# Nettleton Shoes - A History with Pics (lots of pics)



## Cardinals5 (Jun 16, 2009)

This is the first in a series of posts about the history American shoe manufacturers. I'll post one about every month or so. I invite others to post pictures, impressions of their own shoes made by the manufacturers described, additional information about the history of the company, etc.

Caveat: I've pilfered many of the pictures from AAAC and Style Forum - if anyone doesn't want their shoes shown, please let me know. Most of the historical information comes from various internet sites or printed texts, but, because this is a casual post, I have not cited the sources.

*Nettleton Shoes*

Albert E. Nettleon founded the A.E. Nettleton Company in Syracuse, NY, in 1879. The company produced shoes until 1984 when the Syracuse factory closed. The U.S. Shoe Corporation purchased the name around 1990 and continued to use the name for a short time, possibly manufacturing shoes in Spain. Edward Tognoni incorporated "Nettleton Shoes, Inc." in Coral Gables, FL, in 2003, but has yet to produce any shoes.

Biography of Albert E. Nettleton (1850-c. 1945): Edward Nettleton, father to Albert, established one of the first boot and shoe stores in the village of Fulton, New York, about 1837, and ran the store until his death in 1864, when his sons, Franklin E. and Samuel W., succeeded him, and they in turn were succeeded by their brother, Augustus C. Nettleton. Albert, Edward's fourth son, was born in Fulton, Oswego county, New York, October 29, 1850. His early education was acquired in the public schools and he graduated from the Falley Seminary, in Fulton, in 1869. Upon graduation, he found employment in the business of his brother, Augustus, and in 1872 Albert purchased the boot and shoe store from his brother. In 1875 Albert also established a shoe store in Cazenovia, New York, which he conducted until 1881, and from 1881 to 1884 he also conducted a shoe store in Lyons, New York. In 1879 he moved to Syracuse and purchased the boot and shoe factory of James R. Barrett. Albert then formed a partnership with W. A. Hill and the partnership conducted business under the name A. E. Nettleton & Company. Within a decade, the Nettleton Shoe Company employeed 600 workers.

Albert married Lucy Augusta Poucher (1866-1915)

Syracuse Factory Address: 313 East Willow Street, Syracuse, NY. Constructed in 1882

Strikes at the Nettleton Plant: 1906 (Boot and Shoe Workers' Union, Local 159), 1953 (Retail Shoe Employees Union, Local 1628, CIO)


Examples of Nettleton Advertising

































Examples of Nettleton Shoes




















https://imageshack.us/

































https://imageshack.us/


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## 14395 (Mar 10, 2004)

Some old factories never die :icon_smile:
Now apartments...........

https://www.nettletoncommons.com/


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## AHS (Mar 18, 2006)

Cardinals5, 

Thank you for your research and for posting. I hope others will post additional photos.

I've recently become fascinated by vintage (is that the right word?) American shoes, and purchased some great Florsheim imperial longwings on ebay. 

Now, I am off to do a quick ebay search on Nettletons....

AHS


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## 127.72 MHz (Feb 16, 2007)

Thanks Cardinals5, nice background and some beautiful images. Although I enjoy learning about products manufacturing industries in the United States used to produce I'll admit the process really tears at my heart.

It makes me so sad that we citizens of the U.S.A. watched so many industries dismantled lot, stock, and barrel and sent overseas under the banner of "Globalization" over the past thirty years,...

Nettleton shoes had some beautiful styles. 

Regards,


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## gman-17 (Jan 29, 2009)

Cardinal,

That's really great work. This is fantastic and I hope you keep up.

G


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## mcarthur (Jul 18, 2005)

Cardinal,
I appreciate your efforts


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## kforton (Oct 26, 2005)

Agreed. These articles make this forum worth reading.


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## AlanC (Oct 28, 2003)

Nettleton tan on tan saddles with crepe soles:










Nettleton 'Lazy Lacers'


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## Reds & Tops (Feb 20, 2009)

Fantastic post. Thank you.


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## AHS (Mar 18, 2006)

AlanC, those are beautiful. Where did you find / buy them?

