Kaufman’s has a long history
in New York City

Over the years, many of our customers have asked how long Kaufman’s has been in business and how long our 42nd Street store has been in operation.

Every business has a beginning story.  This one is ours.

It was during the Great Depression of the 1930s, when Nathan Kaufmann, a successful .5 & .10 cents store merchant living in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, made the decision to move his family to Brooklyn, New York.

After getting resettled, Mr. Kaufmann happened to learn of a U.S. Government auction of military surplus that was about to take place. Even though he had never bid on an auction before, he ventured forth and placed a sealed bid on one of the lots up for sale. It was described in the government bulletin as simply: 'One lot of used shoes and boots’.

Although bidders were allowed to visit the Army base where the auction was being held in order to view the various lots before they placed a bid, Mr. Kaufmann was unaware of this, so he never saw what he was bidding on.

After the auction closed, he was surprised to receive a letter from the government informing him that he had won the bid and that consequently, he was required to come to the Army base immediately to pay for it.

Fortunately, he arrived at the base early the next morning to pay his bill. At that time, he was informed that his property had to be removed from the base within 24 hours or he would be heavily fined.

After inquiring where he could find his lot, a clerk directed him to the far end of the base. That’s when he set out for the first time to see what he had won…

When he reached the very end of the base, he was astonished to see a single massive wooden boxcar fifty feet long and ten feet deep resting on a railroad track filled with used russet brown military shoes and boots. Mr. Kaufmann had found his lot!

Remarkably, by the end of the day, Mr. Kaufmann’s resourcefulness proved invaluable! With the clock ticking down, he located an empty warehouse in Brooklyn large enough to store all the shoes and boots he had just purchased. Then, he hired the services of a local trucking company to completely empty the boxcar and transport everything to his warehouse.

The trips taken by the trucking company throughout the day between the Army base and the warehouse never ceased, and amazingly, the last haul was delivered before the base closed its gates for the evening!

One thing was abundantly clear- Mr. Kaufmann was now in the Military Surplus business!

Over the ensuing months, Mr. Kaufmann enthusiastically tackled the work ahead. First, he separated the paired boots from the paired shoes and checked to see that they were a matched pair. Next, he tackled the hundreds upon hundreds of single boots and shoes that had to be matched by size and width. It was a laborious undertaking, but over time, the piles of paired shoes and boots grew higher.

Fortunately, the shoes and boots were in good condition, which reflected the exceptional quality of U.S. military surplus. For the pairs that were heavily worn, Mr. Kaufmann had the old heels or outsoles replaced with new ones. Finally, every pair was polished and supplied with new laces.  

During the turbulent years of the Great Depression, few individuals could afford a new pair of shoes, but many others had enough money to buy a pair of used, well-made military surplus shoes or boots.

Now all Mr. Kaufmann had to do was to start selling them!

Mr. Kaufmann’s Original Store on Cortlandt Street 

Subsequently, in 1938, Mr. Kaufmann opened his first store in New York City on the corner of Cortlandt and Greenwich Streets in Lower Manhattan. The store was situated in the heart of an extremely popular and bustling section of the city fondly referred to as Radio Row. In a short time, his business proved to be a success.

The Cortlandt Street store closed in 1965, when the entire commercial area- all 16 square city blocks, was demolished to make way for the construction of the World Trade Center.

The year is 1958, and there is Mr. Kaufman inspecting his cannons in front of his new store!

Kaufman’s Warehouse and Store on Broadway 

Throughout the 1950s and early 1960s, Kaufman’s had become one of the largest Military Surplus wholesalers in the United States, with customers across the country. 

In the year 1962, Kaufman’s warehouse and shipping operation moved to 623 Broadway above Houston Street, in the vicinity of the wholesale military surplus district of the city that existed at that time.   

Beginning in 1963 and ending in 1971, Mrs. Kaufman printed a series of COMBAT! titled mail order catalogs and shipped military surplus worldwide. 

From 1972 to 1982, the front portion of Kaufman’s city-block-long warehouse facing Broadway was opened as a second retail store. After 20 years, the warehouse and store closed in 1982.

Kaufman’s Two Stores on West 42nd Street 

In 1940, following his success with the Cortlandt Street store, Mr. Kaufmann set his sights uptown, or more specifically, midtown. He subsequently opened his second store at 318 West 42nd Street, between 8th and 9th Avenues. It was situated on a second-floor walk-up facing 42nd Street, which required customers to walk up a flight of stairs to access the store. It was located alongside the original McGraw-Hill Publishing Company building, a beautiful example of Art Deco architecture and a National Historical Landmark.

In 1958, a fire occurred on the same block as the 42nd Street store. As a result, Kaufman’s moved diagonally across the street to 319 West 42nd Street, where our business has continued ever since.

That same year, Mr. Kaufman placed two of his Hotchkiss Mountain Cannons outside the new store for the first time, where they flanked the entrance and remained every day, through rain or shine or snowy weather until 2017. They were removed that year because the spokes of their wooden wheels were deteriorating and required restoration. 

During 2018, both cannons were professionally restored to their original 1898 appearance. They are now in semi-retirement and are awaiting their next appearance.