S. Poliakoff’s was established by Samuel Poliakoff (1875-1925) around 1907. After immigrating from Belarius in the early 1890s, Samuel opened a dry goods store in Aiken and then established S. Poliakoff’s next to the post office on East Main Street in Laurens. With the tag line “you are at the right place when you are at Poliakoff’s,” Samuel bought furs and sold clothing for the entire family. He declared bankruptcy in 1912, and in 1914, he opened New York Pawn Shop in Anderson, South Carolina with his wife, Rachel Leah (1888-1969).
Main Image: Advertisement seeking furs. Reprinted from The Laurens Advertiser, February 28, 1912.
Above Image: Advertisement for S. Poliakoff’s. Reprinted from The Laurens Advertiser, October 11, 1911.