AHS


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## Cardinals5 (Jun 16, 2009)

Great looking Nettletons, Alan - of course, you recognized at least one or two of your pairs in the pics I used above. I hadn't seen your Lazy-Lacers before but they look great, especially the tasselled laces :aportnoy:


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## chacend (Mar 4, 2008)

Cardinals5,

Did you snag those Nettleton shells in size 8 on ebay. I missed them while at work today but probably wouldn't have gone high enough anyway..


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## AlanC (Oct 28, 2003)

AHS said:


> AlanC, those are beautiful. Where did you find / buy them?


The pebble grains I bought on ebay so too the Lazy Lacers. The saddles I thrifted, but I'm not sure I have them anymore.



Cardinals5 said:


> Great looking Nettletons, Alan - of course, you recognized at least one or two of your pairs in the pics I used above. I hadn't seen your Lazy-Lacers before but they look great, especially the tasselled laces :aportnoy:


Yes, the tasseled laces are a cool touch, I think. I haven't worn those in awhile, need to pull them back out.

And I did recognize several of those pictures as mine. The shell longwings with the Frank Bros shoe trees are the ones I bought on ebay, were actually an 'E' rather than a 'C' width so I sold them.

The tassel loafers I was selling. I may still have them.

And I shed a tear every time this picture comes up (RIP):


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## Cardinals5 (Jun 16, 2009)

chacend said:


> Cardinals5,
> 
> Did you snag those Nettleton shells in size 8 on ebay. I missed them while at work today but probably wouldn't have gone high enough anyway..


The shells we were both bidding on were Hanover LB Sheppard - probably just a hair below Nettleton in terms of overall quality. I did win them - couldn't resist myself - since I've been looking for a pair of LB Sheppard shells for quite a while. Here's a pic for those who don't know what Chacend and I are talking about.


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## AlanC (Oct 28, 2003)

Here are some detail shots of the Nettleton Lazy Lacers as well as a couple of pairs of Nettleton shoe trees.


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## Cardinals5 (Jun 16, 2009)

Those are great looking shoes, Alan. I'd love a pair for myself. Thanks for taking the time to post pics.


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## tonylumpkin (Jun 12, 2007)

A couple of those pictures are mine (the split toes and the chukkas) and serve to remind me how disappointed I was that neither of them fit me and...how much I want to find a pair that does!


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## CC3 (Apr 18, 2009)

*Nettletons*

In the early 70's I owned a couple of pairs of Nettletons (and a pair of Frank Brothers ... expect to see those). One pair were demi boots of excellent quality - leather, last, construction. I outgrew the style before the shoes wore out. A friend resoled his at least 4 times. The uppers were still in very good shape. Indeed, it is sad top American shoemakers could not remain in business. Even now, J&M is a shadow with shoes from wherever and other names are names ... French Shriner, Nunn Bush. Alden and Edmunds remain.


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## The Deacon (Nov 25, 2006)

Nice to see some of my sales photos on this great thread. A few months ago, I almost sold a pair of tan pebble grain Nettleton Plain toes to an actual Nettleton! He liked the idea of owning a shoe with his name in it. Unfortunately for him, the script was too faint for him to bid on the shoes. We corresponded briefly during this period and he gave me interesting info about them continuing operations overseas. I had not heard that previously.


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## AlanC (Oct 28, 2003)

In the later years before they shut down there was a Dark Period in which shoes were produced under the Nettleton label that would make Stacy Adams look tasteful. You can find examples of these all along on ebay.


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## AlanC (Oct 28, 2003)

Just saw this, apparently Nettleton owned the term "Loafer"--who knew?!


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## AlanC (Oct 28, 2003)

Sorry to flood this thread but I came across the sole picture for these shoes.


