Wallace Wood for Portage Porto-Ped Shoes

"The Abominable Squeaks." So reads the copy of a 1960s-era magazine advertisement for Portage Porto-Ped Shoes. Four vignettes by the formidable Mad magazine artist Wallace Wood depict the untold embarrassment of being the man whose shoes make too much noise. The bridegroom advancing nervously down the aisle, the doctor making night shift rounds on the hospital ward, the game hunter stealthily seeking his prey, even the zookeeper failing to mind his oversized charge—none are spared the indignity of these "abominable squeaks."

The shoes are now priced from $29.95 to $34.95, with the lower-end shoes more expensive than what was quoted in the, presumably earlier, 1967 pair of ads we saw in yesterday's post. Those, of course, were illustrated by The New Yorker's William Steig. Wood is the only cartoonist I have found other than Steig who contributed to these Porto-Ped ads and this single page is the only example I have located for him. But there could be others.

Wallace Wood
The Abominable Squeaks.
1960's-era advertisement for Portage Porto-Ped Shoes

https://www.ebay.com/itm/265845343823

Note:  As my sneakers silently convey me through the lands of vintage advertising and illustration, I am eager to hear of additional cartoon ads by Wallace Wood, William Steig, or perhaps others from this Portage Porto-Ped Shoes campaign.

 05320

William Steig for Portage Porto-Ped Shoes

In yesterday's post, we saw a single cartoon copper tray featuring a drawing by New Yorker cartoonist William Steig to promote the National Shoe Institute in 1951. So far as we know, that was his sole contribution to the advertising campaign. But it was not his final venture into the world of shoe marketing.

In 1967, Steig made at least two drawings for a print ad campaign for the Portage Shoe Company's line of Porto-Ped shoes. That year comes from paper sellers who reveal as little as possible about the magazines from which they removed their ads. Thus titles and publication dates are not included. For what it's worth, I have not found these ads in The New Yorker.

The copy reads "If everyone's walk were a little peculiar, we wouldn't have to make such good shoes." The good shoes are priced at $19.95 to $34.95 in both ads. Inflation in the ensuing decades has since driven up prices by an average of 3.98% annually, or about 900% total, putting the shoes' retail cost at $199.45 to $349.41 in today's dollars. No wonder they could afford William Steig.

William Steig
"If everyone's walk weren't a little peculiar,
we wouldn't have to make such good shoes."
1967 advertisement for Portage Porto-Ped Shoes

https://www.periodpaper.com/products/1967-ad-portage-porto-ped-shoes-men-fashion-william-steig-cartoon-milwaukee-wi-219864-ymma3-128

Another ad from 1967 features an even more peculiar gait:

William Steig
"If everyone's walk weren't a little peculiar,
we wouldn't have to make such good shoes."
1967 advertisement for Portage Porto-Ped Shoes

Image modified September 5, 2026

https://www.ebay.com/itm/275154580810

Note:  I would love to see other examples, if there are any to be seen, from this advertising campaign with art by William Steig. 

05319

William Steig: National Shoe Institute Copper Tray by Bernäd Creations

In 2023, the Charles Addams memorabilia specialist Joel Jacobus informed us here of a series of advertisements on copper trays promoting Cole of California swimwear. The trays were manufactured by Bernäd Creations with cartoons by The New Yorker's Addams, Sam Cobean, and Syd Hoff. The trays themselves are undated, but the Hoff example was specifically mentioned in a 1951 newspaper article. 

This year, Joel informed me of another vintage advertising tray he came upon featuring art by New Yorker cartoonist William Steig. The client is the National Shoe Institute and there is only one tray design known thus far. The manufacturer is again Bernäd Creations, who used Steig illustrations on other cartoon trays and cigarette boxes for commercial sale to the general public, but these decidedly were not advertising. 

Joel notes that the shoe institute tray appears to be from approximately the same time period as the Cole of California cartoon trays. "So far," he writes, "I can't find any other artists associated with it. The Steig image is of a man lying in a giant shoe with the caption, 'Can’t I just stay here tonight?'" Below that is the copy "National Shoe Institute.”

Joel continues:

The first mention of The National Shoe Institute that I can find is from 1948 in the New York Times. There were National Shoe Fairs in Chicago from at least 1938 through 1968. 

He further speculates that this tray "might have been a promotional item at the National Shoe Fair." Steig's illustration appeared in his book The Rejected Lovers, which sets the date of the tray to approximately 1951. (That's the same year as the newspaper piece noting the Hoff tray.)

The Steig copper tray is green and is currently listed on eBay:

William Steig
National Shoe Institute Copper Tray
eBay listing accessed August 31, 2026

https://www.ebay.com/itm/157720954656?

William Steig
National Shoe Institute Copper Tray
eBay item description

The New York Times Magazine excerpted nine of the Steig book's drawings in its October 14, 1951 Sunday issue, the week prior to its publication. Under the title "On Man's Misery—Love," an uncredited author writes, "The hero of the work is man at his most pitiful. The villain is woman, who seems to combine the features of Goldilocks, a six-foot chorus girl and Lizzie Borden." 

"On Man's Misery—Love"
Excerpts from The Rejected Lovers by William Steig
The New York Times Magazine, Sunday, October 14, 1951

https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1951/10/14/issue.html

Note:  My thanks as always to Joel Jacobus for finding this rare tray, for recognizing its uniqueness, and for feeling compelled to research the National Shoe Institute just as thoroughly as he formerly researched Bernäd Creations and Cole of California. Hats off to you, Joel, and shoes too.

The archives of Duke University libraries have a campus promotion from the National Shoe Institute for 1949 which identifies the advertising agency as J. Walter Thompson.

I would so appreciate hearing from anyone with more information about this seemingly small advertising campaign. This might include other cartoon copper trays from the promotion with drawings by William Steig or perhaps other cartoonists. Other advertising campaigns that appeared on Bernäd trays would also be of interest. 

05318