Objects Database

Nailed Boots ( with Commando sole)

Accession Number

585.2008.1

Object Name

Nailed Boots ( with Commando sole)

Created

03/12/2008

Creator

Hermione Cooper

Accession Date

03/12/2008

Brief Description

Pair of mountaineering boots with nylon laces. Metal eyehooks. Vibram soles with nails put in by hand. Tape loop on back of each boot.

Materials

leather, metal, rubber

Dimensions

Size 7 29(l) x 11(w)cms

Number Of Objects

1 pair

Inscription Description

On sole, ellipse with "MADE IN ENGLAND ITSHIDE" inside. Then "COMMANDO" below.

Colour

brown

Maker

Itshide

Object Production Place

England

Provenance

These are a real curiosity. They belonged to Bobby Corson who was an early member of Lochaber Mountaineering Club and Rescue Team in the 1950's and 60's. This was an era when nailed boots, having been used by mountaineers for nearly a century, were going out of fashion, largely due to the invention of the Vibram sole by Vitale Bramani (he linked the letters of his name to create VIBRAM) which was made of rubber, and amongst other things such as grip and cost, kept the feet a lot warmer, there being no lumps of cold steel nailed to the sole of the boot. Bobby, along with many other climbers of the time, eased themselves into the new era by adding a few nails of their own to make themselves feel a bit happier.
The ITSHIDE Rubber Co. Ltd. produced what was basically a variation of the Vibram in 1947, calling it the Commando sole. They were later 'contracted to supply to the Ministry of defence, hundreds of thousands of pairs of Commando soles for the manufacture of boots for the armed forces during the Korean War.
We know that Bobby Corson bought a lot of ex-army gear from Marshall & Pearsons shop in Fort William and there's a fair chance that's where these boots came from.

Acquisition Date

03/12/2008

Condition Check Date

28/04/2009

Rules

Spectrum : UK Museum documentation standard, V.3.1 2007

Modified

28/04/2009

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