Tap shoes used by Sammy Davis Jr.
- On View
- Musical Crossroads Gallery
- Museum Maps
- Objects in this Location
- Exhibition
- Musical Crossroads
- Manufactured by
- Windsor Shoe Company, American
- Used by
- Davis, Sammy Jr., American, 1925 - 1990
- Date
- 1938
- Medium
- leather, rubber, cotton, and metal
- Dimensions
- H x W x D (Left (a) overall): 3 × 2 5/8 × 7 11/16 in. (7.6 × 6.7 × 19.5 cm)
- H x W x D (Right (b) overall): 2 7/8 × 2 3/4 × 7 9/16 in. (7.3 × 7 × 19.2 cm)
- Description
- This pair of child's tap shoes were used by Sammy Davis Jr. when he travelled the vaudeville circuit as part of the Will Mastin Trio. The shoes have black leather uppers and close across the center front over a split vamp with a tongue using black cotton shoelaces tipped with plastic or leather aglets. The leather outsoles are machine stitched to the midsole and the uppers as in a welted shoe. Rubber heels are adhered to the soles. Stamped onto the bottom of the heels is a "W" inside of a shield with the word "WINDSOR" below the shield. Metal toe taps are nailed to the outsole and metal heel taps are nailed to the rubber heel. The heel taps have an open area in the middle so that the manufacturer's mark can be seen on the rubber heel bottom.
- Place used
- United States, North and Central America
- Place made
- Littlestown, Adams County, Pennsylvania, United States, North and Central America
- Collection title
- A Cinema Apart: The Larry Richards Collection of Early Black Film
- Classification
- Clothing - Costume
- Type
- shoes (footwear)
- Topic
- Actors
- Children
- Clothing and dress
- Tap dancing
- Vaudeville
- Credit Line
- Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
- Object number
- 2013.118.302ab
- Restrictions & Rights
- No Known Copyright Restrictions
- Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.