Vinyl Shoe

Vinyl Shoe

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Description
Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) was created by a German chemist in 1872, but found little use until 1926 when Waldo Seaman, a chemist working for the B. F. Goodrich Co., developed a plasticized form of the material. As practical uses proliferated, PVC became the second most produced plastic in the world. According to the donor, this man’s loafer was the first vinyl shoe made in the United States. The inscription on the bottom reads "International Vulcanizing Corporation."
Location
Currently not on view
Object Name
Vinyl Shoe
place made
United States
Measurements
overall: 86 mm x 108 mm x 284 mm; 3 3/8 in x 4 1/4 in x 11 3/16 in
overall: 3 3/8 in x 11 1/4 in x 4 1/4 in; 8.5725 cm x 28.575 cm x 10.795 cm
ID Number
1981.0770.1
catalog number
1981.0770.1
accession number
1981.0770
Credit Line
Gift of Plastics Institute of America, Stevens Institute of Tech.
See more items in
Medicine and Science: Chemistry
Data Source
National Museum of American History
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