Maisel's began operation in 1923 in Albuquerque, New Mexico and quickly established a reputation for selling high-quality Native American art & jewelry to visitors who stepped off the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway's Southwest Chief.

In 1939, Its iconic Route 66 store (designed by John Gaw Meem) opened its doors and became a destination to watch hundreds of American Indian silversmiths at work and shop for souvenirs of the Southwest

In its heyday it supplied the Fred Harvey Company with much of the jewelry it sold across the West in its hotels and curio shops.