WW1 BSA Telescopic Shoe Trees 1917 Birmingham Small Arms Military Officer Boot0

WW1 BSA Telescopic Shoe Trees 1917 Birmingham Small Arms Military Officer Boot

£50.00
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WW1 BSA Telescopic Shoe Trees 1917 Birmingham Small Arms Military Officer Boot0
  • WW1 BSA Telescopic Shoe Trees 1917 Birmingham Small Arms Military Officer Boot0
  • WW1 BSA Telescopic Shoe Trees 1917 Birmingham Small Arms Military Officer Boot1
  • WW1 BSA Telescopic Shoe Trees 1917 Birmingham Small Arms Military Officer Boot2
  • WW1 BSA Telescopic Shoe Trees 1917 Birmingham Small Arms Military Officer Boot3
  • WW1 BSA Telescopic Shoe Trees 1917 Birmingham Small Arms Military Officer Boot4
  • WW1 BSA Telescopic Shoe Trees 1917 Birmingham Small Arms Military Officer Boot5
  • WW1 BSA Telescopic Shoe Trees 1917 Birmingham Small Arms Military Officer Boot6
  • WW1 BSA Telescopic Shoe Trees 1917 Birmingham Small Arms Military Officer Boot7
  • WW1 BSA Telescopic Shoe Trees 1917 Birmingham Small Arms Military Officer Boot8
  • WW1 BSA Telescopic Shoe Trees 1917 Birmingham Small Arms Military Officer Boot9
  • WW1 BSA Telescopic Shoe Trees 1917 Birmingham Small Arms Military Officer Boot10
  • WW1 BSA Telescopic Shoe Trees 1917 Birmingham Small Arms Military Officer Boot11
  • WW1 BSA Telescopic Shoe Trees 1917 Birmingham Small Arms Military Officer Boot12
  • WW1 BSA Telescopic Shoe Trees 1917 Birmingham Small Arms Military Officer Boot13
  • WW1 BSA Telescopic Shoe Trees 1917 Birmingham Small Arms Military Officer Boot14
  • WW1 BSA Telescopic Shoe Trees 1917 Birmingham Small Arms Military Officer Boot15
  • WW1 BSA Telescopic Shoe Trees 1917 Birmingham Small Arms Military Officer Boot16
  • WW1 BSA Telescopic Shoe Trees 1917 Birmingham Small Arms Military Officer Boot0
  • WW1 BSA Telescopic Shoe Trees 1917 Birmingham Small Arms Military Officer Boot1
  • WW1 BSA Telescopic Shoe Trees 1917 Birmingham Small Arms Military Officer Boot2
  • WW1 BSA Telescopic Shoe Trees 1917 Birmingham Small Arms Military Officer Boot3
  • WW1 BSA Telescopic Shoe Trees 1917 Birmingham Small Arms Military Officer Boot4
  • WW1 BSA Telescopic Shoe Trees 1917 Birmingham Small Arms Military Officer Boot5
  • WW1 BSA Telescopic Shoe Trees 1917 Birmingham Small Arms Military Officer Boot6
  • WW1 BSA Telescopic Shoe Trees 1917 Birmingham Small Arms Military Officer Boot7
  • WW1 BSA Telescopic Shoe Trees 1917 Birmingham Small Arms Military Officer Boot8
  • WW1 BSA Telescopic Shoe Trees 1917 Birmingham Small Arms Military Officer Boot9
  • WW1 BSA Telescopic Shoe Trees 1917 Birmingham Small Arms Military Officer Boot10
  • WW1 BSA Telescopic Shoe Trees 1917 Birmingham Small Arms Military Officer Boot11
  • WW1 BSA Telescopic Shoe Trees 1917 Birmingham Small Arms Military Officer Boot12
  • WW1 BSA Telescopic Shoe Trees 1917 Birmingham Small Arms Military Officer Boot13
  • WW1 BSA Telescopic Shoe Trees 1917 Birmingham Small Arms Military Officer Boot14
  • WW1 BSA Telescopic Shoe Trees 1917 Birmingham Small Arms Military Officer Boot15
  • WW1 BSA Telescopic Shoe Trees 1917 Birmingham Small Arms Military Officer Boot16
WW1 BSA Telescopic Shoe Trees 1917 Birmingham Small Arms Military Officer Boot

