Four 1930s trade catalogs for “America’s Most Popular Boys Shoes” made by Gerberich-Payne Shoe Company of Mount Joy, Pennsylvania.

“For a steady Thriving business we present an outstaning line of Boys’ High Grade Shoes…”

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Heavily-illustrated, a lovely collection of four manufacturer trade catalogs distributed to shoe stores by the Gerberich-Payne Shoe Company, soliciting orders.

From “Little Gents’ Brown Elk Veal Blucher Oxfords” to scuff-free boots, the firm offered a dizzying quantity of shoes for boys.

For the company’s Official Boy Scout Shoes, the company remarked: “An intensive advertising campaign will continue to send the Gerberich message to 300,000 Boy Scouts, and their families, at regular intervals. This large, and constantly active, market opens a new field of sales and profits to you. ‘BE PREPARED.’”

According to the Mount Joy Historical Association, the Gerberich Payne Shoe Company was founded in the 1920s and was among the community’s largest industries. An excellent snapshot of 1930s American foot fashion for the all-American boy: useful for fashion and advertising historians as well as the detail-oriented costumer.

Price: $350.00