Shoe polish, also known as boot polish and shoeshine, is a waxy paste, cream, or liquid that is used to polish, shine, and waterproof leather shoes or boots to extend the footwear's life and restore its appearance. Shoe polishes are distinguished by their textures, which range from liquids to hard waxes. Solvent, waxes, and colorants comprise most shoe polishes. [1] Types [ edit ] Northeast India Database: Shoe Polish". National Informatics Centre, Assam, North Eastern Development Finance Corporation Ltd. Archived from the original on 2007-09-30 . Retrieved November 27, 2007. Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from the Encyclopedia Americana with a Wikisource reference Wax serves as a protective layer and provides a gleaming look. It can protect leather from the elements, too. When using wax polishes, be sure to clean the shoes with a leather cleaner at least once a year. Other early leather preserving products included the Irish brand Punch, which was first made in 1851. In 1889, an English man by the name of William Edward Wren, started making shoe polishes and dubbin under the brand name Wren's. In just 3 years, he won the “First in the Field – First Award Leather Trades Exhibition 1892″ award which was awarded by the Leather Trades Exhibition held in Northampton, the centre of Britain’s boot making industry. This signified the importance and prestige of the exhibition in the trade and was a recognition of Wren's quality. In 1890 the Kroner Brothers established EOS, a shoe polish factory in Berlin, which serviced the Prussian military. It finally closed in 1934 when the Nazis forbade Jews to operate a business. [11] The German brand, Erdal, went on sale in 1901.

Philadelphia and Its Manufacturers: A Hand-book of the Great Manufactories and Representative Mercantile House of Philadelphia 1867, Edwin Troxwell Freedley, Edward Young & Co, Philadelphia, 1867 There are a few categories of shoe polish, though, which can be a bit confusing. The regular kind of polish contains waxes, which are applied to the leather and then buffed to achieve a nice shine. Polish can make leather goods look like new, and it costs much less than completely replacing your shoes and purses. Leather loses its new look over time, as its outer layers slowly deteriorate. Providing regular TLC with shoe polish can keep your leather items looking great.Sara Lee's potential monopoly (annual report) (PDF). Federal Trade Commission (1994). Accessed November 27, 2007. Ramsay named the shoe polish after the kiwi, the national bird of New Zealand; Ramsay's wife, Annie Elizabeth Meek Ramsay, was a native of Oamaru, New Zealand. [14] It has been suggested that, at a time when several symbols were weakly associated with New Zealand, the eventual spread of Kiwi shoe polish around the world enhanced the kiwi's popular appeal and promoted it at the expense of the others. [15] Prior to 1906, shoe polish was not well known as a purchasable product, nor was it particularly sophisticated. While sales were not especially high, a few brands, like Nugget, were available in the UK during the 19th century. The practice of shining people’s shoes gradually caught on and soon many shoeshine boys in city streets were offering shoe shines using a basic form of shoe polish along with a polishing cloth. [ citation needed] Modern polish [ edit ] Payaso (clown) brand shoe polish from mid 20th-century Mexico, part of the permanent collection of the Museo del Objeto del Objeto. Knight, Charles, ed. (December 1842). The Penny Magazine. Vol.2. London: Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge. p.512.

Kiwi brands – shoe polish: Material safety data sheet. Health and Environment Resource Center. Accessed November 27, 2007.Morris, Theodore. " Protective Coating Compositions". United States Patent 3700013, FreePatentsOnline.com. Accessed February 05, 2008. Shoe polish was to be found just about everywhere Allied troops ventured. [18] American war correspondent Walter Graeber wrote for TIME magazine from the Tobruk trenches in 1942 that "old tins of British-made Kiwi polish lay side by side with empty bottles of Chianti." [19] A story indicative of the rise in global significance of shoe polish is told by Jean (Gertrude) Williams, a New Zealander who lived in Japan during the Allied occupation straight after World War II. American soldiers were then finding the dullness of their boots and shoes to be a handicap when trying to win the affections of Japanese women. [15] U.S. military footwear of the time was produced in brown leather with the rough side out. DeMeilo, Margot (2009). Feet and Footwear: A Cultural Encyclopedia (Illustrateded.). ABC-CLIO. p.282. ISBN 9780313357152. William Ramsay. White Hat Tours (February 22, 2004). Internet archive version. Accessed November 11, 2007.