Boot jack
Probably Northern Delaware
1800-1900
Measurements
3-1/4 in x 18-1/4 in x 5-1/8 in
Materials
Hard pine and ash (supporting block)
Credit Line
Historic Odessa Foundation
Accession Number
1971.18
Inscription
The Label of “G. W. Thomas / Antiques / Middletown, Del.” is applied to the front of the supporting block.
Provenance
The boot jack was purchased by Winterthur from antiques dealer George W. Thomas of Middletown, Delaware. Reportedly, it came from a farmhouse near Newark, Delaware.
Comments
The boot jack is made of a wood board, notched at one end, and raised by a block of wood to an incline to allow the user to stand on the low end while slipping a boot into the notch. The pine board was re-used, as indicated by an extraneous drilled hole and several nails drive into various places. It is unfinished, although the surfaces hqve now darkened with age and use.