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## Cardinals5 (Jun 16, 2009)

You're right, Alan. When I was doing the quick research for the original post I came across a number of claims by Nettleton that they invented the "Loafer" (always capitalized) in 1937. Other sources state that Nettleton patented the name "Loafer" in 1933 (someone would have to check with the Patent Office). The earliest Nettleton advertisements for the "Loafer" I found were from 1937 and the advertising copy seems to indicate it's a new style of shoe. I didn't include this claim in the original post because I didn't want the thread to devolve into a discussion of who invented the loafer, but now that the thread is well-established it might be time for a discussion - "Who invented the Loafer"?

I can't seem to copy and paste images from Life, but here's a couple of early advertisements of the "Loafer" and the "Lazy Lacer" loafers.

Nettleton Loafers, 1937 (copy suggests it's a new type of shoe)
https://books.google.com/books?id=MUgEAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PA91&dq=Nettleton%20loafers&as_pt=MAGAZINES&pg=PA91#v=onepage&q=&f=false

Nettleton Loafers, 1937 - offered in BLUE calf
https://books.google.com/books?id=k...r&as_pt=MAGAZINES&pg=PA6#v=onepage&q=&f=false

Loafers, 1939
https://books.google.com/books?id=r...78#v=onepage&q=Nettleton shoes loafer&f=false

Lazy Lacers - "The World's _Fastest_ Shoe", 1938 (the text implies the loafer is older than 1938)
https://books.google.com/books?id=h...ton shoes loafer&pg=PA72#v=onepage&q=&f=false


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## tonylumpkin (Jun 12, 2007)

Much of what you think of the information in this post is dependent on how much faith you have in Wikipedia, but here is their take on the origins of the term "loafer". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slip-on_shoe

Seems they attribute the first use to the Spaulding family of New Hampshire in the early 1930s. Apparently Nettleton was sharp enough to trademark the term.


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## AlanC (Oct 28, 2003)

Cardinals5 said:


> Lazy Lacers - "The World's _Fastest_ Shoe", 1938 (the text implies the loafer is older than 1938)
> https://books.google.com/books?id=h...ton shoes loafer&pg=PA72#v=onepage&q=&f=false


Thanks for the link to the "Lazy Lacer" ad. Their "World's _Fastest_ Shoe" is a play on their own motto of being The World's Slowest Made Shoe. Funny.


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## Cardinals5 (Jun 16, 2009)

tonylumpkin said:


> Much of what you think of the information in this post is dependent on how much faith you have in Wikipedia, but here is their take on the origins of the term "loafer". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slip-on_shoe
> 
> Seems they attribute the first use to the Spaulding family of New Hampshire in the early 1930s. Apparently Nettleton was sharp enough to trademark the term.


I'm not usually very confident in the information attained from Wikipedia. This one takes its conclusion about the Spalding family and the "weejun" from Flusser's 2002 book. I don't have that text, but if someone who does could check Flusser's source for the "weejun" story it'd be much appreciated. As someone who spends their days tracking down sources (I'm a historian) usually these pursuits just end up down the rabbit hole.

Most of the other readily available sources date the introduction of the Bass "Weejun" (not "loafer") to 1936. What I assume happened, and which makes more logical sense, is that Bass introduced the Weejun in 1936, Nettleton already had its "loafer" in design/production (patenting it in 1937) and over the next decade or two the name "loafer" was attached to all kinds of similarly-style slip-on casual shoes, hence the "Weejun" (penny loafer). The process would be similar to how Xerox became (though it's falling out of use) a name for photocopying or Kleenex became a generic name for tissues. Anyway, this is all speculation.


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## Steve Smith (Jan 12, 2008)

Interesting thread. The Lazy-Lacers go way back. Here is a photo of a pair of Lazy-Lacers which I thrifted yesterday. The tassels (for lack of a better word) on the end of the laces are attached by knotting the end of the laces. So you can replace the laces and reuse the tassels.


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## closerlook (Sep 3, 2008)

For those of you who own:
How do these Nettleton shoes fit? True to size?


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## Cardinals5 (Jun 16, 2009)

closerlook said:


> For those of you who own:
> How do these Nettleton shoes fit? True to size?


You might try PMing AlanC since he seems to have owned the most pairs of Nettletons among our little tribe.


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## meister (Oct 29, 2005)

AlanC said:


> Sorry to flood this thread but I came across the sole picture for these shoes.


