Whoopee! It's a 1957 catalog for the Gordon Novelty Company!

Whoopee! It's a 1957 catalog for the Gordon Novelty Company! This New York City wholesaler of costumes, party supplies, gag gifts, puzzles, novelty toys, carnival items was once a star (and final holdout) of the city's Novelty District.

 

The company was founded around 1928 by Jacob "Jack" Gordon (c.1905-?), a Jewish emigrant whose family emigrated to Brooklyn, New York from Russia in 1907. After an opening on E. 18th St., the company moved to Broadway just south of Madison Square in 1934, a neighborhood that had become known for its cluster of similar novelty stores, beginning with the opening of B. Shackman & Co. in 1898. Gordon and his brother Samuel (c.1902-c.1986) also founded and ran the United Balloon Co. out of the same storefront.

 

By 2002, Gordon's Novelty Co. had become M. Gordon Novelty, and was run by Jack's grandson. It was also the last holdout of the trade in the neighborhood, which finally came to an end that year when the company decamped for a new storefront at 52 W. 29th St.

 

Their 1957 catalog, meanwhile, has a permanent home in Hagley Library's collection of trade catalogs. You can view the catalog, as well as a large selection of other catalogs from the collection, online now. Just click here.