Hungarian immigrant William Feldman got his start selling feathers for mattresses from a horse-drawn wagon in the late 1890s. His feather-mattress business quickly evolved into a secondhand furniture store with a special emphasis on antique beds. In the early twentieth century, Feldman had his own furniture workshop for manufacturing reproduction antiques to sell with the genuine artifacts in his store. Feldman’s Antique Emporium is still in operation, now in the fourth generation under the name James H. Cohen & Sons.
William Feldman (left) inside his store
ca. 1925; photoprint
courtesy of James H. Cohen & Sons, Antiques–Rare Coins
William Feldman (right), his sister Ida Feldman (seated), and other family members
between 1910 and 1915; photoprint
courtesy of James H. Cohen & Sons, Antiques–Rare Coins
Furniture manufactured by the Feldman furniture workshop
between 1920 and 1950; photoprints
courtesy of James H. Cohen & Sons, Antiques–Rare Coins
Medieval armor and weapons display at Feldman’s Antique Emporium
ca. 1930; photoprint
by Dan Leyrer
The Historic New Orleans Collection, gift of Allan Phillip Jaffe, 1981.324.1.214
Weapons display at Feldman’s Antique Emporium
ca. 1930; photoprint
by Dan Leyrer
The Historic New Orleans Collection, gift of Allan Phillip Jaffe, 1981.324.1.215