Finding a pair of Johnston & Murphy Hand Made 100’s may not be as difficult as locating a clear photo of a Sasquatch, but the level of difficulty is probably right up there with finding a Pygmy Three-toed Sloth for a pet. The J&M custom shop has made shoes for the likes of Abraham Lincoln (size 14 lace-up boots) and other U.S. Presidents, and entertainers like The Rat Pack since the 1850’s. Unfortunately, the custom shop was closed in the 1990’s when J&M began to outsource its shoe making operations. And that change in corporate direction brought the demise of the Hand Made 100.
The Hand Made 100 was a totally bench made version of J&M’s top-of-the-line Crown Aristocraft shoe and were made by a single cobbler who also made changes to the design, the last, and left/right foot variations to meet an individual customer’s needs. I would argue that the Crown Aristocraft shoe was the best production shoe ever made in the United States. The Hand Made 100 took the Aristocraft show to a whole new level.
I met Domenick DiMeola, the manager and cobbler of the custom shop at a J&M store in Dallas, Texas in the early 1980’s. He was a very personable fellow, born in Italy and schooled in shoe making in England. By the time I met him, he had made custom Hand Made 100’s for the likes of JFK, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, Frank Sinatra, and other famous folks, having started with J&M in 1946. Over the next few years, he made several pairs of shoes for me.