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Category: Biography

Silver stylized owl with radiant circles around its head, surrounded by a gold frame

A Fortune Made from Fur: John Jacob Astor

Posted by: Ellen Terrell

  John Jacob Astor was born July 17, 1763, in Walldorf, Germany (near Heidelberg). He came to the United States after the American Revolution and began trading furs, shipping them to Europe via New York. Business was good, and Astor was well on his way to making his fortune when he got a boost with …

Cover from the June, 1914 issue of Vanity Fair of three fashionable women and a young girl holding a dog on a leash gathering on a street, conversing. Behind them people walk and a coachman drives a carriage.

Eleanor Lambert–Empress of Seventh Avenue

Posted by: Jennifer Harbster

… [Eleanor Lambert] realized that the American fashion industry, along with the individual designers deserved to be treated as equals on the world stage. From that moment on, this idea would become her driving passion. (John Tiffany, Eleanor Lambert: Still Here, Pointed Leaf Press, c2011: p.19) On Thursday February 2, 2012 we are hosted a …