I am a bit of a homer for Cold War era Made in USA shoes. And Florsheim Imperial shoes in particular. One particular model that I have been searching for in my size is the Royal Imperial Concord 97604. For this model, its like Florsheim took the already excellent Imperial 93602 and turned it up to 11. To me, its the ultimate Florsheim gunboat.
You can distinguish this model from the 93602 by four visual cues: different toe medallion pattern; the double v-cleat (whoa); the foxing near the backstay; and the broguing pattern near the eyelets. According to a couple Japanese blogs, this model was produced from the mid-1960s until the early 1970s.
I seen a few of these models on eBay but sadly have not found one in my size during the past few years. And I have been looking. I did recently find an Etsy listing for a NOS pair. This is only the third NOS pair I have seen. One of the other pairs can be found at Dr. Sevan Minasian’s excellent Classic Shoes for Men.
I emailed the owner of the Etsy listing and he was nice enough to send me full size photos of the shoes. These particular shoes were manufactured in 1971.
This is a 1969 catalog description of the model:
Below are some additional photos of the Etsy shoes. Enjoy!
Related posts:
Florsheim Royal Imperial 97604 Restore
Florsheim Royal Imperial Stratford 96609 and 97606
Florsheim Royal Imperial 97626 Restore
Florsheim Imperial Golden Harvest
Three Florsheim Color #8 Longwings
Florsheim Long Wing Models
Florsheim Imperial PTB Shell Cordovan 9D
Florsheim Imperial Black Split Toe
Hi David!
Thanks for the write-up! I wish I had found out about your site sooner. It’s a great resource for people interested in vintage American footwear.
Keep up the good work!
-M-
What date did Florsheim start sewing and inset oval sewn down logo in block lettering:
FLORSHEIM
IMPERIAL
??
I don’t know what year it started but I first saw it in a 1962 ad.
Hi. What years were the 20330 models made? I have a DD date code. I am assuming 93, but could it be 83?
I also have a factory code of 17. DO you know what factory that was?
Thanks!
I don’t know the specific years but that model was made during the 80s and 90s. It was called the Harvard. My guess would be 93 as well. I have no info on the factory codes.
I have a pair I’m selling. 10C. I will post on ebay soon. Looks like they have black buffed in. Hard to explain but they still look nice. Soles are pretty worn. Thanks for the blog. It gave me the info I needed to post them!
Julie
I am not English spoken, so I have to check quite often, what the words mean, I like to see nice description, so I recently purchased a Royal Imperial Concord, because the seller said “… Overall beautiful brown shoes. Great for any man who wants to look extremely dapper for the long run. ” – I would have been unable to formulate this way,
I checked the word “dapper” with Google-translate and bought the shoes.. They are not Vcleat and I am unable to date them . The number imprint reads 11D 28567 97625 made in USA, so I understand it’s a recent model. At $29.50 surely a good deal.
I am happy you bought a pair. $29 is a good price for a quality pair of shoes
The same day I bought a Imperial Kenmoor with Vcleat.
I am completely inexperienced with Vcleat shoes, I guess the first day I almost felt like a young lady, who gets first experiences with high heels. When walking on the train station I was the only one, whose shoes made “clac – clac – clac” – are there any hints in this matter?
By the way, I got these very cheap to, possibly because the seller offered them as “Kenmore”? Excellent shoes, but worst packing ever, just thrown in the box and sent – in spite of the good shoes unhappy with leaving good feedback for this seller..
The v-cleat does take some time to get use to. I like the sound the shoes make but they are loud
I have have had a long time (more than 50 years) interest in footwear of all types. Back in the beginning I would buy on impulse never considering width just get the length right and go for it. In the 1990’s I decided to buy a nice pair of Florsheim Dress Shoes the Royal Imperial 97628 Kenmoor with the fake Cordovan look. Over the years I grew to dislike the color and the fit of these shoes and barely took care of them. Actually I beat the crap out of them and thought I would never buy another pair Florsheim shoes again. Ha Ha some months back I discovered your website and as luck would have it decided to buy back into my lost interest in Florsheim.
Glad I did as due to your insight and considerable expertise I now own 5 pair and dearly love these wonderful shoes. And it is true these shoes can really take the beating although now out of respect I treat them nicely.
My latest purchase is the Imperial Concord 97604 recently purchased off ebay. Wasn’t sure they would fit as they were in an A width but I have a very versatile foot and to my delight I can wear them. The construction and quality of the leather on these shoes are considerably above what is available at Nordstrom and most other shoe stores today.
I cannot thank you enough for the work you have done to maintain your website and the wonderful information you provide.
Thank you so much. Love your comments!
Ditto: This site is a valuable resource. Thank you for the time, effort, and research you put into it.
David…
Great to see your praise of the Royal Imperial Concord model, especially in that beautiful brown calfskin. It’s the finest brogue model Florsheim ever produced in my opinion.
Congrats on your eagle eye spotting the four visual clues, but the fifth is really fine shoe making that elevated Concord to the top of my list. Notice the edge of the blucher nose where it begins next to the bartack at the vamp and continues all along the blucher, curves downward becoming the topline, and continues around to the opposite bartack. That whole length formed by a shoe factory Fitting Room nightmare stitch and turn process that resulted in soft smooth leather along/around the ankle and across the instep as opposed to the, especially when new, much harder/stiffer leather piping in the same area on Imperial models like 92604 and many others. Hard to describe but a world of a different feeling when you slid a foot into a Concord.
Thanks for the additional details. I just looked at my pair and see what you describe. I wore my brown pair recently and I am amazed at the quality of the upper leather. Even after 50+ years, it is incredibly soft and flexible for being so thick.
What a great site this is! This site gave me all the information I needed to list a pair of Florsheim Imperial shoes on eBay, and afforded my son (he’s 66) and I a good laugh. My son inherited this pair of shoes from his Dad who died 3 years ago. They are 97604HB with double V cleats, in very good condition. We’re figuring they were made in 1971 which would put them back in my own clothes closet 2 years before his Dad and I divorced. Now here I am, 50 years later, selling them for my son. I’m thinking I may ask for a commission! At any rate, thank you for all of your assistance here.
Hi sir, I just listed a pair on eBay 9.5 “c” width. Not sure what size you’re looking for.
David,
I recently acquired a pair of 97604, thanks to you and your watchlist. My pair look more like the catalogue photo than they do the Etsy pair. The grain is tight, almost like work boot full grain. So, now I need a pair of 96605. The date code is illegible, unfortunately.