(ROLLER SKATING) Large group of roller skating ephemera and

Sale 2344 - Lot 233

Price Realized: $ 406

?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price

Estimate: $ 500 - $ 750

(ROLLER SKATING.) Large group of roller-skating ephemera and correspondence, much of it relating to the Plimpton patent skate. 88 items, various sizes and conditions, a few items quite worn. Vp, 1865-1916

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In 1863, James Leonard Plimpton (1828-1911) of New York patented "Plimpton's Original Guidable Roller Skate" featuring four wheels for each foot, an innovation which helped make roller skating a popular diversion in the United States and abroad. He is regarded as the father of the modern roller skate. Plimpton developed a substantial business in selling and renting his skates, as well as operating several rinks in the northeast.
This archive includes: a group of 3 English patent documents issued to Plimpton and Alfred Vincent Newton on vellum in original wooden case, 1865-76 8 patent documents and letters, 1866-1906 57 printed programs, advertising broadsides, tickets, and other roller skating ephemera from rinks across the United States and Great Britain, many advertising Plimpton skates, 1867-85 5 skating articles and publications, 1874-85 8 letters to and from Henry R. Plimpton II, 1912-16 7 iron industry leaflets and pamphlets, most from Henry R. Plimpton's Boston business, 1905-07.