Creation Date

1897 – 1920

Description

Shoe stretcher. 17" tong-like device, made of cast iron. It has two handles that meet, and two curved pieces at the end, one with a knob on it which fits into a ring on the opposite piece. Raised letters say: "Pat. Oct. 12, '97" on one side and "Lightening Fulton, ILL." on the other. This was used to stretch the shoe leather over the wearer's bunion to make the shoes more comfortable. Subject card reads: "From the days of bunions and corns, when people, women especially tried to be comfortable in shoes too small for them. When shoes were not made for comfort, often, but only for style and vanity of the buyer. So this device would stretch the leather ofer the joint where the bunion formed."