Five Sets of 1945 Empire Brand Wooden Shoe Lasts Gloversville NY, Rochester For Sale

Five original matched pair of WWII-era wooden shoe lasts manufactured by Empire Brand in Rochester, New York, and some are dated October 1945. These were actually used in a shoe-manufacturing factory in Gloversville, New York.This is a great surviving piece of Upstate New York’s manufacturing history.Most wooden forms retain their original oval factory stamps reading:EMPIRE BRAND
ROCHESTER
OCT. 1945These weren’t made as decorative pieces. They were working industrial forms used in the manufacture of footwear. A shoe last provided the three-dimensional shape around which a shoe was constructed and formed.The lasts were manufactured in Rochester in October 1945 and were then used in a shoe factory in Gloversville, NY, an Upstate New York city with a deep history in leather-related manufacturing.They show exactly the kind of wear you would expect from genuine factory tools: staining, scuffs, scratches, discoloration, impressions and other evidence of use. Nothing has been done to remove that history or artificially improve their appearance.DETAILS* Original matched left/right pairs
* Empire Brand
* Manufactured in Rochester, New York
* Dated October 1945
* Used in a Gloversville, New York shoe factory
* Solid wooden construction
* Original metal heel plates
* Additional impressed factory markings
* Genuine factory-used industrial tools
* Approximately 80 years old*All are about 6.25in Long and 2.5in Wide
Particularly nice pieces for collectors of shoemaking and cobbler tools, Gloversville history, Rochester history, New York industrial history, vintage footwear, factory artifacts, trade tools or Americana.You will receive the exact pairs shown in the photographs.