Apps Tech Tip #591: A Portrait of S.N. Shure as a Young Man

During the Centennial of Shure Incorporated, Tech Tips are planned that document lesser-known aspects of our history. In this Tech Tip, readers will see rare images of Sidney Natkin Shure and his family from the era before he started the Shure Radio Company in 1925.

Let’s first remember Mr. Shure at age 59. The photo below, taken in 1961, was the favorite of Mrs. Shure. This is an image familiar to many readers.

S.N. Shure (his preferred form of address) was born in Chicago, March 27, 1902. Here is the earliest photograph of him that we have in the archive.

In 1910, brothers Nathan and Mandel Shure were captured in this photo, along with the yet unidentified “H. Shure” and toddler Eli Fink – who later in life would represent Shure Brothers Company as a corporate attorney. Note the familial resemblance between N. Shure (below) and S.N. Shure (1961 photo).

***Nathan Shure, Eli Fink, Mandel Shure, H. Shure, Chicago, 1910***

Around 1914, the family of Bessie and Mandel Shure posed for a portrait on the front stoop of their Albany Avenue home in Chicago.

***Family of Bessie and Mandel Shure, Chicago, circa 1914***
*Clockwise from upper left:* *Sidney: 1902 – 1995*, *Mandel: 1871- 1948*, *Arnold Isadore: 1906 – 1992*, *Bessie Natkin: 1876 – 1928*, *Rochelle: 1913- 1915*, *Samuel: 1904 – 1964*

Brothers Sidney and Samuel shared a fascination for radio, an emerging technology in the early 20^th century. Below is a photo from 1917 showing Samuel, Sidney, and a playmate listening to a homemade radio set. The January 1917 magazine held by Samuel, Electrical Experimenter, contains instructions on building a variety of simple radio detection circuits.

***Samuel, Sidney, unidentified, Chicago, 1917***

S.N. attended the University of Chicago as an undergraduate. Here he is with his mom, Bessie, on the university campus.

***S.N. and Bessie, University of Chicago, circa 1922***

S.N. earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Geography. The Shure archive holds his handwritten research paper which was required for graduation: “The Archaeology of Britain or the Prehistoric Invasions and Cultures of Britain.” Dated March 1923, the dissertation is twenty-eight pages in length and features hand-drawn maps.

***S.N. Shure research paper title page, Chicago, March 1923***

***Certificate of graduation, University of Chicago***

***University graduate S.N. Shure, Chicago, June 1923***

In 1925, Mandel Shure loaned $12,000 to his eldest son so he could start a catalog company specializing in AM radio kits and parts. The Shure Radio Company opened for business on April 25, 1925.

***Mr. Shure at his desk, Shure Radio Company, Chicago, 1926***

Related information: The University of Chicago

S.N. Shure: Industry Pioneer

Arcana – mysterious or specialized knowledge

Nathan Shure, paternal uncle of S.N. Shure, is an important historical figure in Chicago’s catalog business. In 1888, at the age of nineteen, he founded the N. Shure Company, a wholesale mail-order house for general merchandise. [“N. Shure” sounds like the word “ensure.”] Later Nathan owned and invested in other companies, such as Strombecker Corporation, then a leading maker of bubble-blowing toys, cap guns, die-cast metal cars, wood blocks, and slot racing sets. Nathan died in 1952 leaving an estate of $30 million; $365 million in 2025 currency.