*NEW – Important, Historic, Pre-War BOOK SHOES “Spade Sole” Oxford, Cir.1935: 44,5D (US 11D)
€850.00
VENDUTO a Sig. C. C., Pasian di prato- UdineSize: 44-44.5 [US.10.5-11] [UK 9.5-10}
Styles: Brogues, Collectors Shoes/Object d'Art, Oxfords
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Book Shoes
Empire State Building
New York
Circa 1931-35
Antique 6-Eyelet “Spade Sole” Cap-Toe Half Brogue Oxford
Euro 850This is a jobber shoe made for Book Shoes, one of the original super-luxury stores occupying the ground floor retail spaces of the then newly built Empire State Building. This shoe is entirely original with its Spade-shaped Goodyear welted sole sculpted over a steel shank, sewn with contrasting twine and with original O’Sullivan’s rubber heel.
Size Details:
US 11D........UK 10E.......European 44,5D, for the medium width foot.
Shoe Condition:
New and unworn. The tops are as new, the leather unmarked and soft and supple as new, astonishing for a shoe that is three-quarters of a century old. These are a wearable museum piece, one of the treasures of American shoemaking, a collector's item of the highest order.
The heels of this generation, when rubber, were most often provided by the O'Sullivan Rubber Company, the late 19th century invention of a printer, Humphrey O'Sullivan, intended to provide better traction in his print shop. O'sullivan eventually patented the idea and supplied rubber heels to shoe manufacturers across America.