Richard and Anna Nathan Collection

Richard Nathan was born May 12, 1873, in Gau-Algesheim, Germany, to Hermann Nathan (1837-1903) and Henriette Nathan née Guthmann (1842-1880). Hermann and Henriette Nathan had six children: Eduard (1866-1937), Hugo (1868-1935), Alfred (1869-1947), Flora (1871-1929), Richard (1873-1958), and Wilhelm (Willi) (1875-1961). Hermann and his brother Joseph were partners in the wine business of their father Elias Nathan (1804-1886).

Henriette died when Richard was six years old; after her death, Hermann moved the family to Frankfurt am Main. In 1882, Hermann Nathan married Sophie Koch. They had one daughter, Rosa (Ray) (1883-1976). Richard received his primary education at the Philantropin school in Frankfurt am Main. In 1894, at the age of 21, he served his term as a one-year volunteer in the Prussian Army.

In 1900, Richard and his brother Willi founded the children’s shoe manufacturing company R. & W. Nathan in Frankfurt. Their brother Alfred Nathan became a partner in the firm in 1906. In 1921, a branch of the company was established in Höchst am Main. In addition to children’s shoes, the factory began production of women’s shoes. This branch, together with a large addition built in 1927, became known as the Ada-Ada factory in 1928, the year the firm relocated its entire manufacturing business, including its offices, to Frankfurt-Höchst.

On April 4, 1907, Richard became engaged to Anna David, whom he married on November 22, 1907, in Bonn. They celebrated their marriage on November 24, 1907, in Bonn and honeymooned in Italy. Anna David was born August 15, 1887, in Frankfurt am Main to Louis David (1859-1926) and Ida David née Marxsohn (1861-1922).

Richard and Anna Nathan had three sons. Franz Hermann was born September 7, 1909, in Frankfurt am Main. At the time, the family lived at Feuerbachstrasse 38, where they remained until 1921, when they moved to Kettenhofweg 116. The Nathans’ second son Erich was born May 27, 1917, in Frankfurt am Main, and their third son Walter was born August 13, 1923, in Frankfurt am Main.

In 1931, Franz, after an apprenticeship in a leather factory, was sent to the United States to study American manufacturing methods. As situation worsened in Germany, it became clear that he would have to stay. At 17, Erich, who had completed Gymnasium, joined Franz in the United States. In 1935, Walter was sent to Belgium for his education and safety. In 1937, an agreement was reached for the forced sale of the company between the owners of Ada-Ada and their successors.

By April 1938, the family was reunited in the United States, where they settled in Chicago. They originally lived at 425 Roscoe Street before moving to 740 Bittersweet Place. In the fall of 1938, Richard and Willi Nathan opened a new factory in Chicago, which was known as the Sun Shoe Manufacturing Company. Walter Nathan attended Lake View High School, during which time he became active as a Boy Scout. He then studied mechanical engineering at the Illinois Institute of Technology, graduating in 1944. He served in the United States Navy during World War II. Walter Nathan died November 24, 2018, in Glencoe, Illinois. Anna Nathan died January 31, 1958, in Chicago. Richard Nathan died September 1, 1958, in Chicago.