# Did you bronze your child's baby shoes? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 6, 2024, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-bronze-your-childs-baby-shoes/1008512 "2024-10-06T20:07:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2024, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-bronze-your-childs-baby-shoes/1008512/21 "2024-10-07T13:01:39Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > I think the part that always struck me as wacky was that unlike the other keepsakes . the shoes were relatively expensive and could still be used I have no idea what baby shoes cost throughout the last century but, I assume, if you were of a mind to get a pair bronzed then you were probably economically secure enough to buy a new pair if the need came up. Or would be gifted them. My family was middle class when I was born so this wasn’t any real luxury though probably not on the radar for a family that was struggling. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2024, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-bronze-your-childs-baby-shoes/1008512/22 "2024-10-07T13:38:49Z")
Did I miss it, or hasn’t anyone yet mentioned: “[For sale: baby shoes, never worn](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_sale:_baby_shoes,_never_worn)”? ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2024, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-bronze-your-childs-baby-shoes/1008512/23 "2024-10-07T14:57:09Z")
There’s still companies on the web that bronze shoes that are sent to them. The original company closed in 2018. I’m a little cynical. How do you know they actually returned _your baby’s shoes_? It could be some mass produced Chinese knock-off. The history… Link [Bronze Baby Shoes: How Did the Tradition Begin?](https://www.wideopencountry.com/bronze-baby-shoes/) > [@](#): > > One of the most notable and trusted companies was the American Bronzing Company who was the leader in the bronzing process, dishing out high quality bronzed shoes and personal items since 1934. The creator of the company, originally called Bron-Shoe Co, Violet Shinbach, saw bronzed shoes in a store and decided that she could actually make a living creating bronze keepsakes. After making millions of bronzed little shoes for parents all over the country, the company, unfortunately, shut down in 2018 due to a decline in demand when their president Robert Kaynes retired. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2024, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-bronze-your-childs-baby-shoes/1008512/24 "2024-10-07T15:14:07Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > _your baby’s shoes_? It could be some mass produced Chinese knock-off. Because there are myriad types of shoes in multiple sizes with different laces. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2024, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-bronze-your-childs-baby-shoes/1008512/25 "2024-10-07T15:30:24Z")
My mother bronzed someone’s shoes, perhaps my brother’s, as he is oldest. I never saw the point, so it never crossed my mind to do it. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2024, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-bronze-your-childs-baby-shoes/1008512/26 "2024-10-07T15:32:59Z")
My neighbors growing up did this, at least for their oldest kids’ shoes. She was born in 1972. I remember seeing them in the hallway and always being curious about them. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2024, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-bronze-your-childs-baby-shoes/1008512/27 "2024-10-07T21:22:08Z")
No. My parents didn’t do it for any of their kids, either. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2024, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-bronze-your-childs-baby-shoes/1008512/28 "2024-10-08T02:29:39Z")
> [@aceplace57 quoting the article](#): > > the company, unfortunately, shut down in 2018 due to a decline in demand when their president Robert Kaynes retired. Am I bad for immediately thinking Mr. Kaynes was responsible for _creating_ the babies the shoes went on? > [@hajario](#): > > Because there are myriad types of shoes in multiple sizes with different laces. Plus the ads I remember seeing would brag about every little scuff preserved forever. Presumably the shoes were as recognizable to the parents as the kid would be if they were bronzed. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2024, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-bronze-your-childs-baby-shoes/1008512/29 "2024-10-08T03:07:36Z")
The only bronzed baby shoes that I remember seeing were part of the base of a lamp. I’m guessing that the incidence of bronzing shoes went down as the cost of photography went down. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2024, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-bronze-your-childs-baby-shoes/1008512/30 "2024-10-08T03:13:04Z")
Pfft. I gold dipped my kids teenie widdle booties. 😉 Actually I used to see in parents magazines about porcelainizing baby shoes. I thought about it, but got busy and forgot. I have my own bronzed baby shoes. Not sure what happened to the rest of my sibs. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2024, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-bronze-your-childs-baby-shoes/1008512/31 "2024-10-08T04:24:32Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > Am I bad for immediately thinking Mr. Kaynes was responsible for _creating_ the babies the shoes went on? > > Presumably the shoes were as recognizable to the parents as the kid would be if they were bronzed. In your defense, “bronzed baby shoes” could be baby shoes that were bronzed or shoes for bronzed babies ---
**Author:** ![FinsToTheLeft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finstotheleft/32/2930_2.png) [@FinsToTheLeft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinsToTheLeft)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2024, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-bronze-your-childs-baby-shoes/1008512/32 "2024-10-08T10:16:58Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > shoes for bronzed babies [![](https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/marvelcinematicuniverse/images/8/87/Ayesha_profile_%281%29.png) ](https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/marvelcinematicuniverse/images/8/87/Ayesha_profile_%281%29.png) ---
**Author:** ![Bumbazine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bumbazine/32/362_2.png) [@Bumbazine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bumbazine)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2024, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-bronze-your-childs-baby-shoes/1008512/33 "2024-10-08T16:02:48Z")
We have one in the form of a bookend sitting in our bookcase. It’s probably one of my shoes (born 1947) although I’m not sure. I had 2 brothers but we never found any more than the one. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2024, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-bronze-your-childs-baby-shoes/1008512/34 "2024-10-08T21:17:08Z")
What an odd tradition… And when I think of all the odd traditions that get handed down, and the huge number of people who don’t question those traditions, I just have to say: **People Are Even Weirder Than I Thought**. Especially the ones who say "What’s so weird about _that?"_ . eta: Reacting to the people who said “Oh, we have a pair sitting on our table”, I’m looking around, and I can see exactly zero tchotchkes. No extraneous objects that have no function. We do have some “stuff”: our piano is full of family photos, a huge pottery vase has a big plant, and an amish bowl on our coffee table holds balls of yarn when my wife does needlework in front of the TV. I should thank her for being anti-clutter. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2024, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-bronze-your-childs-baby-shoes/1008512/35 "2024-10-08T21:48:05Z")
> [@Dendarii\_Dame](#): > > No. My parents didn’t do it for any of their kids, either. I think the companies only did shoes anyway. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-bronze-your-childs-baby-shoes/1008512.md?page=1)