Edwin C. Burt

Burt was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1818. His father was in the leather business, and moved the family to Hartford, Connecticut in 1825 to work there.{{cite web|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9F02E3D8173FE533A25757C2A9639C94659FD7CF |work=The New York Times |date=May 24, 1884|accessdate=February 15, 2010 |title=Edwin C. Burt Obituary}}

File:Burt fine shoes2.jpg

In 1838, Burt began to produce boots and shoes with his father in Hartford. The business moved to New York City in 1848 as the market in Hartford was too small. At this time Burt's brother, James, began working with him. The firm was officially founded in 1860, and primarily dealt with markets in the Southern United States. When the Civil War began in 1861, this business was effectively gone. Subsequently, the company began producing women's and children's shoes. In 1874, Burt patented an improvement he made to shoes. The patent described a new method of producing shoes that provides increased durability. The patent number was 146801 and was filed November 24, 1873.{{cite web| url=http://www.freepatentsonline.com/0146801.pdf |title=United States Patent US0146801 |work=U.S. Patent Office |date=January 27, 1874 |accessdate=February 15, 2010}} Burt's shoe company was especially known for its advertisements. A series of trade cards were produced in the 1880s for the company advertising their shoes. One such trade card featured children sitting in an oversized shoe, shaped like a sailboat, with the caption "Edwin C. Burt, Fine Shoes".{{cite web|url=http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/cph.3g05646 |title=Edwin C. Burt, fine shoes |work=Library of Congress |accessdate=February 21, 2010}} The trade cards also came with a warning to customers to check for stamps in his shoes, to ensure that they were genuine products.{{cite book |title=Advertising and Popular Culture: Studies in Variety and Versatility |last=Danna |first=Sammy Richard |year=1992 |isbn=0-87972-528-1 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/advertisingpopul0000unse }} On August 10, 1898, the company assigned its liabilities over to a Thomas Cunningham of Blauvelt, New York, estimated at $60,000.{{cite web|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9B00E0D61E39E433A25752C1A96E9C94699ED7CF |title=Edwin C. Burt & Co. Assign |work=The New York Times |date=August 11, 1898 |accessdate=February 15, 2010}}

In 1884, Burt struggled with Bright's disease for five weeks before succumbing. He died on May 23, 1884, in his home in Orange, New Jersey.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K4M9AQAAIAAJ|title=Scientific American|date=1884-06-14|publisher=Munn & Company|pages=372|language=en}}

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Category:1818 births

Category:1884 deaths