Pair of opera pumps worn by Cab Calloway: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A pair of size 9D black opera pumps worn by Cab Calloway. The exterior upper shoes are constructed with polished black leather. The top of the shoe is embellished with black ribbon bows. The toe boxes are rounded. The shoes have a single seam down the center lines of the heels. The heels are constructed from stacked, black leather with a rubber tread. The shoes’ soles are constructed from black leather and have a rubber tread over the pad of the foot. Molded repeating text on the rubber tread reads [CAT’S PAW]. The tan leather over the arch is stamped with text that reads [MADE IN ENGLAND]. The insoles are also black leather. At the center of each insole is a rectangular molded frame with molded text that reads [MADE IN ENGLAND / EXPRESSLEY FOR / COES & YOUNG CO. / BOSTON.]. Handwritten white text written on the shoe’s interior on both the left and right shoes reads: [395678 / x - 115 / 9 - D]. The shoes are lined with black leather.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: mid 20th-late 20th century
• Manufactured by: Coes and Young Company, American, founded 1908
• Worn by: Cab Calloway, American, 1907 - 1994
• Type: pumps (shoes)
• Medium: leather , ribbon and synthetic fiber
• Dimensions: H x W x D (A2015.273.1.15a): 3 1/4 × 3 13/16 × 11 9/16 in. (8.3 × 9.7 × 29.3 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W x D (A2015.273.1.15b): 3 3/8 × 3 11/16 × 11 9/16 in. (8.5 × 9.3 × 29.3 cm)
• Place made: England, Europe
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Band (Music)
• Topic: Clothing and dress
• Topic: Composers (Musicians)
• Topic: Conductors (Musicians)
• Topic: Costume
• Topic: Dance
• Topic: Jazz (Music)
• Object number: A2015.273.1.15ab
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Cabella Calloway Langsam
• 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 underlying object's rights statement is: Unknown – Restrictions Possible Rights assessment and proper usage is the responsibility of the user.