Designation: Founder

After their first batches of nearly text-only ads achieved outstanding results, Albert Kiffer and Elsa Sommaire decided to elevate their work, and began looking for an art director whose ideas meshed with theirs. At the time, Sommaire was dating a man named Elbert Malandro. His twin brother, Delbert, was an illustrator with a history of … More

Before Albert Kiffer could begin creating ads, he had to find someone to write them, so he placed a help-wanted ad in a New York newspaper. The woman he hired—from among 12 people who showed up at his shoe store with résumés in hand—was Elsa Sommaire, fresh out of college with an English degree and … More

Born into a wealthy family that went from riches to rags virtually overnight in the Great Depression, Albert Kiffer capitalized on his mother’s obsession with shoes—and his knowledge of her collection, given that he was assigned to take care of it as one of his household chores—to find work, and eventually prosper, selling footwear at … More