This pair of American-made ice skates, dating from 1840-1859, is part of the collection of the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The ice skaters I’ve been writing about lately would have been wearing skates similar to these.
While these skates were of a style that had been used for centuries, skate design was on the cusp of dramatic change. The 1850s saw many innovations, as ice-skating boomed in popularity. Many different styles of clip-on and strap-on skates were being brought to market, as makers vied to make skates stronger, faster, and more stable. The toe pick and the elongated blade extending beyond the back of the skate, both features of modern figure skates, hadn’t yet been thought of. Stopping or turning in these old skates could be tricky! Note the nail sticking up from the platform of the skate, which embedded itself in the heel of the wearer’s shoe, as a means of making the skate more stable.
Skating ahead of the Curve documents the newfangled skates being made at the time. These skates, dating from 1840-60, have taken a leap forward in material and design. Made mainly of metal, including cast steel, they feature a heel cup and thick leather straps that would have attached firmly to a boot or shoe.
The heel cup is decorated with a skating scene.
see “Ice Skating in the 1860s: A Fashion and a Passion,”
a wonderful article by Betty Hughes.