Edwin Clapp & Son
East Weymouth, Mass – Important Antique Historical
Sealskin/Calfskin, 6-Eyelet, Hand-Lasted, Full Brogue, Wing-Tip, Oxford, Spectator
Circa 1925

This excellent Sealskin-Calfskin combination Spectator can be dated by it relatively pointed toe and half-canvas lining to the first quarter of the 20th century. The use of sealskin has long been prohibited in the civilized world and this shoe is one of the very few that I have ever seen. Practically speaking, this spectator is one-of-a-kind, a hand-lasted (Pic #12) and hand-welted masterpiece, made by one of the earliest American shoe making firms, the Edwin Clapp firm of East Weymouth Mass.

Clapp began in operations as a textile mill in the first quarter of the 19th century, provided uniforms during Civil War. After surviving a catastrophic fire and a subsequent bankruptcy Clapp transformed itself in the middle of the century into a shoemaking operation and remained in operation, to my knowledge, until at least 1969. For much of the early 20th century, the Clapp shoe was synonymous with luxury and considered the panicle of the shoemaker’s craft. Their products were favoured by musicians and other celebrities, businessmen, and well dressed men of leisure. Jelly Roll Morton, speaking of jazz and turn of the century life in New Orleans, remarked in a 1938 recording now preserved in the Library of Congress, “I didn’t rest until I got myself a Stetson hat and a pair of Edwin Clapp shoes”. Clapp sold its products through regular trade channels but also operated two retail stores of their own in New York.

Few shoes in this website or anywhere compare to this elegant historical tour-de-force, either for hand-craftsmanship, for sheer beauty and certainly not for rarity.

Size Details:

Shoe Condition:

This shoe is entirely original. The soles show minimal wear. The heels, also original, show only the first trivial rubbing, else like new. The tops are like new, "neuwertig". These are a wearable museum piece, a collector's item of the highest order.

Edwin Clapp & Son
East Weymouth, Mass – Important Antique Historical
Sealskin/Calfskin, 6-Eyelet, Hand-Lasted, Full Brogue, Wing-Tip, Oxford, Spectator
Circa 1925

Diese Sealskin Spectator stammt aus einem der ältesten amerikanischen Schuhmacher-Firmen: Edwin Clapp & Son. Clapp begann seine Geschäfte als Textil-Fabrik im 1. Viertel des 19. Jahrhunderts, produzierte Uniformen wärend des Bürgerkrieges, überlebte Feuer und Pleiten und blieb, meines Wissens, bis 1969 in Betrieb. Im 20. Jahrhundert stand der Clapp-Schuh lange für puren Luxus, galt als Gipfel der Schuhmacherkunst und wurde sowohl vom gut-gekleideten Bonvivant, als auch in Geschäfts-und Prominentenkreisen getragen.

Auch wenn wir vom Jazz sprechen, vom Leben in New Orleans um die Jahrhundertwende, soll der grosse Jelly Roll Morton (aufgezeichnet 1938 in der Library of Congress) folgendes gesagt haben: “Ich habe nicht geruht, bis ich endlich einen Stetson und ein Paar Clapp-Schuhe mein eigen nennen konnte!” Clapp verkaufte seine Schuhe durch regulären Handel, hatte jedoch auch zwei eigene Grosshandel-Läden in New York.

Size Details:

Shoe Condition:

This shoe is entirely original. The soles show minimal wear. The heels, also original, show only the first trivial rubbing, else like new. The tops are like new, "neuwertig". These are a wearable museum piece, a collector's item of the highest order.