Beautifully engraved certificate from Goodyear's Metallic Rubber Shoe Company issued in 1884. This historic document was printed by Arthur & Burnet and has an ornate border around it with a vignettes of an indian woman, an eagle and a dog. This item is hand signed by the Company's Treasurer ( George Lomis ) and Secretary ( James E. English ) and is over 135 years old. Light water stain. no tears. The first rubber soled shoes were developed and manufactured in the United States in the late 1800s. In 1892, nine small rubber manufacturing companies consolidated to form the U.S. Rubber Company. Among them was the Goodyear Metallic Rubber Shoe Company, organized in the 1840s in Naugatuck, Connecticut. This company was the first licensee of a new manufacturing process called vulcanization, discovered and patented by Charles Goodyear. Vulcanization uses heat to meld rubber to cloth or other rubber components for a sturdier, more permanent bond. Before vulcanization, glue or cement was used in a cold sealing process. From the beginning, rubber soled shoes with canvas uppers filled a definite consumer need and were highly popular. This document has been described as the "oldest relic in existence having to do with beginnings of the rubber industry." (History of the U. S. Rubber Co. by Babcock, 1966). This company became the Goodyear Metallic Rubber Shoe Co. and some of its buildings remained functional until the factories were demolished in 1985. By 1848, four additional firms were licensed to make rubber boots and shoes under the Goodyear patent, in Naugatuck." This marks the beginning of the worldwide rubber industry and the large factory complex which covered downtown Naugatuck for almost 150 years. (ctrubbergroup.org). Stamp cancelled and very good. History from R.M. Smythe (old stock certificate research service)