Object ID	2007.020
Object Name	Records
Abstract	Israel Davidson founded the Davidson Brothers in 1914. The firm, which specialized in ladies undergarments, included Israel's brothers, Louis, Sol, and Abraham. The Davidsons sold to customers throughout the country. During the Great Depression, some of their Detroit customers were not able to pay the brothers for the merchandise that they had purchased. As a consequence, the Davidson Brothers "inherited" these stores to satisfy their owner's debt. The existing businesses and others that were built by the Davidsons eventually converted to the name Federal Department Stores. At its peak, the Federal chain operated seventy stores in Michigan and Ohio. In 1961, the brothers sold the company and, after a series of owners and investors, it ceased operations in the 1970s. (Information provided by Steve Bloom, grandson of Israel Davidson.)
Accession#	2007.020
Catalog date	03/18/2008
Collection	Davidson Bros. Collection
Container	Rabbi Leo M. Franklin Archives Stacks.
Finding Aids	A finding aid is available.
Level of description	Folder
People	Davidson, Israel/Davidson, Louis/Davidson, Sol/Davidson, Abraham/Agree, Charles/France, Roy F./ Rogvoy, T./
Related unit of descrip	Hauser Family File
Search Terms	Federal Department Store/Detroit, Michigan/Hamtramck, Michigan/
Subjects	Department Store/
Title	Davidson Bros. Collection

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Last modified on: January 03, 2012