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 SMP Silver Salon Forums
 20th/21st Century Silversmiths
 Shoe buckles
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| Author | Topic: Shoe buckles |
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wev Moderator Posts: 2503 |
posted 06-08-2000 10:52 PM
  
I recently acquired a lovely pair of shoe buckles made by Anna Eicker of Park Ridge. I understand that such adornments enjoyed a revival at the beginning of the last century - can anyone give an approximate time-frame for the fashion? IP: Logged |
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Scott Martin Forum Master Posts: 5213 |
posted 08-23-2000 09:52 PM
Thanks to your post we were able to identify Anna Eicker as the maker of a wonderful small hammered ladle that we found. Was Anna related to Heinrich Eicher from the Kalo Shop? I know the spelling of the last names is slightly different but they both seem to have been operating out of Park Ridge and certainly both producing goods in the Arts and Crafts style. IP: Logged |
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Brent Moderator Posts: 1316 |
posted 08-23-2000 10:20 PM
We are repeating ourselves already! We had a thread on the Eichers in the General forum, started 9/13/99 by WEV. WEV is a god-relative to the Eichers, I believe? IP: Logged |
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wev Moderator Posts: 2503 |
posted 08-23-2000 10:39 PM
What a lovely ladle and I think you should send it straight to California, posted haste. Henrich and Anna were indeed husband and wife. Through some web serendipity and hard legwork by a friend in Park Ridge, I can give you a bit more information on their rather sad life. Heinrich Eicher was, until 1914, the production foreman for Kalo while the shop was in Park Ridge. His wife Anna (whose legal name was Asta) worked from the front parlor of their home at 312 Cedar Street, producing silver in the Danish/Arts & Crafts style. After 1914, not wishing to move with Kalo to Chicago proper, Heinrich joined her on a full time basis and they adopted the AHE circular mark on your ladle. From what we have found, Henrich died in 1926/1927. As you might know from a previous post, the Eichers were my father's godparents and he told me of attending Heinrich's funeral as a young boy. Asta Eicher continued at 312 until 1933. In that year, she and her three children were kidnapped by Harry Parker, an otherwise mild-mannered grocer of Clarkesville West Virginia. While investigating an unrelated matter, police discovered the bodies of the Eicher family and others in a culvert behind Mr. Parker's store. Later investigation discovered Asta Eicher's trunk of family papers and possessions in Parker's attic. The Eicher's Park Ridge neighbors later identified Parker as the man who had assured them that Asta had "...taken the children back to the old country to meet their family." This and evidence from several of the other murders served to convict Mr. Parker, who, apparently, was the last man hung in West Virginia for a capital crime. I have not been able to trace the Eichers before their arrival in the US; my grandfather stood surety for them at their emigration, but I have found nothing of their origins in our scanty family papers from that time. I would assume they were from Denmark and knew my family there. My friend, Mark Szyndrowski and I are continuing our researches and hope to put together a more complete biography of two very talented Chicago metalworkers. IP: Logged |
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Scott Martin Forum Master Posts: 5213 |
posted 08-23-2000 11:31 PM
Wow! What a fascinating and tragic story. Anyone know who has the movie rights?  Thank you so much, wev. We thought Eicher sounded familiar. Sorry we overlooked the earlier thread. (Thanks, Brent!).June & Scott IP: Logged |
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wev Moderator Posts: 2503 |
posted 04-01-2001 08:59 PM
I just found out that the murder of Asta Eicher and her children by Harry Parker was the basis for the book Night of the Hunter by Davis Grubb. The movie version starring Robert "Pray for me, boys" Mitchum as Harry is truly frightening. [This message has been edited by wev (edited 04-01-2001).] IP: Logged |
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FredZ Posts: 861 |
posted 04-06-2001 05:12 PM
I too have just purchased a fine pair of shoe buckles from the same period as erik's. I have no image but they are simply hammered of heavy gauge sterling and marked STERLING and the name FOSTER.... My hopes is that they may be by the silversmith Sybil Foster who studied under George C. Gebelein. Has anyone seen work made by this woman, or come across further pieces similarly marked.... I have ruled out Lillian Foster because she worked at a later date than these buckles would indicate. IP: Logged |
