Abraham & Straus, commonly shortened to A&S, was a major New York City department store based in Brooklyn, founded in 1865. The chain operated under the Federated Department Stores umbrella and its branding evolved through several distinct phases before the name was retired in 1995 when its stores were absorbed into Macy’s. [1]
Design and History
In the 1970s, Federated attempted to update the image of A&S and funded the construction of new, more upscale stores. As part of this effort, A&S developed a new logo that once again branded the stores as Abraham & Straus, moving away from the abbreviated A&S identity. [1]
This rebranding was accompanied by new trademark filings. On April 20, 1979, Federated Department Stores filed a trademark application for the word mark “ABRAHAM AND STRAUS” with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, covering retail department store services. The mark was registered as number 1146523 and was later cancelled in 2002 after continued use was not filed. [2] A related trademark for the same name, covering clothing categories, was filed two days earlier on April 18, 1979. [3]
Wikimedia Commons documents several logo iterations for the store, including a logo from the 1800s, a 1976 logo, and a later A&S logo file. [4] The final logo iteration, dated 1987, remained in use until the brand was discontinued in 1995. [1]
Typography and Design
Designer Tom Geismar of Chermayeff & Geismar created a corporate typeface for Abraham & Straus called A&S Gallatin. The photocomposition version was completed in 1976, and the typeface was later released by Linotype in 1986 in Light and Bold weights. It was originally designed as a corporate font for Abraham & Straus, the New York department store. [5] [6]
The A&S Gallatin typeface is documented as part of Geismar’s broader type design work, which also includes the Mobil Oil wordmark and other corporate identity projects developed through Chermayeff & Geismar, the New York studio he co-founded with Ivan Chermayeff in 1957. [7]
Logo Index is an independent educational archive covering logos, visual identities and graphic design history. All trademarks and brand assets remain the property of their respective owners.
