Landi

Landi's pointe shoes, made in New York, mid 1920's until?

Ad left from Dance Magazine 1929 when one could purchase a Landi in pink, white or black satin for a whopping $5.25 plus 0.20 postage. Ribbons cost 20 cents per yard.

Excellent craftsmanship.

While term "V" shape vamp has survived, the Landi's Toe Shoe has not for reasons unknown at this time.

Note Landi's "V" narrows along top & bottom of toes. This would seem to keep toes flat, distribute weight evenly & reduce tendency for toe drift.

Tempo Toe Shoes

Offered a “V” instep to grip the foot, “like a friendly hand.” Was this a predecessor to most of today's USA made pointe shoes that have a concave arch? Or did USA pointe shoes always have concave arches and Tempo just thought to advertise the fact?

All I know is that today, most non-USA made pointes do not have concave arches and most USA made one do. Maria Dare’s pointe shoes of 1930’s-40’s vintage include Concave Arched shoes by Capezio, Nicoline by Capezio, and Landi. A Nicolini Romeo made in Italy has no arch.

What’s best?
Depends on the foot. The strong high arch foot works better in a non-concave shoe while the foot needing help to get over the pointe works better in a concave shoe.

Selva appears to have been an inventor as well as a skilled craftsman. The Selva Tu-Toe offers two layers of fabric over the pointe so that it would last twice as long. Perhaps this was the predecessor of the "Duro-Toe." While the suede tipped Duro-Toe's fabric lasted, the underlying box collapsed forming a ridge, making it difficult to get over pointes. It is unknown if the Selvas in Maria Dare Collection are Tu-Toes or just Selva's. They are of the highest quality and show no seams of any kind on the tips.

Correspondence with Anna Selva Koppinger, has shared interesting information. Anna’s dad was “the Son” and her grandfather was the “Selva” of Selva & Son. “Son” was Samuel Selva, sole designer. Samuel also designed the Fred Astaire Tap. Originally the finest Italian shoemakers were employed to make the shoes. (Please re-visit for more about the above.)

Ben & Sally

Ben & Sally produced a pointe shoe that was advertised as “NOI-Z-LESS”

You could purchase these in Satin for $5.25, in Linen or Black kid leather for $4.50. If you wanted soft toe shoes in black with krome sole (whatever that is) it cost $3.50.

In 2007, Capezio celebrates 120 years of operation, having had a number of challengers over the years. In the past, none have been able to dominate the market like Capezio. Today there are a host of new challengers and "all new" pointe shoe concepts

Capezio was advertising in The Dance Magazine, before there was a The Dance Magazine! In 1925, Capezio was celebrating 38 years of operation.

It is a tradition to name a pointe shoe after it’s maker so I always assumed that somewhere, once upon a time there was a Mr. Capezio. Recently someone informed me that there was no Santa Claus and someone else told me there was no Mr. Capezio! Could that be why capezio shoes have names such as Capezio Nicolini (Capezio being the company and Nicolini being the creator?) If you ever met Mr. Capezio, or have information about how the company started and by whom, please fill me in.

UPDATE:

While I'm still in the dark about Santa, Virginia Koutroubas of Okumus Capital LLC, New York, NY emailed zandance to fill in the blanks. After checking sources such as Wikipedia, she found that Capezio was started by a 17 year old man named Salvatore Capezio. In 1887 he opened a shop named The Theatrical & Historical Shoemaker across from the old Metropolitan Opera House in New York City. In the 1950's - 1980's Capezio Company head was "Ben Sommers, a non-family member whom the childless Salvatore Capezio thought of as a son." Sommers eventually sold the Capezio name to U.S. Shoe Corporation. Then U.S. Shoe Corp was purchased by Nine West. Nine West was sold to Jones Apparel. Jones Apparel still owns the Capezio name and Ballet Makers, Inc. of Totowa, NJ,"currently licenses the use of this name on its dance products." Ballet Makers, Inc. was a company created in the wake of the sale of the Capezio name.

So it would seem that Capezio was once a man who came from Italy to New York. Capezio is now a trademark "used by a privately held United States company, Ballet Makers, Inc., which specializes in dance apparel and dance shoes, including ballet pointe shoes." Capezio products are marketed worldwide but mainly found in USA and Europe.

Thanks Virginia for bringing the above info to light.

Salvatore Capezio, was born April 13, 1871 in Muro Lucano, Italy. His father was a construction engineer, but Salvatore became an artist and a cobbler..

Freed is a deep vamp, and not pre-arched. Dancers who push too far over pointes and snap shanks find this lack of arching an advantage.

According to Wikipedia: "Freed was started in 1929 by a Fredrich Freed, a cobbler, and his wife who previously had been employed at Gamba, another pointe shoe company. In 1990, Freed was taken over by a large Japanese company called Onward Takiyama.4 The Freed of London headquarters remains in England. Originally located in Covant Garden, it new home is at Well Street, East London.5"

For more about the making of Freed Pointe Shoes

Grishko (Russian) removed draw string to reduce sawing action on tendon.

Gaynor Minden: developed a one piece box and shank of isometric plastic that does not break down or shift around. Offers wide variety of variables (shanks, vamps, widths, lengths, heel heights, box styles) so that the many unique feet of an entire company can all look alike on stage yet have a good fit.

Barney's Strong Arch devise

(of unknown shape) is my favorite. The full page ad in Dance Lover's Magazine, 1925, insists that "Anyone can toe dance in just 5 minutes; even amateurs toe dance for hours without tiring..." by just inserting a Barney into the shoe. Of course I can't help but wonder, if they worked so well, how come Barney had to take out a full page ad to unload them at half price?

In 1929, Barney was back in The Dance Magazine, with no mention of his Strong Arch, so he must have unloaded all of them. This time his "Newest Creation" was the Toe Shield that amazingly resembles several modern day toe pads. Yet Barney's "achievement" is no longer on the market.

What distinguishes today's innovations from those of 70 years past? Are the Toe Floe's & Ouch Pouches of today, the Barnes of tomorrow?

Sports Medicine, Biomechanics Research,Computers, Space Age Materials. Today, when someone decides to do something about removing the torture from the chamber, he/she usually consults with a Specialist. Computerized simulations & other research has helped us to see inside movement and better understand the problem before we set out to fix it. Once the prototype is developed, laboratories are available to test the product to see if it really does what it is designed to do.

The biggest difference is in the materials. I wonder what marvel Barney might have created if he had access to an ounce of that oozie jelly stuff inside a Toe Floe or the more rigid yet squeezable stuff inside an Ouch Pouch?

The recognition of the need to remove the harmful side effects of pointe work has been around for decades. Over the years, many have tried to "Do something about these things." Today, those efforts can be successful as a result of the new materials.

Haney’s Toe Dance Tapper

A new version of this product that looked almost exactly like the old one had revived popularity in the Mid-West during the 1990’s. It was the rage to attach them to the Gaynor Minden pointe shoe. Hearing of this Liza Minden gasped, “After all the work to make the Gaynor Minden a quiet shoe!!!” Wise Dance Suppliers discontinued sales of this toe taping product due to liability concerns. They are a product that invites injury.