Artist/Maker

Scales, C. F. (Grandfather of)

Date Made

1880-1900

Medium

wood

Dimensions

LOA 61″; HOA 34″

Accession Number

2552

Description

Large wooden high top buckle-up shoe, painted black and with name of Wells-Brietz Co. in white letters.

Wells-Brietz Co., a furniture store, stood at 330 South Main St. in Salem. The donor, however, stated that the shop stood earlier at a shoe shop on Salt Street in Salem.

According to the 1924 Winston-Salem City Directory, the shop was at 326-328 S. Main Street.

History

LABEL NOTES: Wells-Brietz Co., a furniture store, stood at 330 South Main St. in Salem. The donor, however, stated that the shop stood earlier at a shoe shop on Salt Street in Salem. According to tradition, the sign was made by Mr. C.F. Scales, 1037 Sprague Street, W-S

PROVENANCE is believed to be Winston, North Carolina. The shoe served as a sign for a mercantile store in Winston c. 1885-1900, and was placed outside the store to advertise womens’s shoes.

LABEL NOTES: Information regarding the boot was provided by Mrs. Constance R. Neelon of Hilton Head, South Carolina. Her great-grandfather Charles A. Severy (1839 – ) moved to Winston and worked at the mercantile store.

The boot was stolen during the second world war by soldiers at Fort Bragg. It was found and returned to Winston-Salem.
RELATED NAME: Neelon, Constance R.

According to the 1924 Winston-Salem City Directory, the shop was at 326-328 S. Main Street.

Credit Line

Old Salem Collection