From Peddlers to Merchant Princes: Early Colorado Jewish EntrepreneursJews played a central role in the development of Colorado through their contributions to economic life and development. Denver's first mercantile store was opened by Jewish citizen Fred Salomon in 1859. Before long, stores run by Jewish merchants and their family members in search of work and wealth flourished on the main streets of most Colorado towns including, Denver, Central City, Leadville, Trinidad, and Fairplay. This film focuses on the lives of a number of early merchants, including some who founded national and regional empires: the Shwayder Brothers, who opened what become the world renowned Samsonite Luggage Company, David May, founder of the May Company department stores, Leopold Guldman, proprietor of the Leadville and later Denver's Golden Eagle Store, the city's first popular priced department store, and A.B. Hirschfeld who started the Hirschfeld Press in 1907.