Velvet shoes with celluloid heels

A pair of velvet and satin strap shoes with celluloid (cellulose nitrate) covered wooden heels, decorated with paste stones and metal granulation/picotage. Size 6 and dated circa 1920s, they were sold through the high-end department store Marshall & Snelgrove in Bradford. Wooden heels could be supplied as plain blanks or first covered and decorated, sold ready to be attached to the shoe. Covering with celluloid involved sheets being cut to the required size and shape, then softened to be workable. The heel would be clamped in a jack and the cover stretched around it and glued in place. When dry, the pattern would be marked out and holes drilled for the paste stones which were glued in place. The material could be coloured to imitate a variety of natural materials such as tortoiseshell, ivory and mother-of-pearl, although this example is plain black which contrasts well with the decoration. Celluloid heel coverings were used towards the end of the Victorian period (the British Xylonite works first started manufacturing celluloid covered boot heels in 1896), but became particularly popular during the 1920s for elaborately decorated women's evening shoes. The inner silk lining is badly deteriorated but shows the nails that attach the heel.

stamped: "Marshall & Snelgrove. Marshalls Ltd. Darlcy Street, Bradford." (label inside shoe)

AIBDC : 009537