BRYCE BROS. AND

GEORGE DUNCAN & SONS

GLASS SHOE COLLECTION

By Theodore D. Delude

Preface

For some time now, I’ve thought about putting something together that is a more definitive record about my hobby, collecting glass shoes. This record is about just two glass companies, Bryce Bros. and George Duncan & Sons. Having a picture record of all the shoes that both these manufacturers made in all the colors is what I hope to accomplish here. Along with the pictures, I’ve decided to put myself out there and add some of my own thoughts and conclusions about these shoes. It is my intent to add some new bits of information that I have learned about these shoes. To those few that may find any of this worth thinking about, whatever your thoughts may be, please enjoy the pictures of some very pretty and hard to find shoes. In putting together this record, I definitely had plenty of help, especially from my son, Ted. I’m computer illiterate, so to do this, there was a plenty of, “ Ted, I need HELP!!” Without his patience and help, none of this would have taken shape. He’s been great! I also want to thank Sharon Borgini for sharing pictures of her fantastic collection to fill in the blanks to complete this picture record. Without her shoes and encouragement, this wouldn’t be anywhere near as complete as it is. Those pictures that Sharon supplied are marked with an asterisk ( * ). In reading the following, you will realize this wasn’t professionally put together. This is a home project, using a home desktop computer and a hand held inexpensive digital camera without special lighting. There are obvious shortcomings in the writing and the quality of the pictures. This was meant to shed a little more information and pictures on a hobby that some may find as interesting as I do. Hopefully, I accomplished that.

Thoughts of a Glass Shoe Collector

How it all started

Collecting Glass Shoes has been a hobby and somewhat of a passion of mine since 1990.I had never collected anything before until one day my wife and I happened to be shopping in a mall in Federal Way, Washington, and that’s where it all began. Antiques for sale, displayed on tables in the isles. My wife was interested and started to browse with me tagging along. She spotted a ceramic shoe that reminded her of her grandmother, who had kept hairpins in it on her dresser. Of course, she had to buy it and several more before we left the mall. That was the start of looking for shoes, first ceramic, than glass ones. That was a time when antique dealers were starting to frequent the malls and I started to take notice. Each time we spotted the dealers at the mall, we started to look for shoes and I found it somewhat intoxicating. Before long, I took over the search for shoes and started buying only glass ones. I liked them better because to me they were nicer and better made than the run of the mill ceramic ones. It wasn’t long before I was the one that wanted to find and buy more shoes and got really hooked. We started to go to antique malls and shops looking for more glass shoes. My wife and two sons started to protest going to look for more shoes nearly every weekend. They got tired of it, but I never did. Eventually, collecting shoes became my thing, exclusively. Why was I collecting glass shoes? Why not something more masculine? Well, I think the collecting bug bit me, the hunt. Glass shoes were abundant, not very expensive and didn’t take up much room, at least in the beginning. Like many beginning collectors, I bought any glass shoe I didn’t already have that wasn’t very expensive. It wasn’t very long that I discovered that there was a collector’s reference book available and I bought Libby Yalom’s Shoes of Glass, her first book. Now I had some guidance and a better idea where I was headed. Her book was a tremendous help in identifying what was out there for a collector to look for. Not to mention all the background information on each different shoe and colored pictures to help identify my latest purchase. Actually, I would have to say that most of what I know about glass shoes is attributed to what I’ve learned from both of Libby’s two books. I call her second book, Shoes of Glass 2, my “bible” on glass shoes. I’m still learning from it. I’m sure I will continue to learn more from her book as time goes on. I have other reference books on glass shoes that are helpful such as Ruth Webb Lee’s book Victorian Glass, the section on glass shoes, and Earlene Wheatley’s two books, Collecting Glass Shoes. For me, Libby’s Shoes of Glass 2 is the one to have. 1

