Tap shoes used by Sammy Davis Jr.: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

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.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1938
• Manufactured by: Windsor Shoe Company, American
• Used by: Sammy Davis Jr., American, 1925 - 1990
• Type: shoes (footwear)
• 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)
• Dimensions: H x W x D (Right (b) overall): 2 7/8 × 2 3/4 × 7 9/16 in. (7.3 × 7 × 19.2 cm)
• Place used: United States, North and Central America
• Place made: Littlestown, Adams County, Pennsylvania, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Actors
• Topic: Children
• Topic: Clothing and dress
• Topic: Tap dancing
• Topic: Vaudeville
• Object number: 2013.118.302ab
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The displayed image also has an explicit CC0 designation. The underlying object's rights statement is: No Known Copyright Restrictions Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.