Ed’s Shoes

Ed’s boots appear to be late 1930’s Sears work boots. Sears was the “Amazon” of the USA prior to the existence of the internet. You could order just about anything via a Sears catalog and have it shipped to your house. Sadly there are no markings left to verify they are indeed Sears boots. Ed wore them out. Their construction does closely match what was offered in the Sears catalog of the time. As far as the steel plates on the boots, these are add-ons. They were to protect the soles of the boots from premature wear due to walking on the coral rock all day. Notice the hole pattern, consistency of size, spacing, and rolled metal lip around heel. That’s all indicative of a manufactured steel stamping. Miners used similar add ons to extend life of their boots. Rubber soles on work boots didn’t become common until after WW2. Prior to that, boot soles where typically layers of thick leather bonded together. The leather didn’t hold up well against rocks.