Pale Green Ceramic Baby Shoe #045
This is an art pottery baby shoe from an unknown maker, circa 1940s to early 1950s.
The shoes are in excellent with no cracks, chips or crazing. Good overall glazing Measurements are 4 1/4″ long, 2 5/8″ high and 1 15/16″ wide,
This shoe was purchased at auction in 1994 for $4.00. This estimated collector’s value is $10.00.
Information from the reference book, Collectible Glass Shoes by Earlene Wheatley, published by Schroeder Publishing, 2001. Other information was recorded from personal papers.
Purple Slag Baby Bootie #029
This shoe was made by the Fenton Art Glass Company in Williamstown, West Virginia.It is a purple slag or purple opalescence baby bootie, and came in many popular colors.
Glass was made in a flat section and then folded over a mould to close the vamp.
Detail of side which is covered in daisy and button pattern.
Below, the center back of the shoe is without pattern.
This glass shoe was owned to BJ, the daughter of Lillian P Wood, who acquired it in the 1950s and she kept it in the shoe collection and transferred ownership to the collection after the death of Lillian, in June of 2000. The shoe is in excellent condition with only the markings you wouls expect from glassware that is over 50 years old.
Its value was placed at $35.00 to $50.00 in the Wheatley shoe book in 2001, and with rumors of Fenton Glass closing its operations, the values of Fenton novelties and glassware have risen 22% in the last 6 months. Estimated value present time is $55.00 to $ 75.00.
This exact baby bootie in the purple slag color is shown on page 178 of Collectible Glass Shoes by Earlene Wheatley, published by Schroeder Publishing, 2001 and is referenced in Shoes of Glass 2 by Libby Yalom, published by The Glass Press, 1998. There is a brief history in Fenton Glass The Second Twenty-Five Years by William Heacock, published by The Glass Press, 1994.
Baby Shoe – Pink Metlox #026
This is a pink baby pottery shoe from Metlox Potteries of Manhattan Beach, California. Metlox was in business from 1927 through 1985. It is finished in a soft satin matte and is in perfect condition. It measures 4 7/8″ long” and 2 1/4″ high.
This shoe, used as a baby planter, could be purchased singly or in pairs, and in sets of pink, blue or white.
Unusually, this shoe has not been used, it’s interior is clean and smooth. This increases the value of the shoe.
On the sole, there is black and gold sticker, partially removed, which says Berheimer Oriental Gardens, Pacific Palisades California. If you look closely, you can see an incised “R” just above the sticker. It is difficult to photograph, but the complete inscription reads METLOX 47C and in the second line an R. The R is for right. These shoes were made in both a right (R) and a left (L) shoe.
The Berheimer Oriental Gardens at Pacifica Palisades was a popular tourist attraction from its opening in 1921 until the advent of WWII. Since the owners were German, the attraction fell on hard times in the mid-1940s and closed shortly thereafter. A large drawing of the Japanese Gardens is at the following link along with information regarding the tourist attraction.
http://www.image-archeology.com/Bernheimer_Japanese_Gardens_Hollywood_CA_775.jpg
This shoe dates between 1927 (when the factory opened) and 1941 (when the Gardens closed to the public.)
Earlene Wheatley’s reference book sets the value at this shoe at $40.00 in 2001. The shoe was purchased on an eBay auction for $6.25 plus $4.50 postage and handling on December 09, 2007. Its estimated collector value is $50 to $55.
Information found in Collector’s Encyclopedia of Metlox Potteries (Collector Books) by Carl Gibbs and Collectible Glass Shoes, 2nd Edition by Earlene Wheatley by Schroeder Publishing Co., 2001 plus information from the private antique dealer which was confirmed by internet research.
Baby Shoes or Booties – an Overview
Baby shoes were a popular curio item, first in the 1890s when pressed glass was highly sought. Glass was often an experiment at that time as the glass-blowers turned to the newer methods of pressed glass. Experimentally adding different chemicals, they made different clors of glass, most popular were green, gold, blue, yellow, vaseline and cystal. This technique produced a totally different type of glass and was well accepted by the public. Some of the earlier pressed glass pieces were made in honor of the Colombian Exposition in Chicago, IL in 1876. Two proprietors of shoe companies, George Duncan and Sons and Bryce, McKee and Co patented the same type of pressed shoe in 1886. Baby shoe moulds were soon fabricated and appeared in the 1890s.
Porcelain baby shoes were also a popular piece among the European artists, particularly those crafting in porcelain. These were made in significant quantities in the 1920s through the 1950s.
A third period of miniature or novelty shoe production came forward and peaked in the 1930s and 40s when art or studio potteries frequently made small baby booties, specifically made as pots for plants for new mothers. Many of these pieces of pottery are indelibly stained by contact with earth for decades. Pottery companies in business always have a baby bootie in their catalog of the size that would fit a typical one year old.
The Fenton Glass Company (early 1900s through current) and other contemporary glass companies (Mosser, Boyd, Degenhart) all made their own baby booties, sometimes as re-productions, sometimes as introductions.
Of course, in the post WWII market, these baby shoes were prolifically produced as copies in Japan, both in the era of Occupied Japan from 1946 through 1952, and then in the “Made in Japan” era. Japanese products were accepted by the general public, especialy since many sanctions protecteing the Allie’s positions had been implemented, ie. ceramic factories were highly encouraged to function as they had no connection to weaponry.
All types of baby shoes are still made by a large number of manufacturers as they remain a popular staple in shoe miniatures and baby planters. One company, Metlox, now advertises their baby shoes as cactus containers.
This is a very brief over-view of the progression of the making of collectible and antique baby shoes in the last 200+ years.
Some references:
http://pages.eagleridgecollectibles.com/1340/InventoryPage/1927783/2.html Also Collectible Glass Shoes by Earlene Wheatley, published by Schroeder Publishing, 2001 and Shoes of Glass 2 by Libby Yalom, published by The Glass Press, 1998.
Vaseline Glass Baby Bootie #008
This baby bootie is made of Vaseline glass which was discussed in length in the following post. http://shoeboxes.wordpress.com/2007/12/12/vaseline-glass-the-magic-glass/
This shoe is an acquisition of the Lillian P. Wood Memorial Collection. It is 4 1/8″ x 2 1/2″, has a ribbed vamp (upper) and two flowers at the front opening. The rest of the shoe is in a very small, finely cut diamond pattern and their is ribbing on the back.
There are three varieties of this shoe known today. The above shoe, maker unknown, has a very wide round toe and the overall opening is the largest of the three. The original shoe was made circa 1886 by the Duncan Company. It has a point at the toe and the opening is the widest of the three known types of shoes. Some Duncan booties are marked PAT’D. OCT. 19/86 on the sole. This bootie was made in crystal, amber, blue and Vaseline. The second manufacturer known was the Fenton Glass Co. of Williamstown, WV. They made the booties in 1938-39 in several colors including Vaseline. The bootie was made again in the 1950 through 1970s, but not in the Vaseline color.
Detail of the two flowers at the front opening of the shoe. Ribbed back with detailed diamond pattern on the back of the sides. The sole of the shoe has a large open toe with solid closed heel.
Estimated date of manufacture is circa 1930s. This shoe was purchased at Bloomington Antique Mall in Bloomington, IL in July of 2001 for $55. Estimated collector value is $70.
Information from Shoes of Glass and Shoes of Glass, 2 by Libby Yalom, published by The Glass Press, 1989. This book has a very clear description of the three manufacturers of this shoe and a photograph showing the varieties and specifications of the different soles. A photograph of this shoe is on page 74 of Wheatley’s first book.
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