Shoe
Object number2012.122.64 a-d
Manufacturer
Step Master
Manufacturer
Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company
Manufacturer
Weyerhaeuser Company
Date1940-1990
OriginSt. Louis, MO
MediumLeather, wood, cotton, rubber, paper
Credit LineGift of Joan and Steve Isack
DescriptionPair of boy's black leather shoes with slight heel. Black laces with white stitches around the sides between the sole and upper porion. Brown bottom sole. Rectangular multicolored cardboard shoe box with images of children playing on three sides. Puzzles and games are printed on the bottom of the box. Lid depicts and describes various shoes and their qualities.Dimensionsa) 7.50" L, 3.00" W, 2.75" Hb) 7.50" L, 3.00" W, 2.75" H
c) 8.75" L, 5.00" W, 3.062" H
d) 8.875" L, 5.25" W, 1.062" H
Marks(a)
Inside heel "Step Master / SHOES / COMBINATION LAST / SPLIT LEATHER INNERSOLE / & (O?)TR LINING".
On bottom of heel "WINGFOOT / GOOD(image of winged foot)YEAR".
(b)
Inside heel "Step Master / SHOES / COMBINATION LAST / SPLIT LEATHER INNERSOLE / & (O?)TR LINING".
On bottom of heel "WINGFOOT / GOOD(image of winged foot)YEAR".
(c)
On one end "GG-5 Step Master / PLN / SHOES / 2-2857 9 1/2 D" with a boy and girl majorette on each end.
Printed on inside edge is a triangle symbol with "Weyerhaeuser / Company / St. Louis" underneath.
Inside edge "No. 4".
(d)
Top center "Step Master Shoes / ARE "TAILORED" TO THE CHANGING NEEDS AND TASTES / OF GROWING BOYS AND GIRLS"
Top reads (clockwise): "EXTRA WEAR, EXTRA COMFORT / The one-piece leather quarter / linings have no back seams, / top bands or ridges to rip or rub! / Leather Arch Protectors."
"STYLE-RIGHT SMARTNESS / For dress and party. . .makes an / instant hit with young misses!"
". . . always correctly fitted at your friendly Step Master store"
"FIT TINY FEET / Air holes in the linings help / keep active feet fresh and comfy. / Leather Arch Protectors."
"SUPER FLEXIBILITY / For youthful activity. . .light in / appearance, long in wear."
On end edges "FOR BOYS AND GIRLS"
Printed on inside edge is a triangle symbol with "Weyerhaeuser / Company / St. Louis" underneath.
Inside edge "No. 4".
Historical NotesPart of a collection from the Ilkuvitz Clothing Store in Clairton, Pennsylvania. The store was founded by Edward J. Ilkuvitz, an Orthodox Jew who immigrated to the United States from Hungary in the early 1900s. He started out peddling to the mill community of Clairton, Pennsylvania, before finally opening a store in the 1920s. The store was located on Miller Avenue and Edward Ilkuvitz built the store and the apartment above it, which still bears the name on the building. Edward's son Norman took over the store and operated it into the 1990s. The last 10 to 20 years that the store operated, Norman did not order much inventory, and it was mainly a social spot for some of the older residents in Clairton. Norman kept merchandise from the 1940s on the shelves and it remained a time capsule of a typical 1940s/1950s general store in a mill community. The collection includes a sampling of records and inventory to represent the kinds of things people were purchasing and much of the records show who Edward and Norman were ordering from, stretching back to the early 1900s when Jewish wholesalers on Fifth Avenue were providing much of the merchandise to outlying general stores. The collection also includes a small sampling of items from the family's apartments above the store that represent their Jewish heritage.
Related person
Edward J. Ilkuvitz
Related person
Norman Ilkuvitz
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