Defining my collection The first few years, I bought many glass shoes. Most of these weren’t expensive and were what I call the common ones. These were the ones that were usually easier to find and the most plentiful. Taking a suggestion from Libby’s first book, I started to catalog my purchases on 3 x 5 index cards. I wrote on each card the type of shoe and a very brief description of it from her book. I used her identification numbers to quick reference each one. I also wrote the month and year purchased, location (city and state) and price paid. I also placed a small sticker on each shoe with the corresponding number on it from her book. All that because I read her book and liked her suggestion. I’m glad I did. Before long, our first display case was stuffed full of glass shoes and a small bell collection that we had inherited when my mother passed. So, what does an out of control collector do? Right, buy another display cabinet so I can start filling that one up to satisfy my addiction. When that one was nearly full, my wife started to get a little irritated. She informed me that it was time to make a choice. Either stop buying more shoes, or move out and take all your shoes with you. I had to think about how to quote that as those aren’t quite the words she used, but you get the idea. I had a decision to make. I really liked collecting glass shoes and I knew I had a lot more to find out there. Libby’s books showed me what I was missing. But, my wife was getting annoyed and that was living dangerously. Then it dawned on me what I should do about it. By this time I had retired from working thirty years for the “phone company”. That’s what former Bell company dinosaurs call it. I still do. Retiring also cut down on my buying anything I wanted as I felt guilty about spending the sums I had been spending. I had discovered ebay in 1997 and became one of those out of control buyers. Those were the days of high prices and I was right in there with the best of them for several years. The fact that I was now retired, buying too many and spending too much on shoes, plus my wife after me, led me to this decision that pleased everyone. I decided to specialize, buy only shoes that I didn’t already have, made by just two manufacturers, Bryce Bros. and George Duncan & Sons. As my collection grew, I really liked the older ones the most, especially the Bryce and Duncan shoes. It didn’t hurt that they both made a wide variety of different shoes, either. I liked the sharpness and definition of these Victorian era shoes over the roundness of the newer ones made more recently. Both companies made shoes with advertising on the soles of some of them which I have become very interested in. As it turns out, I have quite a few of all the ones they made in all the colors, but I don’t have them all. The difficulty in finding those few I don’t have is what keeps me going now. That and trying to learn more about the companies that advertised on these shoes. There’s more out there to be found and I’m still watching on ebay nearly every day for them. Searching ebay has been my best source for finding those elusive few I’m still looking for to fill out my collection. I’ve basically stopped going to antique stores and shows because I haven’t been finding anything there in a very long time. Even the pickings on ebay are slim, only buying several on there the past few years. But I’m still searching, still have that burning desire. 2

Bryce Brothers Shoes

I think a brief history about Bryce Brothers Glass Company is in order. There were a number of Bryce brothers involved in the glass making industry and several broke away to start different companies during the Victorian years. The Bryce Brothers that made the glass shoes started in business in 1882 in Pittsburgh, PA. In 1891, Bryce Brothers merged with 17 other glass companies to form US Glass Co., and was then known as Factory “B”. That is when Andrew H. and James McDonald Bryce left Factory “B” and formed their own independently owned Bryce Brothers company ( 1893-1965). The pressed glass molds of the first Bryce Brothers that became Factory “B” became the property of the US Glass Co. from 1891 up until around 1930. This account is from the reference book Bryce, Higbee and J.B. Higbee Glass, written by Lola and Wayne Higby, page 6. This is important because of the findings I have come up with concerning the advertising shoes made with one of the Bryce molds. Lately, I’ve become interested in finding out more about the companies that advertised on the sole of one of the Bryce Brothers patterns, This shoe is known as number 27 in Libby’s books, on page 102 in Shoes of Glass 2. There were a number of companies that advertised. This is the list of those companies. THE BELL SEDALIA MO wide heel 1903-1906 CALKINS-WHITE BROS. FURNITURE CO. 1889-1928 CINDERELLA STOVES & RANGES w 1897-1910 EARL THEATRE w 1923-1962 WM. ERLANGER & CO. n 1881-1920 FONTIUS w 1906-1923 FORT WAYNE OUTFITTERS CO. w 1906-1908 JOS. KUHN & SON n 1865-2010 H.J. LOEB PUNXSUTAWNEY PA. w 1905-- MEIS’ STORE w 1923-1963 MICHAELSON’S w 1906-1911 MILLER’S DEPARTMENT STORE w 1875-1973 SEL-ON-SITE GREAT CLEANER w unknown SUREFIT SHOE STORE 76 FRANKSTOWN AVE. w unknown YOUNG’S NEW PIER w 1905- w – wide heel n - narrow heel These are the dates I’ve come up with when these companies started in business. The conclusion I’ve come to is that many of these companies didn’t exist until 1905. That means that these advertising shoes weren’t made by Bryce Bros., who went out of business when they merged into the U S Glass. Co. It is evident that the original Bryce Brothers mold for this shoe was continued to be used by the U S Glass Co. after 1891, or by another glass company using the original Bryce mold, because of the two ads found in Butler Brothers dated in 1892 and 1898. These ads are found in Libby’s Shoes of Glass 2 on pages 102 & 103, figures 12 & 13. 3