Probably the best Nettletons ever...just the awesome proportions. I see a couple of mine (the gators and mink suedes)have been posted for general consumption.

Here are some more:

Nettleton Golf Specs now living in Hungary:

https://img17.imageshack.us/i/nettletongolfshoes.jpg/



closerlook said:


> For those of you who own:
> How do these Nettleton shoes fit? True to size?


Yes - though I am US10.5/11E and I can wear the Crocs which are 13AA - go figure...the last shape...

My Nettleton Crocs:

https://img11.imageshack.us/i/nettletoncrocs3.jpg/

Nettleton Bedfords:

https://img43.imageshack.us/i/nettletonbedfords.jpg/

Nettleton Mesh Spectators:

https://img13.imageshack.us/i/nettletonmeshspecs1.jpg/https://img190.imageshack.us/i/nettletonmeshspecs2.jpg/

Nettleton Spade Soles:

https://img191.imageshack.us/i/nettletonspadesoles.jpg/

Nettleton Split Toe Bluchers:

https://img23.imageshack.us/i/nettletonsplittoebluche.jpg/

1940s Nettletons:

https://img707.imageshack.us/i/nettletons1940s.jpg/

1940s Nettleton Algonquins:

https://img706.imageshack.us/i/nettletonsalgongquin219.jpg/

https://img237.imageshack.us/i/nettletonsalgongquin194.jpg/


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## lauKa (May 24, 2010)

*History of Shoes (and shoe industry in England)*

Hello!

I really enjoyed reading your thread and viewing the pictures. I am a fashion student at MMU (manchester) and have just completed my dissertation on the shoe industry in Northampton (in the East Midlands of England) and think you may be interested to see where some of these styles originated from. This industry sustained a very wide area for a long time and it still exists in pockets of Britain today. If you ever visit England (if you are not from here already) make a stop in Northampton. It is a beautiful town and of interest to anyone who has a passion for shoes and their (industrial) history. Here is a link to the Museum page.

Also here an interesting article on the history of shoes which I came across in my initial research.

If anyone on here can point me in the right direction when it comes to sources of American shoe history (particularly industry) could you please let me know as I intend to further my research.

Thank you

Lau


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## lauKa (May 24, 2010)

Cardinals5 said:


> I'm not usually very confident in the information attained from Wikipedia. This one takes its conclusion about the Spalding family and the "weejun" from Flusser's 2002 book. I don't have that text, but if someone who does could check Flusser's source for the "weejun" story it'd be much appreciated. As someone who spends their days tracking down sources (I'm a historian) usually these pursuits just end up down the rabbit hole.
> 
> Most of the other readily available sources date the introduction of the Bass "Weejun" (not "loafer") to 1936. What I assume happened, and which makes more logical sense, is that Bass introduced the Weejun in 1936, Nettleton already had its "loafer" in design/production (patenting it in 1937) and over the next decade or two the name "loafer" was attached to all kinds of similarly-style slip-on casual shoes, hence the "Weejun" (penny loafer). The process would be similar to how Xerox became (though it's falling out of use) a name for photocopying or Kleenex became a generic name for tissues. Anyway, this is all speculation.


I am inclined to agree with this. It is curious (but also understandable) why brand names become the name for the thing itself though it is not exclusively manufactured by that company. In Britain we call the vacuum cleaner a 'Hoover' and this has also become the verb - 'to Hoover' - as in to vacuum the floor/carpet. Also as you have pointed out, the common label can become the generic term for all similar items. In France they call all jet washers 'Kärcher' though this is just one, albeit very prominent, manufacturer of this appliance. There are so many examples of this in various countries. What could have happened here with the term 'Loafer' is some confusion as to what came first or rather if the shoe and the name for it came simultaneously.


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## The Rambler (Feb 18, 2010)

Wonderful thread, Cards, but shouldn't you be working on your dissertation?:devil:


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## The Rambler (Feb 18, 2010)

Cardinals5 said:


> I'm not usually very confident in the information attained from Wikipedia.
> 
> Do you allow citations from _Wikipedia _on term papers?


