Dacks and other Canadian shoe brands

[Jiqea]

I picked up these lovely Canadian Army officer's dress derbys today on my way back from a trip to Montreal. They were made by H.H. Brown in 1975 in Sherbrooke, Quebec. I have found dozens of pairs of these shoes in black, and fairly regularly see the Navy version in white, but I find this brown style is hard to find. They would have been just another government issue shoe in 1975, but after 45 years they look pretty damn good!

 

[Jiqea]

Here is a shoe ad from the Ottawa Citizen from 1984 from Letellier who are still in business in the Byward market area. It is interesting to note that the John McHale signature shoes were rightly priced above the Florsheim Imperials, however I was somewhat surprised to see that the the most expensive shoe listed was the Hartt brogue. It is true that those mid 80's Hartt's (and Dacks) were very nice but I am not sure they outshone the John McHale Bomber.

 

[Jiqea]

I thrifted two pairs of Florsheim by McHale yesterday, both 10.5E. The black pair are just slightly used while the brown pair are NOS. Lovely shoes. One letter width too wide for me and one letter width to narrow for my son.

 

[Jiqea]

These interesting seal leather John McHales popped up on Etsy this week. The sock-liner indicates they were part of the "Caravan Collection". They are identical to a pair that I own in Elephant leather. I suspect they date to the late 60-to mid-70's although I can find no ads for them in the newspaper archive. I wonder what other exotic leathers were part of the collection? Shark, alligator? One would assume camel for sure. The vendor wants $811 CDN for them so they might sit around for awhile. They appear to be a little heavier built than most of the Dacks seal leather shoes, although Dacks offered a split toe Norwegian that might give these a run for their money.

 

[Joe Wohkittel]

... Dacks offered a split toe Norwegian that might give these a run for their money.

I have a pair of these coming in the mail! I am, however, fairly certain you are referring to an older model.

 

[Moaks]

I picked up these lovely Canadian Army officer's dress derbys today on my way back from a trip to Montreal. They were made by H.H. Brown in 1975 in Sherbrooke, Quebec. I have found dozens of pairs of these shoes in black, and fairly regularly see the Navy version in white, but I find this brown style is hard to find. They would have been just another government issue shoe in 1975, but after 45 years they look pretty damn good!

View attachment 1413222 View attachment 1413223 View attachment 1413225

They look brand new!!

 

[Joe Wohkittel]

By no means a fine leather shoe, but interesting none the less. Was Collins a maker or did the contract out? I've never heard of the before.

Vintage Deadstock Georgia Industrial Steeltoe Black Leather Shoes Size 10 Eee | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Vintage Deadstock Georgia Industrial Steeltoe Black Leather Shoes Size 10 Eee at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.ca

 

[Jiqea]

By no means a fine leather shoe, but interesting none the less. Was Collins a maker or did the contract out? I've never heard of the before.

Vintage Deadstock Georgia Industrial Steeltoe Black Leather Shoes Size 10 Eee | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Vintage Deadstock Georgia Industrial Steeltoe Black Leather Shoes Size 10 Eee at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.ca

I believe Collins was a retailer and those shoes were manufactured by one of the Quebec manufacturers. likely H.H. Brown out of Sherbrooke. Virtually all of the dress safety shoes that I have seen in Canada were made in Quebec, with the exception being the Sisman products from their factory in Aurora, north of Toronto.

 

[Hotel Cali]

@Jiqea Not sure if you have seen these.

There's a bunch of interesting mismatch Dacks and McHale shoes and boxes. One McHale box said made in Italy

| eBay

 

[suitforcourt]

@Jiqea Not sure if you have seen these.

There's a bunch of interesting mismatch Dacks and McHale shoes and boxes. One McHale box said made in Italy

| eBay

That box is interesting. The shoes obviously don't match as they are Barkers.

I didn't know that McHale had shoes made in Italy!

 

[goatamous II]

@Jiqea Not sure if you have seen these.

There's a bunch of interesting mismatch Dacks and McHale shoes and boxes. One McHale box said made in Italy

| eBay

Radio Shack?
Polaroid?
DVD-R?

what year is this ebay page from???!?

[Nice find on those Dack's. the Wallabees made in Ireland are interesting!]

 

[suitforcourt]

Radio Shack?
Polaroid?
DVD-R?

what year is this ebay page from???!?

[Nice find on those Dack's. the Wallabees made in Ireland are interesting!]

I was about the say... the Radio Shack piece is historical.

I think someone emptied out grandpa or dad's collections.

 

[Jiqea]

Radio Shack?
Polaroid?
DVD-R?

what year is this ebay page from???!?

[Nice find on those Dack's. the Wallabees made in Ireland are interesting!]

I have been following that fellow. I am hoping he lists something nice. It looks like he has stumbled upon a cache of 1970's dead stock. He hasn't listed anything yet that fires my guns, but who knows what might come out of the wood work.

 

[Hotel Cali]

Are these two low end on the quality scale? The prices are quite cheap for NOSes.

Are Dacks' sizing consider true to Brannock sizing?

New Old Stock Vintage Dack's7.5 E Burgundy lace up Oxford Brogue Wingtip SH21 | eBay

Lovely leather shoes. unused condition.

www.ebay.com

Corrected grain on these?

NOS Business Class Red Brogue Oxford E 7 D SH11 | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for NOS Business Class Red Brogue Oxford E 7 D SH11 at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

 

[Hotel Cali]

Spoiler: Canadian shipping questions:

What is the cheaper and reliable shipping option from US to Canada? How does one reduce any imports duties/tariffs/fees for selling to acquaintances.