I’ve also been informed that this Bryce shoe or slipper has two different heels. Figure 13 on page 103 in Shoes of Glass 2 shows a smaller sized heel which dates from 1892. Figure 12 on page 102 dates from 1898 which shows the heel wider than the one in figure 13. I’ve noticed this in the shoes in my collection, thanks to Sharon. I’ve marked with a w or n those that I have in my collection. So, I’m guessing that there were two moulds for this shoe. These shoes, the ones without advertising, also have a patent date on some while others don’t. The marked ones read PAT”D Oct 19 1886. Other Bryce shoes also come with and without a patent marking on them. Possibly those without a patent marking were made before or shortly after 1886? This seems a distinct possibility because a number of the Duncan shoes come this way also, with and without the markings. All of these # 27 advertising shoes or slippers come in just crystal or clear glass. The only exception is the Cinderella Stoves & Ranges slipper that comes in crystal, amber and blue. The plain sole of this slipper comes in these colors. crystal w w – wide heel n -- narrow heel crystal with gold trim n crystal with dull gold or goofus paint n amethyst w milk w amber w blue w emerald green n vaseline w frosted w ruby w ruby is a rare one. 4

Bryce Bros. shoe advertising companies The same mould was used for all the ad shoes. In order to make these different ad shoes, all that was needed was to place a plate stamped with the advertisement in the mould before pressing the shoes. The following is information about the companies that advertised on the # 27 Bryce Bros. slipper. I like to call this slipper # 27 because that is the number that Libby Yalom gave it in her books. It just makes it easier to identify which Bryce Bros. shoe we’re talking about. The following is not totally complete. Nor do I claim it is totally accurate. What I do say is that what information I have come up with so far helps to back my claim that US Glass Co. or another company continued to make this Bryce Bros. slipper into the first and second decades of the 20th century. See what you think after reading what I have found listed below. The letters in bold type are what are on each shoe. THE BELL SEDALIA MO The Bell Clothing Co., Sedalia, Missouri 1903-1906 CALKINS-WHITE BROS. FURNITURE CO. 203 N. Main St. & 187 N. Union Ave., Pueblo, Colorado 1889-1928 CINDERELLA STOVES & RANGES Made by DeHaven & Co. Foundry Corner of Preble & Stanton Ave., Allegheny, Pennsylvania 1897-1910 EARL THEATRE 1343 S 28th St., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1923-1962 WM. ERLANGER & CO. Clothiers W. 28th St., E. Liverpool, Ohio 1881-1920s FONTIUS Fontius Shoe Co., Symes Building, 834-836 16th St., Denver, Colorado 1906-1923 FORT WAYNE OUTFITTERS CO. Located in the Tri-State Block, Berry St., Fort Wayne, Indiana 1906-1908 JOS KUHN & SON Clothing Store 33 Main St., Champaign, Illinois 1865 to the present 5

H. J. LOEB PUNXSUTAWNEY, PA Clothing, Men’s furnishings and shoes 104 Mahoning, Hotel Pantall, Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania 1905-1914 MEIS’ STORE Meis Bros. Co., Main & Hazel St., Danville, Illinois, established 1897 Became Meis Department Store in 1923, various locations MICHAELSON’S Michaelson’s Clothing Store 1508-1514 Larimer St., Denver, Colorado 1906-1911 MILLER’S DEPARTMENT STORE Miller Bros. Department Store 629 Market St., Chattanooga, Tennessee 1875-1973 SEL-ON-SITE GREAT CLEANER No information SUREFIT SHOE STORE 76 FRANKSTOWN AVE This location is in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania no other information YOUNG’S NEW PIER Pavilion built by Captain John L. Young Atlantic City, New Jersey Opened on the boardwalk in 1905-06 became known as the Million Dollar Pier Looking at these dates of operation above, it is clear that these shoes were made anywhere from 1905 to 1923 at least. Next, were they made by U S Glass Co. ? Were they made by another glass company ? We can’t prove that any other Bryce or Duncan shoes were made after both companies merged into US Glass Co., so possibly this one mould was sold to another glass company and they used it to produce these ad shoes we’re talking about. Moulds have certainly been sold before. Moulds have been owned by one company and lent to another to make glass products for them. This is still happening today. Whatever happened, it is interesting to learn anything at all about the history of these advertising shoes 6

