E. Tootell’s Boots And Shoes : on the high wave of popularity

Melbourne : printed by Varley Brothers for E. Tootell, circa 1900. Commercial lithograph printed in colour on six sheets, each measuring 75 x 102 cm, overall measurements 204 x 225 cm (if joined), a couple of old minor stains, a very good example. The image shows the six sheets digitally joined together.

An enormous Federation-era billboard advertising poster for the Melbourne boot and shoe manufacturer Tootell.

Tootell’s Boot Arcade was one of the largest shoe retailers in Melbourne prior to the First World War. An advertisement in the Flemington Spectator in 1914 promoted ‘40,000 pairs of boots and shoes to choose from’.

In late 1909 Mr. Tootell purchased the business of Mr Arnold Wittner at 149 Nicholson Street, and advertising from that date on includes the addresses of both businesses; this helps in dating this poster to the first few years of the last century.