Foot-so-Port
Spade Sole Cap-Toe Oxford Brogue Spectator
Circa: 1930’s

Euro 850

As lovely a shoe as we are likely to see outside of a museum, indeed itself a museum piece. This is a quality seldom seen today, both in terms of design and craftsmanship, a model and an artwork to which even the best modern shoes can only aspire.

Today, almost 100 years later, the artisans of our age continue to be inspired by such masterpieces as this….and they are yet to surpass this great ancestor. Moreover, these shoes are a testament to the claim that well made shoes, properly cared for, last indefinitely. Here is the example, still suitable for practical use, even though, I should hope, only on those occasions that they can be shown and appreciated. In truth, they are destined for the museum, the stage, or the collection of the passionate scholar or aficionado.

Foot-So-Port was a line of shoes from the Musebeck Shoe Company, founded in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin in 1927. After auspicious beginnings –witness the fineness of the shows shown here- the firms products followed the general decline of an industry competing with cheap imports and changing consumer tastes. When still producing their original quality of product, they amassed a considerable customer following due to patented proprietary innovations in construction that, reportedly, afforded extraordinary comfort.

In later years, Musebeck produced military and work shoes of good quality but, even after two consolidations in 1979 and 1991, succumbed to the shrinking market and closed its doors in the 1990s. Their trajectory, beginning with superb examples of early 20th century craftsmanship and design, devolving from high expectations and standards into mass-produced utilitarian models, is an accurate reflection of the tragic story of American shoemaking as a whole and today’s regretable consumer culture of momentary fashion and disposable goods.

Size Details:

Shoe Condition:

Soles original and showing almost no wear. Heels fitted with new, non-slip, rubber lifts. Tops showinf some trivial marking and lining showing some imperfections not visible when worn. Overall, an incredibly fein example for its age.