Olsen-Stelzer Cowboy Boot Saleslady — 1939
by Paula Bosse
Portrait with boots…
by Paula Bosse
Above, Dallas resident Imogene Cartlidge is seen at a shoe retailers’ convention in San Antonio in 1939. Cartlidge was an employee of the Olsen-Stelzer boot company in Henrietta, Texas, and she was said to be “the only woman boot salesman on record.” I’m a big fan of cowboy boots of this period, and I have to say that I am ashamed that I was unaware of the famous Olsen-Stelzer company, which lasted from 1900 until the 1980s. The company is back in business again, led by Tom Cartlidge, whose parents began selling the boots in 1938 — Imogene is his mother. I wish them all the best of luck, because the world needs as many great-looking cowboy boots as it can get!
“The West begins at Titche’s”? First I’m hearing of this. Who knew? Nice ad, though.
Best of all is this absolutely fantastic video from 1956 about the company:
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Sources & Notes
Photo of Imogene Cartlidge is from the San Antonio Light Photograph Collection, University of Texas San Antonio Libraries Special Collections, Institute of Texan Cultures.
Titche’s ad from 1946.
Bridges Shoe Store ad from 1955. (Bridges seems to have been the only place in Dallas where the boots were regularly sold — or at least regularly advertised. And you could get them ONLY IN OAK CLIFF!) (I hear the West begins at Oak Cliff….)
The video can be found on the home page of the Olsen-Stelzer website here.
The last image is the lid of an Olsen-Stelzer boot box, which belongs to my aunt — she keeps Christmas ornaments in it. (Sadly, no sign of the boots!)
The history of the company (and, again, that great video) can be found here.
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Copyright © 2014 Paula Bosse. All Rights Reserved.
Flashback : Dallas 
[…] I was pretty excited when I came across this box recently — my aunt had been using it to store Christmas decorations in. Don’t know what happened to the boots. I love vintage cowboy boots, and Olsen-Stelzer is something of a legend in Texas boot companies (and still going strong!). My mother’s side of the family has roots in the Henrietta area, so I’m sure my aunt bought a pair of boots 60-some-odd years ago while visiting relatives. Read more about this company (and see some cool ads) (…there IS a Dallas connection…) in my post from 2014, “Olsen-Stelzer Boot Saleslady — 1939,” here. […]
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That video is awesome!
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Isn’t it great!
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I have an old pair from the Henrietta store
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I have a pair of my Dad’s boots which haven’t been
worn since he became sick in 1959. He passed away in 1960 and we have kept the boots all these years. They’re still in good shape, no box so with the years they have become brittle in places.
They have a flower design much like a magnolia blossom, White with green. Still a beautiful boot!
How can I find out the value of these boots?
Thank you very much!
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Excellent old video !!!
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their store is on Lovers Lane (inside the fishin world store from the looks of it) talk about synchronicity, there’s a meat shop (butcher shop) next door.
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