7The executive offices of Eversharp in New York City were beyond sumptuous. A popular advertising slogan of the time was, “A title on the door means a Karastan on the floor,” referring to a premium brand of carpeting. In his richly appointed art-deco office, at an enormous teakwood desk that floated on a sea of the plush stuff, sat Martin Straus, a sleek heavy-hitter in the Madison Avenue marketing game. His taste ran to silk suits at a time when his conservative peers were proud of their stuffy worsted wool. His shirts were custom-made, starched-linen broadcloth, and his silk ties were the finest Italian. His silver hair and clipped mustache were barbered weekly at his desk, at the same time he received a meticulous manicure from a comely technician.
He was a man not to be underestimated
