Seventy-five years ago, a confident young entrepreneur in Chicago embarked on his career, combining an interest in sound with his work.
On April 25, 1925, Sidney N. Shure rented a one-room office at 19 South Wells Street for five dollars per month and founded the Shure Radio Company, a business that sold kits for building radios at a time when factory-made radios were not yet available.
As a child, S. N. Shure was fascinated by radio. In 1913, when he was eleven years old, he received his license to operate an amateur radio station.
Even at this young age, Mr. Shure’s instincts would serve him well. Listening to the radio that he built aroused his interest in many subjects.
By 1928, the company’s sales were climbing. At this time, S. N. Shure’s brother, Samuel, was invited to join the new business, and the company name was changed to Shure Brothers Company. Despite rapid growth, unfortunately, Shure Brothers had some tough times in store.
In 1929, the stock market crashed, and the Great Depression gripped the U.S. and the world.
In addition, factory-built radios entered the marketplace, making it unnecessary for consumers to buy parts kits to build their own radios. These hard times forced S. N. Shure to lay off most of his employees.
With the steep decline in business, Samuel Shure decided to pursue a different career. (Though the “brother” left the firm in 1930, the company retained “Brothers” in its name until 1999, when it became Shure Incorporated.)
While selling radio parts kits, S. N. Shure had published a mail-order catalog which advertised other products as well.
Among them was a microphone produced by a small manufacturer, for which Shure Brothers was the exclusive distributor.
After the depression, S. N. Shure decided to go into the microphone business.
