This story gives the Indication that the rubber heel was invented in 1896. The article goes on to say that O' Sullivan patented his rubber heel in a few years after his invention.......1900 or after? The article is not clear on that. That does mean rubber heels were probably a scarce commodity out west prior to 1900............
Bill
THE O'SULLIVAN STORY (now O'Sullivan Films)
Humphrey O'Sullivan was born in Skibbereen, County Cork, Ireland on October 7, 1853. He attended public school and at the age of 15 began a five-year apprenticeship to become a skilled typesetter and a member of the Printer's Union. After one year in a Cork printshop, the young printer came to the United States, stopping to work at his trade in Yonkers, N.Y., but soon moved on to Lowell, Mass., where his older brother James owned a retail shoe store. After three years with local newspapers, Humphrey joined his brother in the shoe business.
Legend has it that the invention of the rubber heel occurred in that Lowell, Mass. print shop. The story, as documented in a typewritten page dated 1926 (source unknown), is that, in 1896, Humphrey O'Sullivan was a young printer in Lowell, Massachusetts. He walked on a stone floor while feeding a printing press, and to ease his footsteps, he bought a rubber mat on which to stand. His fellow employees kept "borrowing" the mat, so Humphrey cut out two pieces of the mat the size of his heels and nailed them to his shoes. The results pleased and astonished him. Soon, O'Sullivan was making full-fledged rubber heels, equipped with hidden washers to hold the nails, and going around peddling them among the shoemakers of Lowell. They were the first rubber heels ever made, and he eventually patented the idea. In a few years, O'Sullivan Heels were being shipped to all parts of the country.
The message gets more sophisticated
After developing what was to become known as "America's No. 1 Heel", O'Sullivan arranged for his products to be manufactured by the Boston Belting Company. After several years, he switched to the Goodrich Rubber Company of Akron, Ohio, and the O'Sullivan Rubber Company continued with this arrangement for many years. With production now in capable hands, Humphrey concentrated on selling and advertising his products. The business was eventually sold, and was moved to Winchester, Virginia in 1932, and O'Sullivan Rubber began making rubber heels instead of having them manufactured by another company. Business boomed during WWII, but like many companies, they had trouble adjusting to the post-war era, and sales dropped considerably. To increase sales, in the late 1940's O'Sullivan installed its first vinyl sheeting plant, and for the first time became a publicly owned company. The growth of vinyl took the company in a new direction, and O'Sullivan began shipping their products to customers who made ladies' handbags and furniture upholstery.
In the 1950's O'Sullivan successfully entered another challenging market servicing the Automotive Industry with PVC/ABS skins for Instrument Panel applications. Door Panel products were added a few years later, along with materials for consoles, knee bolsters, and sun visor materials.
During the 1960's, O'Sullivan added its second vinyl sheeting line, and its third and fourth lines were added in the 1970's and 1980's respectively. Also during those decades, O'Sullivan entered the Pool Liner and Medical markets. These were high performance products that were designed to meet the unique specifications that our customers required; including outdoor sun resistance and exacting quality standards for blood storage.
Whether the opportunity was for rubber heels, high performance TPU alloys for Medical Mattresses, or products to meet the stringent automotive specifications, O'Sullivan excelled at developing creative solutions for its customers. That creative energy continues today, and we encourage you to review our other capabilities listed on this web site.