Mellie Dunham Snowshoe Brochure

This brochure dates from the period after Mellie's trip to Detroit in late 1925, and his vaudeville tour in the spring of 1926; 1926-27 seems possible. It features photos by local photographer/artist Vivian Akers, who apparently did the text and design as well. The brochure is actually a four-panel design, folded, printed two sides; I have displayed it to make it convenient on the page. From about this time up until the end of the second world war Norway, maine billed itself as "The Snowshoe Capital of the World", with some justice. Unlike other makers who had begun to automate the process, Mellie continued to hand lace his shoes, working alone in the shop on his farm near Norway. Earlier, around 1900, he had several people working for him, at least one of whom, W. F. Tubbs, went on to start his own snowshoe manufacturing company.