The question in my mind is how long were the Bryce Bros. and Duncan shoes made? We know that both companies began making them in the mid 1880’s until 1891, when both companies merged into US Glass Co. Were the shoe moulds from both companies still being used by US Glass after 1891? We know at least one shoe mould continued to be made after the merger. That one is the Bryce Bros. slipper, the one Libby Yalom’s Shoes of Glass 2 lists as # 27. Were any other Bryce Bros. or Duncan shoes made after the merger? Possibly, but no one knows for certain. It is known that some pressed glass patterns originally made by both companies were continued to be made by US Glass after the merger. Their glass dinnerware, compotes, goblets, etc., was what both companies were best known for. Some of the original patterns were still popular and continued to be made by US Glass. Why not any other of their shoe patterns? At least one was. The answer to these questions could be for several reasons. One reason could be that the making of these shoes were labor intensive, a two step process. All glass shoes made in later years use a one step process only. Since most glass companies made at least one glass shoe before the turn of the century, the market may have been flooded and the popularity of them diminished. Another reason could be that the popularity of colored glass passed at the end of the century and mostly clear or crystal glass was made lasting up to the 1920’s.

How the shoes were made

Both shoes were pressed in a mould leaving the sides up on the front of the shoe. A wooden form or “last” was placed in the shoe while the glass was still pliable, and the sides were folded over the last. This area is called the vamp. This was all that the Duncan shoes needed to be made and this was called the Miller method of pressing a shoe. A patent was issued to John E. Miller on October 19, 1886, for this method, and was used exclusively by George Duncan & Sons. This same method of pressing the sides over a wooded “last”, plus folding a tip of the toe forward forming what looks like a triangle seam at the toe, was called the Smith method. A patent was issued to Henry J. Smith on October 19, 1886 for this method used exclusively by Bryce Bros. As you can see, both companies were issued a patent on the same day. Slightly different methods, but both companies must have talked about this before going to receive their respective patents. More than likely a compromise was reached to avoid a lawsuit or to avoid paying royalties to each other. Diagrams of both methods are shown in Shoes of Glass 2 on page 99 for the Miller patent, used by Duncan, and page 100 for the Smith patent, used by Bryce Bros. 7

Miller & Smith patents

Both patents read October 19, 1886

Miller patent toe area (Duncan) Smith patent toe area ( Bryce Bros.)

PAT’D OCT 19/86 Duncan Bootie PAT’D OCT 19 1886 Bryce Bros. Miller patent Smith patent 8

Bryce Bros. Advertising Slippers 4 5/8 x 1 7/8

THE BELL SEDALIA MO

CINDERELLA STOVES & RANGES

BLUE CINDERELLA STOVES & RANGES

9

Bryce Bros. Advertising Slippers 4 5/8 x 1 7/8

* AMBER CINDERELLA STOVES & RANGES

EARL THEATRE

WM. ERLANGER & CO.

10

Bryce Bros. Advertising Slippers 4 5/8 x 1 7/ 8

FONTIUS

FORT WAYNE OUTFITTERS CO.

JOS. KUHN & SON

11

Bryce Bros. Advertising Slippers 4 5/8 x 1 7/8

H. J. LOEB PUNXSUTAWNEY, PA.

MEIS’ STORE

MICHAELSON’S

12

Bryce Bros. Advertising Slippers 4 5/8 x 1 7/8

MILLER’S DEPARTMENT STORE

SEL-ON-SITE THE GREAT CLEANER

SUREFIT SHOE STORE 76 FRANKSTOWN AVE

13

Bryce Bros. Advertising Slippers 4 5/8 x 1 7/8

YOUNG’S NEW PIER

*

CALKINS –WHITE BROS. FURNITURE CO.

