Shoes in Miniature

A small porcelain shoe made in Japan (MIJ). This is a knock-off of a shoe that was available from “The Home of Gifts, Mayer’s, Arlington Va.” in the early 1950s. The details of the hand-painted flowers on the last and on the top back of the slipper have been changed, and all the flowers are painted on slightly raised surfaces instead of being individually attached as in the original. However the overall dotted pattern found in the original heel has been hand-applied and is raised on the copy.

3 1/8 inches in length and 2 1/8 inches in height, 1 1/8 inch in width. The shoe is in excellent condition, with no cracks, chips or other damage.

The heel is stamped MADE IN JAPAN in red ink on the sole. A post WWII shoe, produced after 1952.
This shoe is noted in Collectible Glass Shoes Second Edition by Earlene Wheatley, Scroeder Books Publishing Co., Inc. 2001. It’s estimated collectors’ price in 2001 was $20.00 according to the Wheatley reference. Approximate collectors’ value now is $30.00.

A beige lustre shoe with a minimalist clown figure on the last.

The shoe has the imprint JAPAN and a double diamond above the heel on the back of the shoe. There is an imperfection at this site in the ceramic - a factory imperfection, not a chip. (Factory imperfections do not lower the value of collector shoes). There are no cracks or crazing.

The shoe also has a stamp on the sole, simply JAPAN, in black ink.

Estimated date of manufacture, pre-WWII shoe. Estimated collector’s value is $40.00 - $45.00.

Information from Collectible Glass Shoes Second Edition by Earlene Wheatley, Schroeder Publishing Co., Inc. (2001) and personal interviews and papers.

The Mosser Glass Company was started in 1959 by Tom Mosser who had worked extensively with the Cambridge Glass Company when it was in operation. The Mosser brand is well known for their authentic reproductions of early American slippers and boots using moulds perfected in the 1900s and others designed by Mosser.

This fragile glass ornament stands 2 1/4″ high and 1 1/2″ long. It has no identifying marks. Purchased circa 1995 for $4.00. Value approximately the same.

The boot is filled with a life-like vinyl trout, a fishing pole and string, and fly fishing lures with feathers.

A Christmas Tree Ornament of a single ski and attached ski boot. The boot is made of poly-resin and the ski is wood. There is a narrow elastic cord used for tie-up laces.

The bottom of the ski ornament has a gold oval sticker and black writing which indicates MADE IN CHINA.

This pair of high heels are made from crystal glass and measure 3 1/2″ long and 1 1/4″ high. They are attached with gold thread which has two stickers applied to it, both reading MADE IN CHINA.

A gift from children for the Christmas tree, these were purchased for less than $3.00 and have no collector’s value, only sentimental value. Nonetheless they are a part of the Lillian P Wood Memorial Collection as an acquisition in 1996.

This is a pair of ceramic high heeled shoes manufactured in Japan. They are dated from the 1950s kitschy era. Each shoe is decorated with an elf, one dressed in yellow, the other in pink. Much of the paint has worn off, notably the clothing and the bows which were once red. Each elf has a large brown bump on its forehead. (?) The faces, however, are in excellent condition.

The shoes each measure 3″ in length, 3″ in height and 1 5/8″ in width. There are no chips, cracks or crazing. The detailing is not sharp, but the outlines are evident.

Note the odd brown forehead ‘bump’, but also notice the delicate painted eyelashes.

The stamp in red reads JAPAN. This pair of shoes is part of the original Lillian P Wood Memorial Collection and dates from the early 1950s.

The estimated collector’s value is $18.00 to $24.00 for the pair.

Information from The Collector’s Guide to Made in Japan Ceramics by Carole Bess White published by Collectors Books, a division of Schroeder Publishing Co., Inc. in 1996 and personal records.

This slipper is Elfinware. It is a Dresden-like porcelain that was sold in dime stores and gift shops in the 1920s through 1940s.

The piece is decorated with raised flowers, blue forget-me-nots, a white rose, and tiny purple violets, and covered with highly textured green leafy “spinach” or “moss.”

The shoe measures 3 1/2″ long, 1 1/4″ high and 1 3/8″ wide. There are no chips or damaged flower/moss details.

The shoe is marked ELFINWARE GERMANY on the bottom.

Close-up of flowers on the upper (vamp)

The shoe measures 3 1/2″ long, 1 1/4″ high and 1 3/8″ wide. There are no chips or damaged flower/moss details.

This shoe is an acquisition of the Lillian P Wood Memorial Collection and was purchased in 1998 at auction for $30.00. The shoe’s current collector value is $65.00 to $80.00.

Information from the reference book, Collectible Glass Shoes by Earlene Wheatley, published by Schroeder Publishing, 2001 and Kobel.com. Other information was recorded from personal papers.