M.L. Leddy · Identification & Dating

The ledger fit

• Old-fashioned bank ledgers (company: 17×11" leather-bound books in Texas Highways).
• Foot tracings (sitting and standing in some fitter practice), arch notes, about seven measurements per foot (Cowboys & Indians 2025 on Jason McClelland).
• Company claim: 250,000+ customer pages; codes inked inside tops map pairs to owners.
• Texas Highways: San Angelo holds 1920s-era books; Stockyards fitting-room wall lined with ledgers from 1941 onward; Wilson Franklin still reviews entries.
• Cowboys & Indians: process nicknamed “book and page” (e.g., page 300 in book 36H).
• Production scale cited variously at about 7–10 pairs/day depending on the article era.

Construction / ID tells

Texas Co-op Power “Birth of a Boot” (San Angelo floor reporting) is the best public construction map:

• Lasts: Built out for individual differences; basic lasts credited to original Leddy bootmaker Arch Baird — arch-support reputation.
• Tongue: Distinctive narrow triple-scallop.
• Vamp: Single bug-and-wrinkle stitch.
• Bottom: Lemonwood pegs in the arch (German lemonwood noted); leather heels; soft leather linings; shank nail for arch support.
• Tops: Classic multi-row stitch patterns and elaborate inlays both exist.
• Finish room separated to control dust.
• Vaquero ready-made line (Texas Highways) is a lower price tier — not full custom ledger work.

Photography priority for a claimed Leddy pair

• Interior code + label
• Tongue / scallop
• Bug-and-wrinkle
• Pegging / heel
• Exotic texture if any
• Repairs / resoles

Disambiguation: which Leddy?

“Leddy” on a box without city/shop context is ambiguous. Official about page: two current stores (Stockyards + downtown San Angelo); custom boots still made with methods “passed on since 1922.” The shop downplays celebrity names; secondary articles still mention Newman, Nolan Ryan, Kareem, Sam Shepard, and presidential/saddle gifts.