New York and Northern Railway Co. issued to and signed by Simon Rothschild - 1891 dated Autographed Stock Certificate

Stock issued to and signed by Simon Rothschild. Printed by Franklin Bank Note Co., New York.

Simon Frank Rothschild (June 14, 1861 – January 5, 1936) was an American merchant and philanthropist who served as president and chairman of the board at Abraham & Straus. Rothschild was born on June 14, 1861, in Eufaula, Alabama, the son of Amanda (née Blun / Blün) and Frank Rothschild. He spent most of his childhood in Columbus, Georgia. His grandfather, Nathan Blun, was a prosperous merchant in New York City and Rothschild's family moved to Manhattan in the 1870s. Rothschild attended P.S. 35, the Packard School of Business, and then graduated with a degree in business from the College of the City of New York. In 1878, he went to work at his grandfather's manufacturing business and in 1887, he founded S.F. & A. Rothschild with his brother.

On April 1, 1893, Rothschild in partnership with Nathan Straus and Isidor Straus (who was married to Rothschild's aunt, Ida Blun Straus), bought out Joseph Wechsler's interest in Wechsler & Abraham, co-founded by Rothschild's father-in-law Abraham Abraham, and changed the store's name to Abraham & Straus. The Straus' family provided most of the financing for the transaction as they were flush with cash after their acquisition of a general partnership with Macy's department stores in 1888. Abraham's son, Lawrence Abraham, and son-in-law, Edward Charles Blum, also joined the partnership. Rothschild become vice president in 1920, president in 1925, and chairman of the board in 1930. In 1928, while president, Rothschild began a $7.8 million expansion of the Fulton Street store which opened on October 10, just days before the Wall Street Crash of 1929. Also in 1929, Rothschild presided over the merger of Abraham & Straus with Filene's, Lazarus, and Bloomingdale's to form Federated Department Stores. In order to preserve jobs during the Depression, all Abraham & Straus employees took a 10% pay cut; as a result, no employees were laid off. Abraham served as chairman until his death in 1936.

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