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Edward Klauber and Edith Klauber

A 19th century view inside Rosa Klauber’s handmade lace business with the caption “Detail-Verkaufsraum.”
The “Spitzenhaus Rosa Klauber” lace shop at Theatinerstrasse 35, founded by Rosa Klauber. Photo courtesy of Franz Kimmel/Jewish Museum Munich

Stocks, lace, and lingerie. Their Fund at The Trust supports a variety of New York City nonprofits.

Edward Klauber (1889-1959)

Edith Klauber (1895-1992)

The Klauber family name has a long connection to fine lace. In the early 1860s, Rosa Klauber began selling intricate handmade laces in Munich, Germany. The company steadily grew—including a branch in New York City—until it became a leading producer of lace and lingerie worldwide.

In October 1869, Rosa’s son David, then 17, arrived in New York from northern Germany aboard the Rhein. He became a naturalized citizen in 1876, married Eliza Shottick, and, over the next few years, built a small wholesale lace-importing business—and a family.

After the birth of three daughters and a son, the family returned to Europe. Edward Klauber was born in St. Gallen, Switzerland, on June 18, 1889; his younger brother, Murray, followed two years later.

With the machine-made lace business booming in Europe, David moved back to New York and opened David Klauber Embroideries and Laces at Broadway and 18th Street.  Four years later, his family settled in the city.

From 1899 to 1907, David Klauber also had a partnership with Michael Horn called Klauber, Horn & Co. The business changed its name to Klauber Bros. in 1907, and a second generation joined the ranks of lace salespeople, including Edward, Murray, their older brother, Arthur, and two cousins.

Edward married Edith P. Hellman on April 28, 1918, in Manhattan. Their daughter, Enid, was born in 1921. Five years later, with sales of lace and embroidered cloth declining, Klauber Bros. closed, and Edward bought a seat on the New York Stock Exchange.

Back in Munich, the original Klauber lace business was confiscated by the Nazis in 1938. Two of Edward’s cousins, Ludwig and Ernest, fled Germany and arrived in New York in 1939.

In 1943, Ludwig and Ernest revived Klauber Bros. Laces in Manhattan. Today, the fifth and sixth generations of Rosa Klauber’s family operate looms in Rhode Island that tip the scales at 17 tons and are nearly 10 feet tall. The business offices of Klauber Brothers Inc. are still in New York’s Garment District.

Edward died of a heart attack in 1959 at age 70. Edith died in 1992 at age 97. In 1977 she established the Edward and Edith Klauber Fund in The Trust which has helped nonprofits such as Bushwick Starr, IndieSpace, Interfaith Medical Center, and JASA.