Medium Bryce Bros. Slipper 14

Bryce Bros. Shoe Advertisements

THE BELL SEDALIA MO The Bell Clothing Co., Sedalia, Missouri 1903-1906 CALKINS-WHITE BROS. FURNITURE CO. 203 N. Main St. & 187 N. Union Ave., Pueblo, Colorado 1889-1928 CINDERELLA STOVES & RANGES Made by DeHaven & Co. Foundry corner of Preble & Stanton Ave Allegheny, Pennsylvania 1897-1910 EARL THEATRE 1343 S. 28th St., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1923-1962 WM. ERLANGER & CO. Clothiers W. 28th St., Liverpool, Ohio 1881-1920s FONTIUS Fontius Shoe Co., Symes Building, 834-836 16th St., Denver, Colorado 1906-1923 FORT WAYNE OUTFITTERS CO. Located in the Tri-State Block, Berry St., Fort Wayne, Indiana 1906-1908 JOS. KUHN & SON Clothing Store 33 Main St., Champaign, Illinois 1865 to the present 15

Bryce Bros. Shoe Advertisements

H. J. LOEB PUNXSUTAWNEY, PA Clothing, Men’s furnishings and shoes 104 Mahoning , Hotel Pantall, Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania 1905-1914 MEIS’ STORE Meis Bros. Co., Main & Hazel St., Danville, Illinois Established 1897 became Meis Department Store various locations in three states MICHAELSON’S Michaelson’s Clothing Store 1508-1514 Larimer St., Denver, Colorado 1906-1911 MILLER’S DEPARTMENT STORE Miller Brothers Department Store 629 Market St., Chattanooga, Tennessee 1875-1973 SEL-ON-SITE THE GREAT CLEANER No information SUREFIT SHOE STORE 76 FRANKSTOWN AVE This location is in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania no other information YOUNG’S NEW PIER Pavilion built by Captain John L. Young Atlantic City, New Jersey Opened on the boardwalk in 1905-06 became known as the Million Dollar Pier 16

Medium Bryce Bros. Slippers 4 5/8 x 1 7/8

17

Bryce Bros. Slipper on a Tray

5 3/4 x 4

* *

18

Bryce Bros. Large Slippers 7 1/4 x 1 7/8

* *

*

19

Large Ruby Stained Bryce Bros. Slipper 7 1/4 x 1 7/8

Medium Ruby Stained Bryce Bros. Slipper 4 5/8 x 1 7/8

*

20

Bryce Bros. “Chinese” Shoes 4 3/4 L x 1 3/4 H x 11/4 W 4 3/4 L x 13/4 H x 11/2 W

21

Bryce Bros. Toboggan Shoes

5 1/8 x 2 1/4

*

*

22

Bryce Bros. Sandals 4 1/2 x 1 3/8

L. G. Wright - Bryce Bros.

23

Bryce Bros. Finecut Slippers 5 7/8 x 3 1/4

24

Trading Cards

Trading cards were a very popular means of advertising products primarily between the late 1870’s to 1900. These cards were given away free and many people collected them and placed them in scrapbooks. A number of the companies that used glass shoes to advertise also used trade cards. These colorful cards are interesting in learning more about the companies that advertised on glass shoes. S. D. Sollers was probably the most prolific advertiser on both shoes and cards. Some of their cards had calendars on the back. Many had different shoe companies that sold their brand advertise on the back side. They even sold sets of alphabet cards with different company’s ads on the back. Below are a few examples.

25

Here are more Sollers and Co. trade cards.

S D Sollers ad on a non Duncan or Bryce Shoe. Maker unknown.

26

Many other company’s used trade cards to advertise. Below are three images from Schliek & Co.

These images are from J. G. Brandt Co. Notice that the second initial on the Duncan glass shoes should have been a G instead of C.

27

These images are for Kast’s Fine Shoes from San Francisco.

These are from Rosenthal’s Fine Shoes, also from San Francisco.

28

These images are for Cinderella Stoves & Ranges. They are the only ones that I have found so far that were a Bryce advertiser as well as on a trade card. Trade cards were starting to go out of fashion after 1900. As you can see, these trade cards were helpful in learning more about the companies that advertised on glass shoes.

