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Mishawaka Woolen MFG. Co. Advertising Shoe Crate
Presented is a vintage Mishawaka Woolen MFG Co. wooden shoe crate from one of America's iconic shoe and boot manufacturers. Mishawaka, Indiana, was the home city of Ball-Band footwear, which led to the fame of the Red Ball symbol. According to local news accounts, in about 1838 a woolen mill was first built in Mishawaka. By 1871, the Mishawaka Woolen Manufacturing Co. was founded, a stock company. In 1886, Adolphus Eberhart and Martin V. Beiger, the principal members of the company, invented the all-knit boot. This "boot" was woolen and made to be worn inside a rubber boot, by loggers and other outdoorsmen. The all-knit woolen boot was made with a black band across the top. In 1891, the Red Ball symbol was added to the black band. Soon, the Red Ball on the black band naturally became known as "Ball-Band." A rubber shoe manufacturing plant was added in 1898. Mishawaka Woolen MFG Co. branched out to begin making canvas shoes and other footwear. The company was purchased by United States Rubber in 1922. In 1924, the company name was changed to the Mishawaka Rubber and Woolen Manufacturing Co. The company was dissolved in 1969. The crate measures 13.3x32", with a height of 16.75". Stamped or stenciled on the front: "Mishawaka. IND/MISHAWAKA WOOLEN MFG.CO. BALL-BAND RUBBER and WOOLEN FOOTWEAR." Also stamped on the front is "Standard Railroad Container." The front also shows an image of the Red Ball. The crate was created between 1989 and 1924, because the company started manufacturing rubber shoes in 1989 and the company changed its name in 1924. The advertising crate is still functional, yet it shows great wear from its probable use as a railroad shipping container: various abrasions, nicks, nail holes, small partial splits in the wood, small stains, remaining glue marks and paper remnants from a bill of lading on one side, etc. Different shades of wood were used in the construction or different shades of wood were used in a repair. The offering can ably function as a display item, a functional storage crate, or both.
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