanks
It is my pleasure Kent! I just love when a portal to our past opens and the family members rediscover and share their past. Come back again! Best, Frank
I was just researching tokens that belonged to my father in law. I came across one that is for John A. Schwarz, $5 worth on any $50 purchase. There are dates on it that say 1876 1932. I can’t find the value of this token but found this information interesting and fun.
Totally cool! Take a picture of it and send it to me at frankjump[at]fadingad[dot]com
I was researching a 5 dollar token when I came across this website. I was wondering if you knew it’s value?