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Lily K.Chadwick

Lily K.Chadwick

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Hi I've only just joined the forum and was wondering if anyone happened to have any information on a shoe maker by the name of "Milward and Sons Ltd"? I have a pair of shoes made by them which were passed down fom my great grandmother(along with an evening gown by Jean Leroy, Guilford which I'd also love any information on, though I'll have to get pictures of it first), who I think would have been born around the turn of the 19/20 century. They're made out of what I believe is either lizard or snakeskin. They are in fairly decent condition with the exception of two small splits in the leather/skin (the larger of which I've shown in the pictures), a few small brown spots and pinpricks and replaced buttons(?).
Please excuse the low quality and the quantity of the photos :)
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I'd really appreciate any help as the only information I could find was a reference letter by the maker, thanks :)
 
Thanks to you both!
There are unfortunately a few moth holes, despite it having being stored in airtight bags for years, I'll definitely try to get photos of it soon(sadly the pictures we have of her aren't in the dress :) )!
 
There are a pair of shoes nearly identical to those in my Dorling-Kindersley "Costume" book, which I've had forever, and still love to browse through. It's one of those "Eyewitness" books for kids. And they may be the exact same shoes. Just gorgeous.
 
First of all they are not to be confused with 'Milward & sons' the needle manufacturer for which you will find copious amount of data in your searches as they were the leading worldwide supplier for a time. I found also entering '-needle' into the search engine the quickest method to remove most of this material.

I believe your Milward & Sons Ltd to be the shoe & boot maker of Bristol (originally), however, you'll notice the label says 'made for' which indicates they are not the manufacturer of these particular shoes but the retailer. Quite frequently I find the higher end stores will have their label on some shoes with no mention of the manufacturer. (Harrods are a good example of this)

Records I found online:
Milward & Sons Ltd of Temple street, Bristol began in 1898, and changed their name to Milward Shoes Ltd in 1985 they dissolved sometime around 1996.
1911 They had a shop at 77 High Street, Banbury
1938 shop at 91 High street, Upton
between 1932-1960 they had a shop at 17 Cornmarket, Oxford.
1973 shop at 21 Market Street, Oxford

If by 'moth holes' you mean the two rusty spots near the buttons, this is where a cobbler's staple would have previously secured the button, yours look like the originals. They probably moved the buttons to accomodate a wider foot. I have seen the opposite before, with the staples left behind, and as you can see they rust over time.

If you know where your great grandmother lived you could search for Milwards & Sons Ltd shoe shops in those towns. I would say your shoes are 1920s so look for records around that decade.

Re: the skin they are made from you should contact Defra - who although they are a body protecting rare animal species and monitoring trade - they will be able to tell you what type and species of animal skin it is, you can get into contact with them here.
 
Hm, yes. I only said snake because in the DK book, they look so similar and are snake. But close-up I see your point. I don't see the flat, shiny scales. Must be lizard.
 
OK, here's the page from the book I mentioned...

Aren't they so similar? From the cut of the shoe (typical 20s) to the pattern of the skin. DK says snake, which is why I thought snake. Perhaps it's a particular type of snake that looks like a lizard? Who knows. It's definitely a reptile...

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Liza, I think the label in that book is a mistake. Perhaps the stock photo they chose did not specify the skin and they guessed, or it too was mislabeled.

This catelogue page is from Lennards Boots & Shoes who were also based in Bristol (later the Benefit boot & shoe co.) who could feasably have made the shoes to be sold in Milward & Sons shoe shops. The catelogue is not dated though the designs are 1920s. See the bottom example which is very similar in 'Grey Ringed Java' Lizard skin:

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No doubt they could be wrong, Melanie, and it really doesn't look like a snake to me, either. But I still love that book!!

Meanwhile, that is AMAZING that you found that, and "the aristocrat of lizard skins," no less. How much was 25 pounds then? Sounds VERY expensive, indeed.
 
Thanks Mary Jane :cool: I like getting stuck into good old British company history...
Better Dresses Vintage said:
How much was 25 pounds then? Sounds VERY expensive, indeed.
Click to expand...
Pre-decimalisation 25/- would be shillings/pence or £1 5s but I would have thought in the 1920's that was somewhere between a day and a week's wages.
Better Dresses Vintage said:
Melanie, where did you find that catalog?
Click to expand...
Unfortunately I don't own it :( The catelogue belongs to a descendant of the Benefit Shoe co. and that scan was given to me amongst other information when I got talking to them about some 1940s Benefit lace shoes I was researching.
 
Sorry for the late reply, and thanks so much to you all! :)
Pinkcoke and Better Dresses Vintage, I have a feeling I can remember finding a dead moth in the bag which had the gown in(those were the moth holes I was referring to), though I may very well be wrong. It's been out of the bag for a while now, though a few other things are still in there ... Thanks to both of you for the help, I really appreciate it as I would never have been able to find that amount and quality of information! :)
 
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