O'Sullivan Rubber Corporation Stock Certificate

Description

Product Details
Beautifully engraved antique stock certificate from the O'Sullivan Rubber Corporation dating back to the 1940's. This document, which features the printed signatures of the company President and Secretary, was printed by the Franklin-Lee Division of the American Bank Note Company and measures approximately 11 1/2" (w) by 7 3/4" (h).
The unique vignette shows one of the company's rubber safety heels on a mens dress shoe.
Images
You will receive the exact certificate pictured.
Historical Context
The phrase, "America's No. 1 Heel," doesn't sound like much of an advertising slogan these days, but in the early decades of this century it powered the sales of a rubber safety heel that became one of America's best-known shoewear products.
The rubber heel was invented, so the story goes, by one Humphrey O'Sullivan, a pressman in Lowell, Massachusetts, in 1896. He nailed pieces of rubber floormat to his shoes to ease the leg fatigue caused by long hours of standing in front of his printing press. In 1899, O'Sullivan patented the rubber heel and it became the start of the O'Sullivan Rubber Co.
The heels were manufactured first by the Boston Belting Co., and later by Goodrich Rubber Co. In those years, shoemakers were abundant and getting one's shoes resoled or reheeled was far more common than it is today.
The O'Sullivan heel was vigorously promoted in its early years, and in 1908, O'Sullivan cashed in and sold his interest in the company for million. He had invested ,000 in the business only 11 years earlier.
In 1932, the O'Sullivan Rubber Co. moved to Winchester, Virginia. During World War II, synthetic rubber replaced natural rubber in footwear and American industry began to discover the many uses of plastics.
Over the years, O'Sullivan expanded into various kinds of flexible plastics and began producing products for the automotive, luggage and business machine industries. In 1956, O'Sullivan began to manufacture vinyl for padded automobile dashboards.
In 1970, the company changed its name to the O'Sullivan Corp., and continued to expand, adding new facilities around the country.
Finally, in 1986, the company's rubber division was sold to Vulcan Corp. The imports of footwear from Taiwan, Korea and Brazil had made the division unprofitable, the company said.