WW1 BSA Telescopic Shoe Trees 1917 Birmingham Small Arms Military Officer Boot

£50.00
Item Overview
  • Type: Antique Mechanical Telescopic Shoe Trees / WW1 British Military Officer Boot Shapers
  • Designer / Patentee: Hugh S. Jones (T.A.T. Marque)
  • Brand: BSA (Birmingham Small Arms)
  • Manufacturer: The Birmingham Small Arms Company Ltd (Birmingham, England)
  • MPN: Patent 7054 / 1917
  • Place of Origin: Birmingham, Warwickshire, United Kingdom
  • Style: Great War Military Utility / Edwardian Gentleman's Wardrobe / Industrial Metalware
  • Colour: Natural Burnished Cast Aluminium Silver and Darkened Industrial Gun-Metal Grey Steel
  • Design Era: First World War Era / Late Edwardian Period (Specifically Stamped 1917)
  • Material: Lightweight Cast Aluminium Toe Shells, Forged Spring Steel Telescopic Rails, and Solid Iron Assembly Rivets
  • Set Includes: One (1) Complete Matching Left & Right Pair of Mechanical Adjustable Shoe/Boot Trees (2-Piece Set)
  • Features: Deep-Stamped Birmingham Small Arms Maker Marks, 1917 Dated Patent Numerical Blocks, Multi-Position Pinhole Sizing Bar, Spring-Loaded Toggle Heel Lever clamps, and Intricate Hugh S. Jones Script Graphic Plates
  • Condition: Good Antique Condition with Fully Working Mechanics (The metal components are exceptionally solid, rigid, and completely intact with zero structural cracks or bent frames; the telescopic adjustment mechanisms sliding effortlessly as itemised below)
  • Size and Capacity: Toe plates measure approximately 3.5 inches at their widest point (approx. 8.9 cm). Total uncompressed base length measures 10.5 inches (approx. 26.7 cm), extending outwards via a 6-position sizing pin track to fit standard antique gentlemen's or officer leather riding boots.
Dating & Historical Context
  • Dating: This rare pair of mechanical wardrobe accessories dates to the height of the First World War (c. 1917–1918). The definitive, deeply stamped factory parameters—specifically documenting the official British Patent Number 7054 of 1917 alongside the pre-1919 layout of the Birmingham Small Arms corporate title—serve as absolute, un-debatable chronological signatures locking its production to this specific wartime window.
  • Historical Note: Long before modern plastics transformed shoe care, high-end leather footwear required robust structural inserts to prevent the leather from collapsing or cracking as it dried out. Founded in 1861, the Birmingham Small Arms Company (BSA) was the crown jewel of British precision metal engineering. While their sprawling Small Heath factories ran day and night during the Great War to produce hundreds of thousands of standard-issue Lee-Enfield rifles for trenches, their specialized toolrooms utilized left-over machinery scrap metal to manufacture premium domestic utility gear. This specific "T.A.T." (Telescopic Automatic Tree) design by Hugh S. Jones was an engineering masterpiece for its time, ditching heavy wood blocks for a sleek, lightweight combination of cast aluminium and adjustable steel rails. These high-end pairs were expensive personal luxury items, purchased from high-street military tailors by British Army officers to safeguard their expensive bespoke calfskin field riding boots while deployed on active service.
Description
A phenomenal piece of social history and a highly important acquisition for militaria collectors, industrial design historians, or premium antique wardrobe curators, this pair of 1917 BSA telescopic shoe trees is rich in mechanical character. The trees combine an anatomically contoured, lightweight cast aluminium toe plate with an adjustable parallel steel tracking spine that moves smoothly through six individual sizing parameters via a spring-loaded retention tab. The heel terminal is fitted with an ergonomic, heavy-duty lever clamp that snaps shut securely, creating the necessary tension to hold footwear flat.
Expert Identification & Mechanical Engineering Features:
  • Authentic BSA Stamping: The inner surfaces of the structural bars house crisp, deep industrial factory stampings confirming their authentic Small Arms weapon foundry origin.
  • T.A.T. Graphic Crests: The face of both toe plates houses a beautiful, sharply incised logo block showing two classical shoe trees pointing at an open book framework.
  • Vented Foot Profiling: Formed with a hollow, low-mass silhouette that encourages maximum ambient airflow inside the boot chamber to assist rapid leather drying.
  • Wartime Hardware Materials: Built from high-tensile steel alloys and early casting polymers designed to endure heavy handling and camp friction without warping.
Condition Report
This antique pair of WW1 shoe trees is in good condition, showing a fantastic abundance of authentic character and remaining fully operational. Both metal frames are structurally solid, rigid, and complete, entirely free from perimeter edge stress cracks across the aluminium shell loops, deep pitting, or historic weld repairs. The mechanical components are in great working order: the adjustment bars slide freely along their tracks, the sizing pins engage firmly into every location hole, and the heavy-duty rear heel clamps snap shut with strong mechanical resistance. The metal surfaces display an honest, warm historic patina, including minor surface storage oxidation spots, light usage scratches, and small speckles of age-related grime that emphasize their authentic field history. Please examine the detailed macro photos to inspect the pristine BSA factory stamps and confirm the 1917 patent dates.
Shipping & Logistics
  • Domestic Shipping: FREE UK TRACKED DELIVERY.
  • Packaging: The components of this heavy metal pair will be wrapped independently in soft tissue sheets to prevent any metal-on-metal scratching, layered inside high-density bubble cushioning to protect the tension levers, and shipped together inside a rigid outer container.
  • Dispatch: Order before 12.00pm and we ship same day.
Returns & Payment Policies
We want you to be delighted with your heritage find.
  • Not as Described: In the unlikely event of an error in our listing, we will provide a full refund and cover the return postage costs.
  • Change of Mind: We accept returns within 30 days; however, in these instances, the buyer is responsible for the return shipping costs.

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