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Rare original circa 1915–1920 trolley car advertising sign from Butte, Montana, made for The Boot Shop, 39 West Park Ave.
This is one of the coolest pieces of Butte advertising we brought back. The reverse is actually handwritten “Trolley Car Advertisement – Butte, Montana,” identifying its original use rather than leaving it as just a generic period shoe advertisement.
The sign advertises Tweedie Boot Tops, marketed as:
“The New Creation – Glove Fitted to the Low Shoe or Boot”
Tweedie Boot Tops were an early removable boot-top/spat designed to give a low shoe the fashionable appearance of a tall button boot. Charles Tweedie filed his patent for the design in 1914, with the U.S. patent issued in 1915. By 1919–1920, Tweedie Boot Tops were being advertised across the country as a fashionable alternative to full boots, making a late-1910s date for this piece very likely.
What really sets this example apart is the local advertising panel for:
THE BOOT SHOP
39 West Park Ave.
BUTTE, MONT.
Combined with the handwritten trolley-car notation on the back, this appears to have been displayed as a commercial advertisement aboard one of Butte’s early streetcars/trolley cars.
Great graphics with the large blue field, illustrated women’s button boot and boot top, and the little diagram explaining that the top “does not pull up at front or back.” It is still presented in an ornate gold-tone frame that suits it extremely well.
An extremely uncommon piece of early Butte, Montana transportation and retail advertising, and a great crossover item for collectors of streetcar/trolley memorabilia, antique footwear advertising, Montana history, Western advertising or early 20th-century mercantile pieces.
Please see all photos closely for condition and details.