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## Cardinals5 (Jun 16, 2009)

The Rambler said:


> Cardinals5 said:
> 
> 
> > I'm not usually very confident in the information attained from Wikipedia.
> ...


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## The Rambler (Feb 18, 2010)

Thanks, been wondering. This is standard practice?


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## Cardinals5 (Jun 16, 2009)

The Rambler said:


> Thanks, been wondering. This is standard practice?


Depends on the professor. I know some who allow the use of Wikipedia for background information, but I have stringent standards for academic honesty (have a plagiarism case in front of the Disciplinary Committee today) and despise the tendency among current students to conduct all their research on-line.


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## DR1V3N (Mar 8, 2009)

127.72 MHz said:


> It makes me so sad that we citizens of the U.S.A. watched so many industries dismantled lot, stock, and barrel and sent overseas under the banner of "Globalization" over the past thirty years,...


Totally agree. I tend to _punish_ manufacturers who have the nerve to leave the US to make products overseas then ship them back here by never purchasing from them again. Johnston & Murphy comes to mind. I'll never buy that crap again.


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## AlanC (Oct 28, 2003)

For those interested in that sort of thing, I picked up a lot of old Nettleton shoe trees from a seller on ebay. The seller says they were purchased from an estate in Maine. She dated them to the 1920s, and I think 20s-30s is probably pretty accurate.

Note the hole drilled into them that allows for venting from the insole. The knobs also turn allowing them to extend. In the last picture is a side by side with later Nettleton shoe trees I have. Although nice, they aren't in the same league as these early ones. I would guesstimate the newer ones to 50s-early60s.


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## meister (Oct 29, 2005)

1940s Ventilated Nettleton Spectators with mild spade sole


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## Orgetorix (May 20, 2005)

Those are beautiful. Not spades at all IMO, though. I think the term is overused. There's no extension or any real spade shape to the soles on these.


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## drlivingston (Jun 21, 2012)

Picked up these Nettleton 11C saddle oxfords last weekend. It is hard to discern the age. Not my size but beautiful.


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## AlanC (Oct 28, 2003)

^ Nice. Soles/heels and interior would give some clue to age.


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## drlivingston (Jun 21, 2012)

AlanC said:


> ^ Nice. Soles/heels and interior would give some clue to age.


Sorry about that.


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## AlanC (Oct 28, 2003)

^ Old/real Nettleton. A very nice find. 1950s, maybe?

The Nettleton name has been revived, and the shoes look pretty nice in pictures. I believe they're made in Italy, but I don't know what connection they have to the original Nettleton other than the brand name. They're quite pricey, which is also in keeping with the original Nettleton.


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## aweart (Jul 2, 2012)

AlanC said:


> ^ Old/real Nettleton. A very nice find. 1950s, maybe?
> 
> The Nettleton name has been revived, and the shoes look pretty nice in pictures. I believe they're made in Italy, but I don't know what connection they have to the original Nettleton other than the brand name. They're quite pricey, which is also in keeping with the original Nettleton.


Alanc

I grew up in Syracuse. Nettleton was purchased in the 70's by Ed Tognoni. He ran the company in the 70's and 80's before selling it off. I don't know all the details, but the family purchased the brand back at some point letting it sit until 2013. They revived the brand in 2013. I went to high school with his son, who I know is involved with the sales for the company. The factory still sits in downtown Syracuse (its condos or apartments now) but the shoes are made somewhere in Europe (maybe Italy as you said I don't know).


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## alkydrinker (Apr 24, 2012)

Just to add a little to the thread, here are pics of my one pair of Nettletons PTBs. I have no idea when they were made, I bought them on eBay awhile back for about $50. The leather has a lot of inconsistencies in color, it looks like due to the past owner's polishing. At first I was a little put off by the condition of the leather, but the "patina" (if it can be called that) started to grow on me. Most importantly, the shoes are quite comfortable...they fit very true to Brannock sizing. I did just have rubber heels put on, because they had V-cleats that were slippery and could damage floors.


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