Treasure trove: A family recently unearthed a shoe store that was opened by their grandparents in the 1940s but that had been closed since the 1960s
Posted on 12/07/2014 4:41:47 AM PST by NYer
An American family have unearthed an Aladdin's cave of mint-condition vintage shoes in an old building they inherited from their grandparents.
The building operated as a shoe store from the 1940s until the 1960s, but the doors had been locked for decades.
Until now.
One of the family members posted the rare find to online noticeboard Reddit recently, but stopped short of revealing the location, so as to prevent any break-ins.
Treasure trove: A family recently unearthed a shoe store that was opened by their grandparents in the 1940s but that had been closed since the 1960s
Rare find: Many of the hundreds of pairs of shoes locked inside the building are in good-as-new condition, and feature classic brands like Converse
Classic: The collection, which provide a snapshot to an era long passed, is likely worth a pretty penny
Unearthed: The building was recently unlocked after being shut for decades
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Cue the picture of Al Bundy.
Sooooooooo esoteric this AM bert. (’
Or you can buy a $70 pair of sneakers that will last a year.
It all depends on if you worship a throw away culture. You can buy modern Gillette plastic razors with cartridges that run $4-5 each, or buy a metal Gillette Tech razor from the 40s on Ebay for $15 and use DE razors running 10 cents each that give a better shave than a cartridge.
Folks make their choices, and most now choose what lasts for months. We elect throw away level politicians as well.
Nope. Radiation exposure was too intense:
Radiation Exposures While the exposure rates associated with these machines varied considerably, the measurements reported by various authors are reasonably consistent. According to Moeller (1996), measurements performed during the late 1940s indicated that the doses to the feet ranged from 7 to 14 R for a 20 second exposure. Doses to the pelvis ranged from 30 to 170 mrem. He also noted that surveys at the time indicated that more than 60 percent of inspected machines exceeded the American Standards Association recommendation of 2 R to the feet per five second exposure. According to Duffin and Hayter (2000), a 1948 survey of x-ray machines in Detroit indicated that the exposure rates at the position of the feet ranged from 16 to 75 R/min. Measurements performed by Williams (1949) ranged from 0.5 to 5.8 R/second to the feet. He also reported exposure rates that were above 100 mR/hr at a distance of ten feet from the front of the unit. Bavley (1950) reported measurements of 1 to 175 mR/hr (60 mR/hr average) at a height of 18 inches above the floor and 9 inches away from the sides of the machine. The exposure rates 5 feet in front of the machine and 18 inches above the floor were as high as 65 to 160 mR/hr (average: 114 mR/hr) Despite these relatively high exposures, there were no reported injuries to shoe store customers. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the operators of these machines. Many shoe salespersons put their hands into the x-ray beam to squeeze the shoe during the fitting. As a result, one saleswoman who had operated a shoe fitting fluoroscope 10 to 20 times each day over a ten year period developed dermatitis of the hands. One of the more serious injuries linked to the operation of these machines involved a shoe model who received such a serious radiation burn that her leg had to be amputated (Bavley 1950).
https://www.orau.org/ptp/collection/shoefittingfluor/shoe.htm
I remember the Jingle for Weatherbird shoes from the Pinky Lee show.
THose old style razors are for sale again at Walgreens Under Rick Harrison.s from Pawnstars brand.
I forget where I saw this (FB maybe?) but somebody restored one of those shoe-fit fluoroscope machines, and had to have the radiation emitter removed and disposed of by a professional hazardous waste company...even just sitting there, it was emitting a dangerous amount of radiation.
I wonder what the real condition of many of those shoes is, beyond just looking good...rubber and leather don’t age well if they’re not cared for, even if just sitting around.
Oh boy, I,m old now so can I have a pair of those black laceup hight tops like grandma wore?
(1) Everyone knew everything!
(2) No coincidences! and
(3) Distances can be dealt with.
