A Store to Remember

Isaac Magnin—the lonely, introspective son of a Dutch professor who courageously survived a perilous sea voyage to America in search of gold…. His wife, Mary Ann Cohen—the shy young daughter of an Orthodox Rabbi who threaded her way from humble European beginnings to become the pioneer of San Francisco fashion.

This is their story, a story of innovation and fortitude. It is the history of a powerful matriarch who trained her children and her grandchildren in every facet of the retail industry. Beginning in 1876 in a tiny corner store-front, the Magnin family went on to build one of the most famous fashion dynasties in the world: I. Magnin & Co. which reigned supreme for 118 years.