Shoe Polish

[petal]

Since medieval times, dubbin, a waxy product, was used to soften and waterproof leather; however, it did not impart shine. It was made from natural wax, oil, ash and tallow. As leather with a high natural veneer became popular in the eighteenth century, a high glossy finish became important, particularly on shoes and boots. In most cases, a variety of homemade polishes were used to provide this finish, often with lanolin or beeswax as a base.
In the nineteenth century, many forms of shoe polish became available, yet were rarely referred to as shoe polish or boot polish. Instead, they were often called blacking (especially when mixed with lampblack), or simply continued to be referred to as dubbin. Tallow, an animal by-product, was used to manufacture a simple form of shoe polish at this time. Chicago, Illinois, where 82% of the meat consumed in the United States was processed in the stockyards, became a major shoe polish producing area for this reason.
Prior to 1906, shoe polish was not well known as a purchasable product, nor was it particularly sophisticated. While sales were not especially high, a few brands, like Nugget, were available in the U.K. during the 1800s. The practice of shining people’s shoes gradually caught on and soon many shoeshine boys in city streets were offering shoe shines using a basic form of shoe polish along with a polishing cloth.

At the end of the nineteenth century, leather shoes and boots became affordable to the masses, and with the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the demand for large numbers of polished army boots led to a need in the market for a product that would allow boots to be polished quickly, efficiently and easily. The polish was also used to shine leather belts, handgun holsters, and horse tack. This demand led to a rapid increase in the sales of shoe and boot polish. The popularity of Kiwi shoe polish spread throughout the British Commonwealth and the United States. Rival brands began to emerge, including Shinola (United States), Cherry Blossom (United Kingdom), Parwa (India), Jean Bart (France), and many others. Advertising became more prominent; many shoe polish brands used fictional figures or historical characters to spread awareness of their products.


Shoe polish was to be found just about everywhere Allied troops ventured. American war correspondent Walter Graeber wrote for TIME magazine from the Tobruk trenches in 1942 that "old tins of British-made Kiwi polish lay side by side with empty bottles of Chianti." A story indicative of the rise in global significance of shoe polish is told by Jean (Gertrude) Williams, a New Zealander who lived in Japan during the Allied occupation straight after World War II. American soldiers were then finding the dullness of their boots and shoes to be a handicap when trying to win the affections of Japanese women

When the British Commonwealth Occupation Forces arrived in Japan—all with boots polished to a degree not known in the U.S. forces—the G.I.s were more conscious than ever of their feet. The secret was found to rest not only in spit and polish, but in the superior Australian boot polish, a commodity which was soon exchanged with the Americans on a fluctuating basis of so many packets of cigarettes for one can of Kiwi boot polish.

Soldiers returning from the war continued to use the product, leading to a further surge in its popularity. A few years after World War II, Kiwi opened a manufacturing plant in Philadelphia, making only black, brown, and neutral shoe polish in tins.


Cherry Blossom Boot Polish


Cherry Blossom Boot Polish was launched in 1906 and was put on the market for 1d a tin. At first the polish was put into tins by hand, but by the end of 1907 the mixing and filling had been mechanised. This venture was such a success that in 1913 soap production was transferred to Yalding in Kent and the Chiswick Polish Co Ltd was formed with its factory in Burlington Lane with Dan Mason was the first chairman of the new company, and he continued in this position until the time of his death. In 1930, the Chiswick Polish Company amalgamated with the Nugget Polish Company to become Chiswick Products Ltd, producing both Cherry Blossom and Nugget shoe polishes and a number of other household polishes and cleaners including Primrose and Rose soaps, Forget-me-not furniture polish and Buttercup metal polish.
The name Cherry Blossom was chosen as the name of the shoe polish because of the shining skin of the cherry.

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