I err in many ways, I’m sure, but I err consistently in those three directions."
They are also for sale new on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=double+edge+razor
And used on Ebay:
Ebay will give a quality razor at around $15-20 shipped. Amazon has a number of very nice entry level ones around $25-35. Stainless steel ones that will last just about forever start at $70 (Weber makes them).
$70 sounds like a lot until you realize a year of blades runs $10. But the one I normally reach for is the $15 Gillette Tech made in the late 40s. I like it enough that I bought a spare - about $25 for one that came in the box and looks like it has barely seen any use. It was made in 1947. The one in the picture could be replated and essentially be a new razor made of solid metal in the USA, ready to go for another 50-70 years of use.
That is why Gillette doesn’t sell them any more. There isn’t enough profit margin on the blades and the razors themselves last forever. Buy one you like at 20 & you won’t need to buy another one for the rest of your life. Where is the profit made in that?
My Red Wing cowboy boots will also last a long, long time. I need to take my black ones into town and get them resoled...at 24 years of age. The pair I bought last spring ran me $225 but are built like tanks. At a time when sneakers often run $100+, spending $225 for boots that will probably last me the rest of my life is a pretty good deal.
I was wondering if they had one of those Xray machines still in the back room.
Our family used them many times.
I tried sketchers and still have a pair.
I went retro on shavings last Christmas...double edge razor, 100 blades, shaving mug with shaving soap, badger hair brush...
About 55 dollars though Amazon.com
I have not spent a penny since on shaving....and the best thing is I get the best shave ever...
Are you serious? Original price for 1940’s-60’s shoes was a few dollars. There are collectors for everything and I would bet this collection is worth some major bucks.
You posted this once before, and I didn’t bookmark it.
Not making the same mistake.
Outstanding observation.
I have several pairs of Allen Edmonds shoes. They are all made in Milwaukee. In addition to them being great shoes, when they need to be resoled, you mail them (in a self-sealing bag they supply) back to Milwaukee.
They then do a lot more than resole the shoe - it is completely reconditioned. I sent mine, polished, back to the shop. My polished pair came back polished, and in a felt bag. My wingtips (not polished) came back in a regular plastic bag.
They took the time to shine my spit-shined shoe on top of reconditioning.
I have a pair going on 20 now. Unless you have a rack of $1,000 Churches shoes, I’m not sure there are better shoes available.
My Ecco’s fell apart quickly. I had an Italian pair that were horrible as well.
Allen Edmonds - can’t recommend them highly enough. I should have sprung for the boat shoe way back when. Can’t tell you how many pairs of those I’ve purchased since deciding not to buy the AE’s.
Ahhh the days before tennis shoes style was the game.
Absolutely agree. Skechers are the only running/athletic shoes I buy.
For summer, the Go Walks slip-ons are fantastic, and as light as a feather.
No doubt there will be a lot of replies in this thread reminiscing back to the "good old days" when a pair of shoes lasted you for years. What they don't remember however is how you had to constantly get them re-soled and you had to constantly get them shined. The streets of most major cities in those days had "shoe-shiners" and men would constantly line up to get their shoes shined. No thanks, I don't want to go back to that.
These days, unless you have a pair of very expensive wingtips, you don't need to bother about getting shoes re-soled. You just toss them and get another pair. Now some might see that as a bad thing but I see it as a good thing that shoes are so cheap that we can do that.
Back in the "good old days", even the best shoes were not waterproof. That's why businessmen had to carry rubbers or "galoshes" around with them.
But best of all about today is that men's styles in shoes have changed radically where it is now acceptable to go sockless in boat shoes or sandals in their free time, when in the past, men had to wear heavy, clunky shoes all year round, even outside of work. Even businessmen have more comfortable shoe options in the hot weather.
I'm old enough to remember when wingtips were mandated on businessmen at all times, except maybe when you were around the house or actually out on a boat, where you might get away with boat shoes and loafers.
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