29

George Duncan & Sons shoes

Duncan glass shoes are another shoe manufacturer that I like and collect. This company started in business under this name in 1874 in Pittsburgh, PA. In 1891, they merged with many other glass companies to form the U. S. Glass Co. The former Duncan company became known as Factory D. In their heyday in the mid to late 1880’s, Duncan made many different styles of glass shoes. On some of the Duncan shoes you will find a patent date between the sole and heel of the shoe. On others of the same style and size, there isn’t one. The best guess is that the ones without a patent date are the ones made before Duncan received a patent for these shoes. The ones that have a date read: Pat’d Oct. 19/86 with the 9 backwards. This means: Patented October 19th, 1886. The Bryce shoes are just like this, some with and others without, a patent date. The patent dates that are on the Duncan shoes read looking at the outside bottom of the shoe. The Bryce patent dates read the opposite, read looking into the inside of the shoe. There were two Duncan shoes used for advertising. They are known as a large and a medium size Duncan in Libby Yalom’s two reference books, Shoes of Glass and Shoes of Glass 2. I will use her numbering, # 1 for the large Duncan, and # 7 for the medium. There are other Duncan shoes or ones attributed to Duncan that are very similar in size and style, so that is why I am using her numbers from her books to keep it straight. The advertising that can be found on the large (# 1) Duncan slippers are as follows: J. C. BRANDT SAINT LOUIS CRYSTAL SLIPPER CRYSTAL SLIPPER BOSTON THEATRE KAST’S ROSENTHAL’s SCHLIEK & Co. S D SOLLERS & Co. FINE SHOES SOLLERS & Co. N0. 18th St. The advertising on the medium ( # 7) Duncan slippers are as follows: J. C. BRANDT SAINT LOUIS BROWN & BRO S D SOLLERS & Co. FINE SHOES SOLLERS & Co. No. 18th St. These shoes come in these colors. Crystal or Clear, Amber, Blue, Vaseline, Old Gold and a darker Blue. A few rare ones have been decorated with amber stain and others with ruby stain. Even rarer is a large Duncan in milk glass. There are two medium Duncan’s worth mentioning, a blue frosted and an opalescent crystal shoe. Both are scarce. 30

