Antique and Vintage Shoe Horns

Taking their name from the horns of animals, shoe horns—also spelled "shoehorns"—originated in the 15th century, a time when shoes were luxury goods custom made to fit tightly around a customer's foot. This made shoes difficult to get on. The scoop shape found on the inside of horns was thus well suited to guiding a well-heeled heel into the expensive footwear of the day. Today, antique and vintage shoe horns are widely collected. Because of their size, one can amass quite a collection of shoe horns without taking up too much space. There are the short ones used for regular shoes, as well as longer shoe horns deigned to help someone pull on a pair of boots. Because shoe horns were initially made for the well-to-do, they were often beautifully constructed and detailed, featuring handles made of silver or carved from exotic woods. The horns themselves were often made of brass, glass, whale bone, copper, and tortoiseshell. In addition, shoe horns were often sold with, or attached to, a button hook, another tool designed to help people get dressed. Shoe brushes were another common shoe-horn companion. In the 19th and 20th centuries, shoe horns became inexpensive vehicles for advertising, given away to customers as premiums, usually by stores in the business of selling shoes or boots. Typically, these shoe horns were made out of stamped stainless steel or molded plastic, sometimes colors to resemble tortoiseshell. Brands that were in the business of selling shoes and giving away shoe horns include Tom McAn, Sears, Florsheim, Nunn Bush, Penney's, Kinney, Dr. Scholl's, Red Wing, and Lee. Some of these vintage shoe horns featured bottle openers on their non-working ends.