Tuesday, May 1, 2018

1962 | THE KABUKI COLLECTION BY BETH & HERBERT LEVINE

Also very special are Beth and Herbert Levine's Kabuki slippers, at The Blum Store ($22.95), made in lush velvets, mounted on unique gold rocker bases, derived from authentic Kabuki dancers' shoes. 

The Philadelphia Enquirer
November 28, 1962


1963 | Beth & Herbert Levine
The Kabuki line at Joseph Magnin
Source: Reno Gazette Journal | January 24, 1963


The four (?) models of the Kabuki collection were filed for patent by Beth Levine between August 16 and December 6, 1962 and before that, the name KABUKI was filed for trademark August 10, 1962.




#1


1962 | Beth & Herbert Levine | Kabuki #1
Source: Dutch Leather & Shoe Museum


Not a perfect match, but close: the sole isn't perfectly flat like the patent - or the ad above.



1962 | Beth Levine | Kabuki #1
Filed Aug. 16, 1962 | Granted Jan.1, 1963
Source: Google Patents


#2

No surviving models it seems, although we may be wrong. Let's hope so.

1962 | Beth Levine | Kabuki #2
Filed Aug. 28, 1962 | Granted Jan.8, 1963
Source: Google Patents




#3

Again, no surviving models.

1962 | Beth Levine | Kabuki #3
Filed Aug. 28, 1962 | Granted Jan.8, 1963
Source: Google Patents



#4


1962 | Beth & Herbert Levine | Kabuki #4
Source: MAAS (Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences)
1962 | Beth Levine | Kabuki #4
Filed Dec. 6, 1962 | Granted June 25, 1963
Source: Google Patents



BETH & HERBERT LEVINE
I N D E X





SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT

Shoe Icons (The Russian Virtual Shoe Museum) owns one #1 dated 1960/62

The Dutch Leather And Shoe Museum owns two #1 dated 1965/66 and 1966.

The Metropolitan Museum of Arts owns 4 Kabuki pairs: three pairs of #1 (the first dated 1962, the second 1960/63 and the third ca. 1966) plus one # 4 dated ca. 1965

The Bata Shoe Museum owns one #4 dated ca. 1964.

FIDM (Fashion Institute Design Museum, Los Angeles) owns a pair of #4 dated ca.1964.

LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art) owns a pair of #1 dated 1964.

MAAS (Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences, Sidney (Ultimo) Australia) owns a pair of #4 dated ca. 1964

Both #1 and #4 can be easily found at your favourite online retailer for a price range between $2,000 and $ 5,000. Also online can be found a Kabuki platform which looks like a transition between #1 and #2, probably a prototype.



Beth Levine
A Kabuki prototype?
Source: ebay