Objects

Laced boots with solid wooden soles and leather bootlegs hand-stitched of tanned light (pig?) leather. They belonged to Marek Oberländer. There is no lining or batting, but they were strengthened both on the inside and on the outside; the heel counter is made of leather stripes with double stitches; additional patches were added on the toe caps. Parts between the tongue and the facing are strengthened with metal studs, eyelets – with metal rings, the light brown laces are still inside. Thin (one centimetre wide) leather strips were stitched around the welts (parts between the soles and the rest of the shoe) and fastened with nails, more or less, every one centimetre.

High wooden soles and heels were to protect from the cold as well as from the harshness of the terrain. Cut out from a single solid piece of wood, they were not equipped – as we may judge from the preservation state – with any additional rubber or leather sole, nor were they preserved otherwise.

Only the heels and the toes were stiffened with moon-shaped metal plates fastened with four nails. These leather boots with wooden soles show how precise were Oberländer’s arrangements for the long journey.

Donated by Halina Oberländer

Renata Piątkowska