Large Ruby Stained Duncan 5 3/4 x 3

*

Sharon’s Large Ruby stained Duncan

Ted’s Large Ruby Stained Duncan

31

Medium Ruby Stained Duncan 5 x 2 1/2

*

Sharon’s Medium Ruby Stained Duncans

Ted’s Medium Ruby Stained Duncan

32

Ruby Stained Duncan Boot 4 3/4 x 4 1/4

33

Duncan Ruby Stained Shoes

Large Ruby Stained Duncan Medium Ruby Stained Duncan

Ruby stained Duncan Boot Duncan Ruby Stained Shoes

Amber Stained Large Duncan Amber Stained Duncan marked Crystal Slipper 34

Medium Amber Stained Duncan 5 3/4 x 2 1/2

*

35

Large Amber Stained Duncan with CRYSTAL SLIPPER on the sole

5 3/4 x 3

36

Medium Opalescent Duncan 5 x 2 1/2

Medium Frosted Blue Duncan

*

37

Large Milk Glass Duncan 5 3/4 x 3

*

*

38

Large Apple Green Duncan 5 3/4 x 3

*

* Large Apple Green vs Large Vaseline

39

Large Red Amber Duncan 5 3/4 x 3

*

* 40

Large Red Amber Open Front Duncan 5 3/4 x 3

*

* 41

Duncan Shoe Advertisements

S D Sollers & Co. Fine Shoes Originated in 1870 at 417 Arch St., Philadelphia, PA Expanded in 1879 to include 636 Arch St., Philadelphia, PA Manufacturers of woman’s and children’s shoes. 1870-1883 Kast’s Fine Shoes 738 & 740 Market St., San Francisco, CA Est. 1858 through 1906 Schliek & Co. Dealer in Fine Boots & Shoes 59 East 3rd St., St. Paul, Minnesota Henry L. Schliek began in the shoe business in 1852, became Schliek & Co. in 1882; Tarbox, Schliek & Co. in 1889; Schliek Mfg. Co. in 1890 Rosenthal’s Fine Shoes 107,109,111 Kearny St., San Francisco, CA 1879 - 1925 Also at 147 First St., Portland, Oregon Crystal Slipper Boston Theater 1854- 1901 The Crystal Slipper show opened Oct. 9, 1888 at the Boston Theater located on Washington St. near West St., Boston , MA Staring Marguerite Fish as Cinderella J C Brandt Saint Louis J G Brandt Shoe Co., 616 & 623 N. Broadway, Saint Louis, Missouri In business in 1879 through 1908 S D Sollers & Co. No 18 N 8th St. Opened Fall 1883, listed as Sollers Morgan & Co. Shoes. In 1887 listed as Sollers & Co. Shoes at No. 18 N 8th St., Philadelphia In 1890-91 as Sollers & Co. Shoes, 1224 Market St., Philadelphia Sabritt D Sollers, President, Thomas E Sollers, sec. & treas. Brown & Bro Wholesale Druggists Wm. H. Brown & Brothers, 25 Sharp St., Baltimore, Maryland Mid 1800’s through the 1920’s

42

Large Duncan Advertising Shoes 5 3/4 x 3

* LARGE DUNCAN SLIPPER J C BRANDT SAINT LOUIS

S D SOLLERS & Co FINE SHOES S D SOLLERS & Co FINE SHOES

S D SOLLERS & Co FINE SHOES SOLLERS & Co No. 18 N. 8th St. 43

Large Duncan Advertising Shoes 5 3/4 x 3

SOLLERS & Co No. 18 N. 8th St. SOLLERS & Co. No. 18 N. 8th St.

KAST’S KAST’S

J C BRANDT SAINT LOUIS J C BRANDT SAINT LOUIS 44

Large Duncan Advertising Shoes 5 3/4 x 3

SCHLIEK & Co. SCHLIEK & Co.

CRYSTAL SLIPPER CRYSTAL SLIPPER BOSTON THEATER

* ROSENTHAL’S ROSENTHAL’S 45

Medium Duncan Advertising Shoes 5 x 21/2

S D SOLLERS & Co. FINE SHOES S D SOLLERS & Co. FINE SHOES

S D SOLLERS & Co. FINE SHOES S D SOLLERS & Co. FINE SHOES 46

Medium Duncan Advertising Shoes 5 x 21/2

SOLLERS & Co. No. 18 N. 8th St. SOLLERS & Co. No. 18 N. 8th St.

SOLLERS & Co. No. 18 N. 8th St. BROWN & BRO

BROWN & BRO BROWN & BRO 47

Medium Duncan Advertising Shoes 5 x 21/2

J C BRANDT SAINT LOUIS J C BRANDT SAINT LOUIS

J C BRANDT SAINT LOUIS J C BRANDT SAINT LOUIS 48

Duncan Boots 4 3/4 x 4 1/4

49

Duncan Booties 4 1/4 x 2 3/8

Duncan pointed toe Bootie PATD Oct 19/86

Fenton Rounded Toe Bootie

50

Duncan Open Front Shoes 5 7/8 x 3

51

Duncan Finecut Slippers 5 7/8 x 3 1/4

52

Small Duncan Slippers 3 1/4 x 1 3/4

Duncan Daisy & Square Small # 3 Slipper

53

Shoe colors

You may have noticed looking through these pictures that there are a number of different colors and shades of these shoes. To begin with, there were just four main colors for both the Bryce Bros. and Duncan shoes. Clear or Crystal , Amber, Blue and Vaseline. There are some shoes of both makers that are a lighter shade of Amber, also known as Old Gold. There are some Duncan shoes that are a darker Blue and a few a lighter Blue color. As for those very few shoes that were made in Milk Glass, Red Amber, Ruby and Apple Green, here is my assumption. These shoes are what are today called END of the Day manufacture. I’ve been told by a very knowledgeable dealer in Washington State that Fenton Art Glass for one, to use up any leftover molten glass during manufacture of other products, will use up that remaining glass in smaller moulds, such as shoe moulds. That is how you will sometimes find products made by Fenton that aren’t listed in their catalogs. This practice probably originated way back in the early days of glass manufacture which makes sense, don’t waste any leftover glass, make something with it. I think that explains how a few very rare and previously unknown shoes where made. And Sharon seems to have a knack for locating them all. Good for her, tough for the rest of us shoe collectors. At least, she is willing to share pictures of her finds and that is just great. They are great to see. I believe the difference in shades of the blues and amber shoes can be attributed to slightly different ingredients used to make a batch of glass over the years that these shoes were made. If you are into collecting any type of glass and you find different shades of a certain item, the above explanation could be the reason. On the other hand, you better have some knowledge of what colors to look for so that you don’t get burned by fakes or reproductions. That is why a good reference book with colored pictures such as Libby Yalom’s two books are an essential tool in determining what is original and what is something else. If you are a glass shoe collector or just starting out, I hope you enjoyed what has been presented here. Thank you very much to Sharon Borgini for sharing pictures of her outstanding shoe collection. That’s all we’ve got for now. See the next page for another unusual color. 54

Duncan Ginger colored shoes Talk about different colors or shades of shoes, here are two that look very much the same color, but are different than any of the others already shown. I think the color looks to me like Ginger. One is a Duncan Finecut slipper and the other is a medium Duncan. They are probably the result of finishing up a batch of glass left over from some other project so as not to waste the glass.

Duncan Finecut & Medium Duncan

*

Ginger vs. Vaseline

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Final Thoughts

I hope you enjoyed looking at all the Bryce Bros. and George Duncan & Sons shoes that Sharon and I have to show you. Some have never been seen before or known about. The little information about the ad shoes certainly could be explored more by someone with better skills than I. I would like to see something more than what I came up with. Written background history about George Duncan & Sons that I’ve found to be helpful are the following. Early Duncan Glassware by Neila M. Bredehoft, George A. Fogg and Francis C. Mahoney. There hasn’t yet been a reference book written exclusively about Bryce Bros. Glass Co. that made all these glass shoes. The closest that I’ve found to shed some light about this company is the book Bryce, Higbee and J. B. Higbee Glass by Lola and Wayne Higby. Here are a few more observations I want to share with you. Sharon and I have talked and we both agree that the most difficult Duncan ad shoes to find are the clear glass ones. The easiest to find are the Vaseline ones. I mentioned this earlier that the ad shoes made for J G Brandt Shoe Co. in Saint Louis, the second letter was mistakenly a C instead of what should have been a G. Also, I think I can assume that when a company ordered these Duncan ad shoes, they ordered them in an assortment of different colors. The primary colors were Amber, Vaseline, Clear, and Blue. Some Duncan ad shoes come in a darker Blue and some in Old Gold, a lighter shade of Amber. There were other glass companies that made ad shoes. Columbia Glass Co. of Findlay, Ohio, used their cat slipper to advertise KAST’S and PHELPS FINE SHOES 105 MAIN ST. Herman Tappan was issued a patent for a high boot called a “Bouquet Holder” with WOODSIDES BOOTS & SHOES on the base. WOODSIDES was located in Denver. Tappan also designed a smaller high shoe with a heel plate that had Trade Mark HT on it. The same shoe also came with SDS FINE SHOES on the heel and S D SOLLERS Co. in place of the buttons on the side of the shoe. See page 26.The maker of the Tappan shoes is unknown. You may see shoes being sold by some people that are said to be made by Duncan Miller. Duncan Miller was a glass company that was formed by some of the previous owners of George Duncan & Sons after Duncan & Sons merged into US Glass Co. and became Factory D. Duncan Miller did not make any of these shoes. As for reproductions or close examples of any of the shoes made by Bryce and Duncan, there are three Duncan’s you should be aware of. The Duncan booties have been closely copied by Fenton. See page 50 for the way to tell the difference. The small # 3 Duncan slipper has been copied, but the difference is that the back of the reproduction shoe is lower, it has a dip so to speak, unlike the Duncan. The # 3 slipper has a Daisy & Square pattern, not Daisy & Button. There is a difference, so look for it. See page 58. The Duncan boot has also been copied. See page 57 to tell the difference. The only Bryce copy is the sandal shoe with a pointed toe made by L G Wright in the 1960’s. See page 23. 56

Duncan boot & copies

Duncan Degenhart / Boyd Fenton tallest wider toe area plain front panel

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Duncan Daisy & Square #3 slipper vs copies and Daisy & Button

Duncan Daisy & Square # 3 L G Wright Daisy & Button

Guernsey Glass Daisy & Square Slipper

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