Objects Database

Sportsman’s Emporium Skis.

Accession Number

694.2008.1

Object Name

Sportsman’s Emporium Skis.

Created

19/12/2008

Creator

Hermione Cooper

Accession Date

19/12/2008

Brief Description

Pair of wooden Sportsman’s Emporium skis with metal edges and remains of red lacquer on sole. Pair of 'Kandahar' type metal cable bindings with front throw spring clamp. Leather toe strap and tin footplate.

Materials

wood, metal, leather

Dimensions

195(l) cms At widest part 9.2(w) cms

Number Of Objects

1 pair

Inscription Description

Metal plate with "SPORTSMANS EMPORIUM ST. VINCENT'S ST. GLASGOW." "BR II LS" on bindings

Colour

brown

Object Production Place

Norway, Switzerland, Germany

Provenance

The wonderfully named Sportsman’s Emporium was a Mecca for Scottish outdoor men and women for nearly 100 years; from its inception in 1896 until the doors were finally closed in the 1980’s. Though there was an Edinburgh branch, the main store was in St Vincent’s Street, Glasgow, and among the vast array of sporting equipment there were skis, boots, bindings, poles, wax and clothing. Scottish skiers visited en masse as it was one of the few outdoor shops that stocked ski gear in Scotland.
There have been very few actual ski manufacturers in the UK and shops like the Sportsman’s Emporium would import skis from wherever they could find them, mostly from Norway, Switzerland and Germany.
We can’t find the manufacturer’s name on either of the skis or the bindings on the set we have here in the collection, but reckon they would have come from one of the above countries in the 1930’s, a time when there were no ski tows and ‘Kandahar’ style bindings enabled skiers to go cross country, up the hill and down the other side.

Acquisition Method

Part of collection passed on from Scottish Ski Club

Acquisition Date

01/12/2008

Condition Check Date

28/04/2009

Rules

Spectrum : UK Museum documentation standard, V.3.1 2007

Modified

28/04/2009

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