Ics skates No. 40, by Unknown

Ics Skates No. 40, by Unknown

C. 1887

Chromolithograph

This color lithograph showcases an exquisite, side-profile illustration of a luxurious women’s winter boot attached to an early mechanical ice skate blade, titled “Damen-Winterstiefel v. G.W. Löschmann, Danzig” (Women's Winter Boot by G.W. Löschmann, Danzig). Designed by the master cordwainer G.W. Löschmann and rendered by an anonymous commercial artist from the Paul Gensler Kunstwerkstatt in Berlin, the boot features a textured tan leather vamp, a high shaft decorated with an intricate geometric diamond pattern, and a plush fur collar at the top opening. The lower edge reveals a sturdy dark wooden or leather outsole mounted onto an adjustable steel ice-skating chassis with metal clamps gripping the heel and ball of the foot. Bold German typography across the header establishes this plate as a page from F.A. Günthers Deutsche Schuhmacher-Zeitung, No. 40, Jahrgang 1887, published by F.A. Günthers Zeitungsverlag at Wilhelmstr. 118 in Berlin. This precisely dated 1887 print serves as both a seasonal fashion advertisement and a technical guide for nineteenth-century athletic footwear construction.

During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, specialized trade publications served as an essential lifeline for European craftsmen adapting to a rapidly modernizing consumer market. Trade magazines like Der Schuhmachermeister regularly distributed these high-quality technical supplement plates to independent cobblers and cordwainers. Rather than acting as mere consumer advertisements, these illustrations functioned as accurate design blueprints and stylistic benchmarks. They allowed local masters to reproduce the latest metropolitan fashions, including Berlin or Parisian high-society trends, for their regional clientele. These plates are critically important to fashion historians today because they bridge the gap between traditional bespoke handcraft and industrial mass manufacturing, documenting the precise patterns, heel geometry, and textile combinations that defined the footwear silhouette of the era.

Dimensions: H 15" x 11" W

Condition: A few minor tears around the edges