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Details:

* Make / brand: Stetson, “The Stetson Shoe”

* Manufacturer: Stetson Shoe Co., Inc. (E. H. Stetson & Co.), Weymouth, Massachusetts (Established 1845 — dissolved 1973; not to be confused with John B. Stetson Co. [Stetson Hats], despite the fact that John B. and E. H. evidently were distant cousins, and that both companies were among the elite in their respective trades)

* Country of manufacture: United States of America

* Decade: 1940s, 40s, Forties, Nineteen-Forties

* Shoe type: Split-apron two-texture (monochrome) oxford spectator

* Period / style / look: Film Noir, Art Deco, Swing, Bop, Swagger, Dandy, Dapper, Swank, Apparel Arts, Esquire, Golden Age of Menswear, Golden-Age Hollywood, Gangster, 52nd Street, Café Society, Minton’s

* Size: Men’s 11 A US / 44.5 EU / Women’s 12.5 US (size imprinted on shoe interior, but please see actual measurements below)

* Upper material: Calf leather (apron, tongue, facings, counter) and suede (vamp, quarters)

* Color combination: Black on black: black calf leather and black suede upper, black outsole, and English tan kidskin and natural fabric lining

* Outsole material: High quality bovine soling leather

* Insole: Flexible leather

* Lining: Kidskin, fabric

* Heel type: Stacked leather with branded “The Stetson Shoe” rubber top-lift

* Welt: Goodyear

* Laces: Black 4 mm flat cotton

* Eyelets: Hidden punched

* Edge finishing: Flat

* Branding:

— Inset red and white diamond-shaped “The Stetson Shoe” woven label sewn into window in lining of right shoe (label dates shoes to 1940s when the company ran ads promoting footwear “labelled in the lining,” which presented the red diamond label as a guarantee of quality; strangely enough, previously, in the late 1920s-early 1930s, Stetson had used a diamond-shaped symbol comprised of two intersecting boxy S’s, which strongly resembled the NSDAP swastika)

— Diamond “The Stetson Shoe” logo printed in gold foil on inner heel liner of both shoes

— Same logo embossed on rubber top-lifts / heel-pads

* Markings inside shoe (in heel area): 11 A | 3HS28064 | 1 | 1491

* Swell details throughout

* Cutting-edge design

* Outstanding craftsmanship

* Long, pointed last in line with Stetson aesthetic

* Infallible quality

* Stetson footwear can be found in the costume collections of the Met and other museums

* 100% authentic vintage 1940s split-apron spectators made to the highest standards in Weymouth, Mass. during the Golden Age of the needle trades in America

* NOT REPRO

* NOT NEW

Measurements:

* Insole width: 3 ¾”

* Insole length: 11 ¾”

* Outsole width: 4”

* Outsole length: 12 ¼”

* Outsole thickness: 8 mm

* Heel height measured from chest: 5/8”

* Heel height measured from upper edge: 1”

* Waist: 2 ½”

Note on fit: These shoes would suit best a taller yet slender-footed gent. Please carefully peruse the measurements indicated above, as well as all photos provided, before purchasing. No returns will be granted based on fit unless the measurements are shown to be vastly inaccurate — a highly unlikely eventuality.

Condition:

* In splendid shape for septua-/octogenarian footwear

* Structurally solid

* Upper calfskin/suede still supple

* Outsoles and heels show light to moderate wear, and are likely to endure for years to come

* Cracking evident on outer edge of top-lifts/heel-pads

* Slight buckling/rippling along topline of left shoe

* Slight crocking of lining along topline interior

* Minor surface scuffs on toe and counter

* Typical light creasing of vamp leather in MTP joint area

* Inner heel liners, featuring gold foil “The Stetson Shoe” logo imprint, well preserved with signs of normal wear

* Linings lovely

* Laces relatively unscathed

Please closely review all photos provided.

Inquiries and offers welcome.

Price: $350

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