Collector picks up Perón’s shoes
03/03/2010
A collector of objects with historical significance has successfully bid in an online auction for a pair of Bally shoes once owned, and worn, by Juan Domingo Perón, Argentina’s most iconic president.
The buyer, Walter Blanco, from the city of San Rafael, bid online and won the shoes, eventually paying around US $1,500. When he travelled the 1,000 kilometres to Buenos Aires to collect the footwear, he also received a certificate of authentication from the auction organisers.
The shoes are a pair of black lace-ups, handmade specifically for Perón in Switzerland by Bally, that the former president bought and wore in the early 1970s while living in exile in Spain, Mr Blanco explained afterwards. They were still in the original box and, at the time of the auction, were still in the excellent condition that their original owner left them in.
The online buyer said the leather on the upper showed some sign of wear, but also signs of care. Juan Domingo Perón is known to have been a passionate polisher of his shoes and to have often carried out shoe-cleaning on his own.
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