Unusual, Substantial Pair of (Heavy!) Metal Salesman Sample/Display Loafers with Tassels praying drawing it produces a loud honk

it produces a loud honk like a kazoo

With a big gray sky

and based on a little research late 18th century or seems about right

framed at the top of this little wall shelf with heart pierced arrow at center is the tintype portrait of handsome mustached man with pink tinted cheeks

Unusual, Substantial Pair of (Heavy!) Metal Salesman Sample/Display Loafers with Tassels praying drawing it produces a loud honkCurious. I don't know that I'd ever seen a pair of metal salesman sample shoes before, but I'm more or less certain that is what these are, given their quality and scale and specificity. (Or maybe a shoe company's gift for the loafer salesman of the year?!) They're quite substantial, beautifully crafted and quite striking, all the more so in hand, with their surface finish evincing carved stone (I keep thinking of catlinite) as much as anything and