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FredZ Posts: 861 |
posted 02-13-2002 10:15 AM
Since my last post on the buckles I have aquired two more shoe buckles with the Foster mark. These are Foster in scipt letters. One set was converted into a bracelet and the other is a single copper shoe buckle. The copper buckle with the script Foster is identical with the first sterling pair marked FOSTER. I attribute them to the same maker. Has anyone come across other items by this craftsman/woman? IP: Logged |
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FredZ Posts: 861 |
posted 03-08-2002 07:06 AM
I just acquired a set of buckles by the Chicago Silver Company,(founded 1923 by Knut L Gustafson) and a single buckle by Edward H. Breese (operated during the 1920 through the 30's). These were probably produced in the 20's. They are handwrought in a plain hammered finish. They each have a bar with two holes for attaching to the shoe. Does anyone know how these were attached and if you had to buy a special shoe that allowed for this attachment? IP: Logged |
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FredZ Posts: 861 |
posted 06-10-2005 02:46 PM
Here are images of some of the Foster buckle I have found and the two different marks by the same maker.    I have identical buckles that Foster made in copper and a smaller embossed oval set in sterling as well. I have never seen anything other than buckles with these marks. Has anyone seen other buckles or any other items by this maker? Fred [This message has been edited by FredZ (edited 06-10-2005).] IP: Logged |
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rat Posts: 54 |
posted 06-11-2005 01:58 PM
Fred, Here is a link to a pair of shoes with their handwrought Arts & Crafts buckles: Madeline Yale Wynne shoes with buckles from a museum in Deerfield, MA. She was active in both Chicago and Deerfield according to Sharon Darling in "Chicago Metalsmiths". PS. If you are on a PC, you can right click with your mouse on the photo, select "View Image" (or "Save Image As" to download to your computer), and you will get the original photo which is larger and has more detail. - rat [This message has been edited by rat (edited 06-11-2005).] IP: Logged |
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FredZ Posts: 861 |
posted 06-20-2005 11:49 AM
Rat, I saw those shoe buckles when I went to Deerfield. I also saw period photographs of folks attending parties dressed in colonial dress. It seems that the fascination for our colonial past became quite the rage with some folks. Deerfield has quite a collection of Madeline Wynne's work as well as a spectacular collection of early American Silver. Fred IP: Logged |
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FredZ Posts: 861 |
posted 03-04-2008 04:18 PM
I was recently contacted by Darcy Evon of Chicago and she mentioned seeing a pair of F.E. Foster shoes with hammered sterling buckles. The buckles were signed with the same script Foster mark as the ones I own. F.E.Foster Shoes & Co was founded by Frederick Earl Foster. She also found an advertizement for the same shoes in the Chicago Daily Tribune dated April 25, 1923. The shoes were promoted as "A Foster Street Colonial" They came in "Rough Calf with black Lava Buckles" or in "White Buckskin with shell Pearl Buckles" My buckles appeard on their "Black Calf or Patent Leather with hammered Silver Buckles" Seems the mystery of my buckles is solved. I suspect that they jobbed the silver buckles out to some Chicago silversmith. Fred [This message has been edited by FredZ (edited 03-05-2008).] IP: Logged |
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FredZ Posts: 861 |
posted 05-31-2008 10:51 PM
It is truly satisfying to be able to solve a mystery. I have been collecting these Foster buckles for several years now and within the last few months I have received help from friends to solve the question of who the maker of these buckles are. In the last post I mentioned the discovery that these buckles were marked with the shoe company that ordered the buckles for their Colonial style shoes. Today I received an email of a pair of buckles identical to the ones I own and with the same Foster in script letters as shown in the previous images. The image I received has a twist. The Foster mark is struck over the mark of the maker of the buckles. I am comfortable that The Foster Shoe Co. hired KALO to make buckles for some of their shoes. This was possible because of the generousity of freinds and their willingness to share their discoveries. Fred IP: Logged |
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