Dacks and other Canadian shoe brands

[suitforcourt]

Scott and McHale from 1947 or 1948. Bought these from @Jiqea .

Later became John McHale that was bought by Florsheim.

Triple leather soled, with the double row of nails in the heel. Redefines gunboats. I will eventually replace the heels.

 

[Jiqea]

A pair of rare S.E. Dack's cap-toe Oxfords hit eBay this afternoon. Unfortunately they have some nasty heel counter damage and are a B width, but they are still pretty cool so I thought I would document them here for our reference. They will date between 1952 and 1958. It appears that Dack's stopped labelling their extra quality shoes as S E Dacks roughly around the time the Toronto factory closed. Shortly thereafter the extra quality shoes were marked as the Bespoke Quality line.

They are superbly made and have the early 3 digit style code, and a Dacks "flag" liner tag with a white lettering, which is the first I have seen like this.

 

[Jiqea]

And another piece of early Canadian shoe ephemera is for sale on the Bay. This Hartt's advertizing card is likely pre-1920.

 

[Jiqea]

Another cool pair of early 50's Dack's were listed today, this time a pair of Custom Grade "Sheltons" with nailed heels and a 3 digit style code. They were posted by the same vendor as the S.E Dacks, and have the same pattern of heel counter damage and are a 9.5B. Very cool shoes. How I wish they were my size.

The Shelton ad is from 1958, but they were sold throughout the 50's. It is possible this timeless style was called the Shelton into the 60s, 70's and 80's. It would be great to find some vintage catalogues.

 

[suitforcourt]

Update: Shoes have been sold!

Shoes for sale. 8.5E John McHale in NOS condition. Original box included. I bought these hoping they would fit. Sadly, they do not. These are NOS, triple leather soled, true gunboats. Vcleat.com considers this one of the best shoes ever made: https://vcleat.com/john-mchale-85306-gunboats/ Check out the soles, nailed heels, and final details. I'm asking $400 USD. Fellow Canadians - we can definitely do this deal in our own currency

This will include shipping anywhere in Canada, or continental USA. If you want more pics, please send me PM. If a cobbler is interested, I'm happy to exchange for services.

 

[lbgradwell]

They're spectacular.

 

[Jiqea]

I hesitate to post these pictures so shortly after Ken's beautiful NOS John McHales, however these 10D 85306's just arrived this afternoon and I am pretty pleased with them. I purchased them from the original owner who bought them new in the early 70's in Kingston, Ontario. The third photo shows them with a NOS pair that I have that I have been unable to bring myself to wear other than on rugs ( very soft rugs). I will get this new pair spiffed up and put them in my daily rotation.

 

[Jiqea]

They say you should always read the fine print, and today for me that finally paid off. Last week I was musing on the four stitch thick threaded square that can be seen on John McHale Derbys/Bluchers post approximately 1948. I argued that it could be used to identify a pair of shoes I thrifted as McHales, even though they had the private label Ariston name on the liners.

Today, while looking at this very cool 1958 McHales advert I zoomed in on the fine print (in detail below) only to find that it shows that McHale considered this square to be their hallmark, and called it "box barring". Perhaps it is a sad indictment of my life, but I find this pretty cool.

You can see the box barring on the shoe to the left in the detail, and on dozens of John and Scott McHale Derby/Bluchers illustrated in the very recent past in this thread.

 

[lbgradwell]

Perhaps it is a sad indictment of my life, but I find this pretty cool.

Then I am your co-defendant, for I love the minutiae.

 

[lbgradwell]

"Artistry in Leather"

I like that.

 

[Jiqea]

Then I am your co-defendant, for I love the minutiae.

Here is my flotilla of John McHale gunboats. A true McHale's navy. Lots of box barring evident.

 

[lbgradwell]

Positively droolworthy!

 

[Jiqea]

The brogue pair with my feet up a few posts back on this page are in the back left of this photo. They restored wonderfully using Renomat followed by saddle soap, Bicks 4, Saphir Cognac shoe cream and the Collinil Creme de Luxe. The Renomat cetainly worked as advertized to remove the old wax build up without touching the original finish. Like a kinder, gentler acetone.

 

[lbgradwell]

I will have to invest in a bottle.

Were the brogues and the captoes issued in the exact same shade?

 

[Jiqea]

The majority of the Bomber (Balmer) shoes, cap-toe and short wing brogue, seem to have been issued in the same autumnal brown colour (Scottish Tan). But a quick scan of the internet suggests there was a second brown shade available at some point. And both shoes were available in black.

Here are a few shots of the lighter brown shoes. I also included a newly found view of the original Scott-McHale factory from another aspect, as well as the more common photo that we have seen before for comparison purposes. I have also found a photo of the second McHale factory that opened circa 1960. It was located on Wellington Road just north of the 401. Most of the shoes that we have in our collections would have been made here. I must have been driven past it many times as a child.

The advert snippet is from 1954. The full ad is from 1950. For much of the 50's McHale offered an Oxford version of the Bomber brogue. From what i gather the "Bomber" or "Balmer" as it is sometimes referred to, is a last rather than a shoe. There are many many references to the famed Bomber Last.