Images(3)

Holder, Paper Clip

Object number2012.122.156

Retailer Robert E. Comins, Inc.

Date1965

OriginPittsburgh, PA

MediumPlastic/Ink

Credit LineGift of Joan and Steve Isack

DescriptionPlastic box with white lid and transparent bottom.Dimensions1 x 4.688 x 4 in. (2.5 x 11.9 x 10.2 cm)
Inscriptions"1965" is handwritten at the top in red ink.

Lid has printed brown text "Pittsburgh's Largest Footwear House / RUBBER [dot] CANVAS [dot] LEATHER [dot] PLASTIC / Robert E. Comins, INC. / 1717 BLVD. OF THE ALLIES [dot] PITTSBURGH, PA. 15219 / (AREA CODE 412) PHONE 281-8240".

"SINCE 1925" appears printed at the bottom.
MarksClear text along the bottom back edge "MADE IN U.S.A. - 2 - U.S. PAT. 2,570,341".
Historical NotesPart of a collection related to the Ilkuvitz Clothing Store in Clairton, PA. Edward J. Ilkuvitz was an Orthodox Jew who immigrated to the United States from Hungary in the early 1900s. He started out peddling to the mill community of Clairton, PA before finally opening a store in the 1920s. The store was located on Miller Ave and Edward Ilkuvitz built the store and the apartment above it, which still bears the name on the building. Edward's son Norman took over the store and operated into the 1990s. The last 10 to 20 years that the store operated Norman did not order much inventory and it was mainly a social spot for some of the older residents in Clairton. Norman kept merchandise from the 1940s on the shelves and it remained a time capsule of a typical 1940s/50s general store in a mill community. This collection is a sampling of records and inventory to represent the kinds of things people were purchasing and much of the records show who Edward and Norman were ordering from, stretching back to the early 1900s when Jewish wholesalers on 5th Avenue were providing much of the merchandise to outlying general stores. A small sampling of items from the family's apartments above the store represent their Jewish heritage.

Related person Norman Ilkuvitz

Related institution Ilkuvitz Clothing Store

Related person Robert E. Comins

Related person Edward J. Ilkuvitz

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