Rothschild Brothers
Ithaca, New York State. United States.
Department store / Importer.
Known dates: Founded in 1882 by Jacob Rothschild as the
Boston Variety Store.
Soon, he had been joined by brothers Daniel, then Isaac, to form Rothschild Brothers in 1890. The business was sold in 1980. The steins listed below, plus the Cornell Book Stein, were possibly direct commissions on
Villeroy & Boch - Mettlach and did not go through the normal import channels.
The designers were William H. Miller (class of 1872) and Frederick L. Ackerman (class of 1901). Miller had been one of the university's first architecture students. As a 20-year-old undergraduate he had designed the presidential mansion on East Avenue for Andrew Dickson White. He later designed the University Library (now the Uris Library), and Barnes, Boardman, Stimson, and Risley halls, as well as buildings in downtown Ithaca and homes for wealthy residents. Ackerman's Cornell designs include Day and Balch halls. The two varieties of Cornell steins, dated 1903, carry the stamp "Made Exclusively For Rothschild Bros., Ithaca, N.Y., U.S.A."
References:
Library Cornell Cornell Library 2 Cornell Library 3 Ithaca Index Ithaca History
