Shoes, worn by Johnny Puleo: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This pair of shoes was made by Florsheim, undetermined date. They are an Oxford lace-up style made of black leather. The left shoe is built up on bottom. The right show has no heel.

This pair of shoes was previously owned and worn by Johnny Puleo (1907-1983), an American harmonica player and actor. Puleo got his big break after performing at a contest held by harmonica player and actor, Borrah Minevitch (born Boruch Meinewitz, 1902-1955), and leader of the group The Harmonica Rascals. After Minevitch’s death in 1955, Puleo formed his own group, The Harmonica Gang. The group performed throughout the world and made several recordings during their association. Puleo appeared in several television programs and films.

Materials, dates and provenance

• maker: Florsheim
• Object Name: shoes, pair of
• Physical Description: leather (overall material)
• Measurements: overall: 3 1/2 in x 9 in x 10 1/2 in; 8.89 cm x 22.86 cm x 26.67 cm
• Measurements: right shoe: 3 3/8 in x 3 1/2 in x 10 1/2 in; 8.5725 cm x 8.89 cm x 26.67 cm
• Measurements: left shoe: 3 1/2 in x 3 9/16 in x 10 1/4 in; 8.89 cm x 9.04875 cm x 26.035 cm
• ID Number: 1991.0264.05
• accession number: 1991.0264
• catalog number: 1991.0264.05
• Credit Line: Gift of Josephine M. DeRosa and Louise H. Puleo
• Data Source: National Museum of American History

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of American History through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed.