“le Trappeur” Boots Never Worn. New, Museum Condition. 1960

"LE TRAPPEUR" boots Never worn. New, museum condition. (Maison Hardrige).

Size 40 Marked "Le trappeur Sillans" In a remarkable state of preservation. Le Trappeur is a shoe brand founded in 1887 in Sillans. In the 1930s, the brand turned to ski boots, under the leadership of Marcel Carrier, the founder's grandson. In 1912, he began an apprenticeship as a shoemaker in his father's workshop, which made city, work and hunting shoes. He then discovered skiing on the slopes of the Col de Porte, in the Chartreuse massif and decided to produce two models of ski boots inspired by Norwegian models. Following the first orders, production developed under the Le Trappeur brand, outside his father's workshop. Thanks to his interest in the world of competition, Marcel Carrier equipped the French champions of the late 1930s: Émile Allais and James Couttet... In 1962, the brand became the official supplier of the French team, placing it among the elite manufacturers of the time. This pair of laced alpine ski shoes, which has certainly never been worn, dates from the 1960s, but is not the model worn by Jean-Claude Killy and the French ski team. Indeed, from the early 1960s, following the invention of metal buckles and quick and effective tightening, athletes abandoned lace-up models. The Le Trappeur brand still sold them, however, because the general public did not immediately adopt the new fastening system. The latter was seen as uncomfortable and not very durable, because the leather could not withstand the high tension created by the metal buckles. It was not until manufacturers invented plastic shells in the mid-1960s that the general public took ownership of this new product.

Le Trappeur 3rd quarter of the 20th century Vibram © Collection Musée Alpin Chamonix 2009.0.846.