"B Shakman & Co wooden dollhouse chair and desk.  Made in Korea.

B. Shackman sold an amazing array of novelty toys, miniatures for dollhouses, and reproductions of antique toys and paper ephemera.  “It’s not a chic boutique or a glamorous department store, but around Valentine’s Day, B. Shackman & Company, a tiny no-frills card and toy store at Fifth Avenue and 16th Street, was packed with shoppers looking for the obscure. And the autograph books near the register are testimony to the heavy flow of celebrities who frequent the place. With the big day just around the corner, the store’s shelves are packed with reproductions of more than 100 colorful vintage valentines, like a rose petal, along with mechanical toys, old-fashioned paper dolls, snow domes, jump ropes and jacks.

“The business, which began as a pushcart in 1898, has attracted stars like Cindy Crawford, Ed Harris, Jane Curtin, Bridget Fonda, Matthew Broderick, Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins. ”I’m not great with names and faces of the famous types, but Flo from ‘Alice’ came in just last week and did quite a bit of shopping,” the owner, Jim Lillemoe, said. That’s Flo, a k a Polly Holliday, right.”

David Shackman immigrated from Germany and was 47-years-old according to the 1880 U.S. Census, making him 17 years older than his wife Bertha. The business was founded by the husband and wife who lived in Wilkes Barre, Pa., and then NYC. After David’s death on March 25, 1898, Bertha managed the business. In 1900, 51-year-old Bertha lived at 87 E. 111th Street on the Upper East Side. While the first store was at  39 W. 4th Street, apparently it moved to 50 E. 10th Street by 1900. Bertha’s three oldest sons, Alfred (29), Edgar (25), and Emil (21) likely helped with the business. Bertha was killed in 1925 at age 76 when she was hit by a car at Amsterdam Avenue and 136th Street. Bertha’s great grandson Dan Shackman Jacoby took over the business in 1935.